Half of the top televisions in Moldova does not respond to the mission to inform about events of public interest, such as those related to the Russian war in Ukraine, resorting, in this sense, to the techniques of manipulation by omission or silence. It is one of the conclusions reached by APEL experts following the monitoring of the main news editions from six televisions between November 7 and 13, 2022.
The selection criterion was the top six TVs according to the audience shares, according to the audience measurement data (RTR Moldova, NTV Moldova, Primul in Moldova, Prime TV, TV 6 and Jurnal TV), as explained by Vasile State, one of the authors of the monitoring, during the presentation held on November 24, 2022, at a round table with the participation of members of the Audiovisual Council and representatives of television and radio stations.
At the same time, some televisions have resorted to new techniques for distorting the message, through contrasting highlights and breaks from the context, apparently unjustified. In general, in 1/3 of the monitored news, the background was missing, which does not facilitate the understanding of the subject by the general public, especially the least informed.
The authors set out to track how monitored television stations report on the war in Ukraine and determine the possible impact of disinformation. Overall, during the monitoring carried out over the course of a week, fewer derogations were found, which would demonstrate the effectiveness of the deterrent measures taken by the Audiovisual Council in the last period, concluded Vasile State.
The monitoring was carried out within the project “Strategic development and strengthening of the legal and regulatory framework for independent media in Moldova“, implemented by APEL with the support of International Media Support (IMS).
The full report is available in Romanian.
