The international press welcomed the punishment of propaganda in the Republic of Moldova through the suspension of the broadcast licenses of six TV channels, IPN reports.
“Moldova will temporarily ban six television channels for airing “incorrect information” about the country and Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Reuters said. “The channels – some of which broadcast in Moldovan and some in Russian – are closely tied to politician and businessman Ilan Shor, who fled in 2019 after the election of pro-Western President Maia Sandu. Shor, in exile in Israel, has backed protests in Chisinau demanding that Sandu’s government resign.”
ABCnews reported that the broadcast licenses of six television channels in Moldova were suspended after the Audiovisual Council found a “lack of correct information in the coverage of national events, but also of the war in Ukraine.” It also said the suspensions aim to “prevent the risk of disinformation … or attempts to manipulate public opinion.” “Four of the six suspended channels — First in Moldova, RTR Moldova, NTV Moldova, and TV6 — regularly re-transmit programs from Russian TV channels that on Friday were banned by the European Council as part of a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia.”
AlArabia noted the ban will start on Monday and last for the duration of a state of emergency that Moldova declared after Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24 on what Moscow calls a “special military operation” to “denazify” the country.
The source reproduces the reaction of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said that “this ban is an unprecedented act of political censorship, an abuse on the principle of media pluralism and a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of access to information, to which the political leadership of the Republic regularly declares its adherence.”
BTA Agency of Sofia quoted Deputy Premier Andrei Spinu, who wrote on Telegram that “Moldova should be protected from propaganda and lies”. According to his assessments, the six TV channels covered the events in Moldova and about the war in Ukraine in “a partial and manipulative way”.
The Commission for Emergency Situations of Moldova decided to suspend the licenses of six Moldovan TV channels for the duration of the current state of emergency. These are Primul in Moldova, RTR Moldova, Accent TV, NTV Moldova, TV6, and Orhei TV. The decree was signed late Friday by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, who is the Commission’s chair. The prime minister said that these media organizations have “seriously and repeatedly violated” the Audiovisual Code by covering domestic events as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine in a “biased and manipulative manner”.
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