Case Study. The Press from Chisinau, Tiraspol, and Comrat Covers the Sor Party Protests on March 12 and 16

This case study is an analysis of journalistic materials published and/or broadcast on March 11-18, 2023, by 11 media outlets which covered the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People in Chisinau and the other localities of the country on March 12 and 16, 2023. The monitored topics included eventual attempts of internal destabilization, the police activity during the protests, the statements of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, and other issues related to the topic of the protests.

CONTEXT

On March 3, 2023, during a press conference, the Movement for the People consisting of the Sor Party, the “Renastere-Vozrojdenie” Party, the Centrist Union, the “Acasa Construim Europa” Political Party, etc., announced an anti-government protest to be held on March 12. According to its organizers, the current government has not tried to find any relevant solutions to the well-grounded demands from the citizens who do not have enough money to pay the high tariffs for heating in the cold season. A few days after the announcement, several formations which were the members of the Movement for the People announced they were refusing and would not participate in the protest.

On March 12, protests were organized both in Chisinau and in the other localities of the country. At the same time, the organizers accused the police of intimidating the protesters and restricting their trip to Chisinau to join in the protests in the capital. Later, on March 14, the Sor Party/Movement for the People announced another protest to be held on March 16, in front of the Parliament, and asked the deputies to adopt a legal framework for completely paying the citizens’ bills for the winter months. During both protests, there were several clashes between the police and the protesters. According to the law enforcement officers, more than 50 persons, including minors, were detained.

Monitoring period: March 11-18, 2023

Subject of the study: news on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People

Media outlets monitored: Kp.md, Vedomosti.md, A-tv.md, Pervii Pridnestrovskii, Dnestr TV, Gagauzinfo.md, Primul in Moldova, Prime TV, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, TV6/Orizont TV, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV news portals.

Kp.md

On March 11-18, 2023, Kp.md published ten materials on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The newsroom covered the information in a biased and unbalanced manner. Most of the articles were completely borrowed from the Sor Party press releases, often without any references to the primary source.

On March 11, Kp.md published a press release entirely taken from the formation’s website: “The Current Governance Keeps Doing Everything Possible to Prohibit the Protests on Sunday, March 12, in Chisinau” (orig., „Нынешняя власть делает все возможное, чтобы помешать воскресному митингу, 12 марта, в Кишиневе”). Kp.md included the reference to the “Source” (“Источник”) providing a link to the press release only at the end of the material, but without mentioning it explicitly (e.g. Source: Sor Party).

On March 12, Kp.md published three materials. In one of them, the newsroom mentions that, “in Moldova, the police was taken out since early morning by Maia Sandu’s regime to block the protests of the Movement for the People” (orig., “В Молдове полиция выведена режимом Майи Санду прямо с утра для блокирования манифестации Движения Для Народа”), which is a mixture of facts and opinions. At the same time, by the wording “Maia Sandu’s regime,” the newsroom resorts to the internal enemy manipulation technique, suggesting that the president of the Republic of Moldova is to blame for the issues the country is currently facing. Other identified breaches include:

• mixing facts and opinions: “Cases of unprecedented abuses by Maia Sandu’s regime. The police was massively mobilized to prevent a peaceful protest planned in the capital by the Movement for the People” (“Беспрецедентные злоупотребления со стороны режима Майи Санду. Полиция была массово мобилизована для предотвращения мирной манифестации, которую планирует провести в столице Движение Для Народа”);
• lack of right of reply: “People expressed their indignation regarding the negligence of Maia Sandu’s regime towards human rights in our country and believers. They affirmed that, a week ago, the police allowed conducting a feminist march which included gay and lesbian participants, but prevented a peaceful protest of the majority of the population driven to the streets by poverty” (“Люди выражали возмущение по поводу пренебрежительного отношения режима Майи Санду к правам человека в нашей стране и к верующим. Они заявляли, что неделю назад полиция разрешила феминистский марш, в котором участвовали геи и лесбиянки, но не разрешает мирную манифестацию большинства населения, которое на улицу гонит нищета”).

Two other materials published on the same day (1, 2) by Kp.md were press releases by the Sor Party, at the end of which the newsroom referred to the source and included the relevant links. In a text dated March 13, the portal wrote about the protests organized on March 12 and “the police restrictions for the protesters from various localities of the country.” This material was largely based on a Sor Party press release without referring to the primary source.

The following day, Kp.md published two articles on the monitored topic. One news item announces the protest planned by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 16, during which the organizers intended to publish a resolution/draft law demanding from the Government to pay for all the public utility services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The second article was another press release from the Sor Party informing that the authors of the resolution requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Only in the second material, Kp.md mentioned the source and included the link at last. On March 15, Kp.md also borrowed a press release from the Sor Party’s website, mentioning the source, in which Ilan Sor, the head of the formation, urged the public to join the protest to be held by the Movement for the People on March 16. On the day of the protest, the newsroom republished another material from the Sor Party’s website which reported about the protests organized in Chisinau. In this case, Kp.md mentions the primary source with the link.

Most of the published materials mentioned either the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) or President Maia Sandu. The newsroom did not offer the right of reply in any of these cases (lack of right to reply).

Moldavskie Vedomosti

Vedomosti.md published eight materials on the monitored topic, one of which was republished and seven were prepared independently – four news items, one report, and two opinion materials (not marked properly). Three news items dated March 12 (including an item entirely borrowed from Rupor.md, mentioning the source), covered the events of the protests in Chisinau, Balti, and Soroca. In one case, there were several elements of mixing facts and opinions, for instance: “As a result of today’s protest, we don’t expect anything to change – neither the authorities’ crazy course, nor the stupid attempts to control the budgets for the protests. That is, behind the wave of accusations of destabilization, a fairly authentic Moldovan stability is concealed. We would like everything to be different, we wish the government could stop acting like a bunch of morons, and the protest against the moron-like government could yield its results and make the government act at least in a little less moron-like way, but not currently, maybe some other time” (“По итогам сегодняшнего протеста по-прежнему не ждём никаких изменений – ни в дебильном курсе власти, ни в бестолковых попытках освоить бюджеты на протесты. То есть, за вуалью обвинений в дестабилизации скрывается вполне себе аутентичная молдавская стабильность. Хотелось бы, чтобы всё было иначе, чтобы и власть не была дебильной, и протесты против дебильной власти давали результаты и делали власть хотя бы чуть менее дебильной, но не в этот, очередной, раз”).

On March 13, Vedomosti.md published two materials. “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” (“Российские диверсанты вербовали в Кишиневе инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) is a rhetorical title of one of them. The editorial board speaks ironically about the authorities in this report, suggesting that the protesters were mostly retired people, whereas the government regarded them as infiltrators. In the second material titled “The Authorities Demonize the Protests to Attract Europe’s Attention” (“Власть демонизирует протесты, чтобы привлечь внимание Европы”), Vedomosti.md reports on the events in the center of Chisinau and in the town of Comrat. The text is a series of the journalist’s personal opinions with elements of on-the-spot reporting. At the same time, in a number of cases, the newsroom refers to unverifiable sources: “At the public channels in Moldova, the opinion is increasingly being spread that the protest organizers coordinate all the activities with the government, and the protesters are merely being used in this game” (“В молдавских пабликах все чаще высказывают мнение о том, что организаторы протестов координируют свои действия с властью, а рядовых участников акции используют «втемную»”). The authors also resort to mixing  facts and opinions: “The authorities, as usual, have declared that the hand of Moscow is behind these protests, mentioning Sor and Plahotniuc, and, in the same usual manner, have provided no evidence why Sor is the hand of Moscow, not of Israel” (“Власть привычно объявила, что за этим стоит рука Кремля, ссылаясь на Шора и Плахотнюка, и так же привычно не представила никаких доказательств того, почему Шор – это рука Москвы, а не Израиля”).

On March 14, Vedomosti.md published a news item titled “Foreigners Dressed as Moldovan Carabineers Ensure Public Order at the Protests” (“Иностранцы, переодетые в молдавских карабинеров, охраняют порядок на протестах”). The text includes a statement – with a reference to the Telegram channels – that “Maia Sandu’s regime (labeling) involves foreigners in the peaceful protests in Chisinau” (in Russian: “режим Майи Санду задействует иностранцев на мирных протестах в Кишиневе”) suggesting that the government is implicitly guided by some external forces (suggestion). The entire material is a combination of facts mixed with opinions, for instance: “On the same day of March 13, the eyewitnesses noticed a sturdy man wearing a mask who admitted that he ‘didn’t speak Romanian’ but detained the protestors for some reason” (“В тот же день 13 марта очевидцы зафиксировали мужчину крепкого телосложения в маске, который признал, что «don’t speak Romanian», но почему-то задерживал людей на митинге”); “Why doesn’t the ISS react? Please show us the employment contracts for the girl with a Romanian accent and the gentleman who doesn’t speak Romanian” (“Почему СИБ не реагирует? Трудовые контракты девушки с румынским акцентом и мистера, который не говорит по-румынски, – в студию”).

On March 15, the newsroom published a material titled “The ‘Good People’ Themselves Create a Pretext for Anti-Russian Statements” (“Хорошие люди» сами создают повод для антироссийских деклараций”). It is placed in the category of “Politics,” but looks more like an opinion-based item, without being properly marked. Among the multiple cases of mixing facts and opinions, some cases of labeling: “The DA Platform, which has transformed from the opposition party into a the party which keeps doing what PAS says, joins the game” (orig., “В игру вступила Платформа DA, которая из оппозиционной превратилась в подтанцовку для PAS”) and irony: “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” („Российские диверсанты вербовали инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) can also be identified.

In the last material dated March 16, which is also included in the category of “Politics,” the authors analyze an opinion article by Anatol Taranu for IPN, in which he discusses the particularities and differences between the protests in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. In this text, Vedomosti.md also resorts to mixing facts with opinions.

Accent TV

On March 11-18, the A-tv.md published 23 news items. The newsroom covered the two protests in a biased and unbalanced manner. In all 23 materials, Accent TV covers the information from the point of view of the Sor Party, presenting the protest organizers and the Movement for the People positively, and the governance, the police of the Republic of Moldova, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu negatively. All the 23 materials were taken from the other platforms, yet the primary sources were referred to. In more than half of them – 13 news items – the journalists republished the entire press releases by the Sor Party (posted on Partidulsor.md), and mentioned at the end: “At the time of broadcasting this news items, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and PAS have not commented upon Marina Tauber’s statements”, “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, the GPI, and the PAS have not commented upon the information reported in the press release by the ‘SOR’ Party”, “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon Ilan Sor’s statements.” Such an approach does not comply with the rules of professional deontology. The press has the mission to request and ensure the right to reply to the persons concerned.

Accent TV did the same thing, borrowing the news from other media platforms. For instance, on March 13, the editorial board published three news items written after the participation of Marina Tauber, vice-president of the Sor Party, in the “Tema” show broadcast by Primul in Moldova TV channel. In the context of this news item, Marina Tauber blamed and criticized President Maia Sandu, the Government, and the PAS. The newsroom did not request the opinion of the persons concerned, remarking that, “at the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, the PAS, and the MIA have not commented on the statements made by Marina Tauber during the show.” Some news items were written based on the posts/ opinions published on Facebook or Telegram social networks by Marina Tauber, Ion Chicu, the Police of the Republic of Moldova, or the Movement for the People. The articles end with the same note: “At the time of writing this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon the statements…”

At the same time, while covering the two protests, Accent TV avoided mentioning certain context-specific events, details, and/or information (omission and blurring technique). For instance, it provided no information on the apprehensions of protesters who had silent weapons; the attempts to destabilize the country countered by the police; the attempts to turn the protests into violent actions; minors’ participation in the protests, etc.

Pervii Pridnestrovskii

In the newscastof March 13, Pervii Pridnestrovskii broadcast a news item titled “Protests in Moldova: Clashes with the Police” (“Протесты в Молдове: столкновения с полицией”). The material lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds informs us about the protests in Chisinau organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. Pervii Pridnestrovskii emphasizes that the situation in the Republic of Moldova is rather tense, the protesters were intimidated and assaulted by the police of the Republic of Moldova, their trip and access to Chisinau were restricted, the population of the ATU of Gagauzia is extremely dissatisfied with the governance in Chisinau, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs blames the Russian Federation for the destabilization. At the same time, Pervii Pridnestrovskii commits other deontological breaches:

• reference to unverifiable sources: “Moldovan media outlets write that over 50 persons have been detained”;
• lack of right to reply. The central authorities of the Republic of Moldova were accused of the complicated situation in the country and growing prices, including those for public utility services. The newsroom’s mission was to ensure the right to reply to those concerned, yet it did not happen.

Besides, in the newscast of March 16, Pervii Pridnestrovskii used the title: “Sandu Complains to the USA about the Russian Federation” (“Санду пожаловалась США на Россию”). The news item covers the visit of Dereck J. Hogan, the former US ambassador, to the Republic of Moldova. The journalists from Pervii Pridnestrovskii, while informing the audience about the meeting between the American official and President Maia Sandu, emphasized that the head of the state “…complained about Russia to the USA” (“… пожаловалась США на Россию”) (mixture of facts and opinions). In the same news item, the newsroom also mentions that, “…at the same time, protests continue in Moldova. Today, people from the entire country have been trying to get to Chisinau to join the protest, and the police have blocked the roads. The people of Moldova demand lower prices for public utility services and a better life” (generalization).

Dnestr TV

On March 11-18, the Dnestr TV channel portal published a news item on the monitored topic, based on the information from RIA Novosti and Sputniknews.ru.The newsroom favors the Sor Party and the organizers of the protests of March 12, providing the opinions of the organizers and the statements made by Ilan Sor, without ensuring the right to reply to those mentioned and/or accused (e.g., Chisinau Government). Dnestr TV also resorts to:

• generalization: “According to the experts, ordinary consumers’ gas debts in Chisinau have increased seven times since last November” (“По оценке экспертов, в Кишиневе долги по оплате газа у рядовых потребителей увеличились с ноября прошлого года в семь раз”);
• reference to unverifiable sources: “Many polls demonstrate that almost 60% of the country’s population doubt the ability of the PAS as the ruling party to keep the power for another three years” (“Многочисленные опросы показывают, что около 60% населения страны сомневаются в возможности правящей партии “Действие и солидарность”удержаться у власти еще три года…”).

Gagauzinfo.md

On March 11-18, Gagauzinfo.md published seven news items on the topic monitored in this case study. Four of them were published on March 13 and referred to the protests organized in Chisinau and Comrat on March 12, the opinion of the PAS on the protests of the Sor Party, possible involvement of Russia in coordinating the protests, and Marina Tauber’s statements regarding physical aggression from the head of the GPI. The other three news published on March 15, 16, and 17 referred to the actions of the police blocking the protests and flashmobs organized by the Sor Party and Prime Minister Dorin Recean’s statement on his refusal to meet with the authors of the petition who demanded from the Government to entirely pay the citizens’ bills for the winter months. Almost all the news were based on the information from other media institutions, including Sputniknews.ru, Newsmaker.md, Govoritmoskva.ru, Point.md, Rupor.md, Protv.md, and Realitatea.md.

Gagauzinfo.md also resorts to:

• mixing facts and opinions: “The protesters expressed their indignation by the fact that the compensation provided by the Government and widely promoted by the country’s authorities virtually does not save the people who have to choose whether to spend money on paying their bills or buying some food” (“Участники протеста выразили негодование тем, что широко разрекламированные властями страны компенсации от правительства практически не спасают людей, которые вынуждены выбирать – тратить деньги на счета или на пропитание”);
• false information: “Deputy Ilia Uzun recalled that it had taken Russia 70 years to build factories, plants, roads, and hospitals in Moldova, whereas ‘the EU has done nothing’ in more than 30 years of the country’s independence” (Russian, “Депутат Народного собрания Илья Узун напомнил, что за 70 лет Россия отстроила в Молдове фабрики, заводы, дороги, больницы и поликлиники, тогда как за 30 лет независимости страны “Европейский союз не сделал ничего”). The journalist was supposed to disprove these statements, either by offering the right of reply to those mentioned/accused (the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova) or by providing contextual information to present alternative data proving that this statement is nothing more than a fake;
• reversing the course of a news item by emphasizing certain (secondary) elements in order to intentionally highlight them at the expense of the others (the essential ones) which should have actually been placed in the beginning of the story. For instance, in a news item, journalists from md started the material by emphasizing the statements made by a Russian official, who affirms that the affirmation by Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, claiming that Russia was supposedly behind the protests, was false. According to the logic of the events, the news should have started with the fact that the Moldovan authorities declared that Russia was supposedly involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova by destabilizing the situation, and after that, the Russian authorities had to be offered the right to reply;
• lack of right of reply. In one of the news items, the editorial board mentions Marina Tauber’s statements according to which Viorel Cernauteanu used physical aggression against her during the protests of March 12. The right of reply was not provided.

Primul in Moldova

In case of Primul in Moldova TV channel, two “Vremuri Bune 2023” newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On the one hand, Primul in Moldova presents the Sor Party and the protesters in an exclusively positive light, and on the other hand, it shows the PAS, the Government, the police of the Republic of Moldova, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light. Therefore, by presenting the information in this way, Primul in Moldova used, on the one hand, the internal enemy technique, blaming the Government, the Police, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu for the complicated situation in the country and, subtly, the external enemy technique, suggesting that the United States of America and the European Union supported the government in Chisinau, but also applied double standards to the protests in Georgia versus those in the Republic of Moldova. Besides, the “National Savior technique” could be noted, as the Sor Party, Marina Tauber, Ilan Sor, and the Russian Federation were praised for struggling for people and supporting them.

In the newscast of March 12, Primul in Moldova broadcast five news items which opened the edition and had a total duration of 26 minutes (circa 70% of the 37-minute newscast). The news covered the demonstration in Chisinau (“Another Protest in Chisinau”), Moldovan and Russian officials’ comments on the protests (“Reactions to Sunday’s Protest”), actions of the police on the country’s roads (“Chaos on the Highways,” “Left without License Plates”), reactions to the protests on the social networks (“Social Networks on the Protests”). Primul in Moldova has committed several deontological breaches, including:

• biased selection of statements. The representatives of the Sor Party, the Russian Federation, and the protesters had direct, complex, and exhaustive statements placed in the specific context, while the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS had brief, blurred, and general quotes which sometimes were taken out of context. For instance, Marina Tauber and Dinu Turcanu, President of Orhei District, had direct statements of about 2 minutes each, whereas Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament, was quoted for about 25 seconds, and his statement was taken from Facebook;
• lack of right to reply. The TV channel did not offer the right of reply to the head of the GPI who was accused of physical aggression by Marina Tauber;
• blurring information: “The Euronews portal published an article on Sunday mentioning that the USA accused Russia of intending to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to overthrow the European Government in Chisinau.” In fact, on the same day of March 12, during a press conference, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, made a statement about the destabilization planned by Russia, and also mentioned a scheme set up by the special services of the Russian Federation and the detention of some organizers which was related to these issues. Primul in Moldova omits this information;
• mixing facts and opinions: “A true chaos was created yesterday on the highways of the entire country. It started after the police turned the buses full of people who intended to arrive in the capital to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People off the road. In spite of that, some protestors took part in the event. During a press briefing, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, said that several vehicles had been stopped due to some irregularities in the documents, while the others continued their way unhindered. From the images posted on social networks, it is obvious that these were not just a few vehicles”;
• reference to unverifiable sources: “… several videos in which people expressed their discontent have appeared in the public space”;
• missing sources of video images. In almost all the cases, Primul in Moldova does not include the source of the video images taken and broadcast;
• suggestion: “…and the driver of a bus going from Cantemir District to Chisinau with almost 50 passengers on board almost got into an accident. His bus had a flat tire after some nails which had inexplicably appeared on the route punctured it”;
• biased selection of opinions expressed on social networks. In one of the news, the journalists from Primul in Moldova quoted only the posts and comments on Facebook or Telegram channels which support the protests and have an anti-government attitude, making it clear that the protests were presumably supported by most citizens;
• tendentious headlines. “Chaos on the Highways.”

In the newscast of March 16, Primul in Moldova broadcast two news items with a total broadcasting time of eight minutes out of 35 (circa 23% of the newscast). In both of them, the reporters covered the protests in front of the legislative authority (“Another Protest in the Capital”) and the actions of the police documenting those who had arrived in Chisinau to join the event (“Blocked on the Route”). Primul in Moldova resorts to:

• lack of right to reply. “Thousands of people have protested today in the center of the capital, demanding from the governance to fully pay the population’s bills for the winter months,” Marina Tauber stated that the authorities were breaching the right to freedom of expression; Dinu Turcanu affirms that today, over 90% of those who intended to join the peaceful protest here in the heart of the capital were turned away by the police. Primul in Moldova does not offer the right of reply to those mentioned or accused;
• mixing facts and opinions: “The chaos does not cease on the highways in the country. Again, the police stopped the buses with protesters from different districts of the country which were on their way to the capital in order to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People”;
• missing sources of video images. Primul in Moldova does not mention the source of the video images.

TV6/Orizont TV

In the case of TV6/Orizont TV the newscasts in Romanian dated March 13 and 16 were monitored. The media outlet favored the Sor Party and presented the governance, the police, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light (the head of state was not offered the right to reply in the news in which she was mentioned). The TV channel’s approach was similar to that of Primul in Moldova newsroom: the same sequence of items in the newscast; a similar approach; largely similar titles, sources, and statements.

In the newscast of March 13, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast four news items about the previous day’s protests which accounted for half of the newscast (23 minutes out of a total of 45 minutes). TV6/Orizont TV resorts to:

• The journalists mention the police announcement that some provocateurs could be among the protest participants, which was followed by the quotes from some protesters who affirmed that they had not arrived there to start any provocations and were only intending to protest, mentioning that they only had their personal items with them. However, TV6/Orizont TV does not mention the persons detained during the protest who had silent weapons with them and were later taken to the police station;
• biased selection of statements. The Sor Party representatives and the protesters had complex, exhaustive statements which were presented in an appropriate context, whereas the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS were quoted with brief and general statements;
• The news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police” was placed at the end of the newscast, separately from the other items regarding the protests. TV6/Orizont TV thus makes an impression that it intended to separate the information about the protests from that about the detained persons, as well as suggests that discovering the group and detention of several persons had nothing in common with the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People;
• In the news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police”, the newsroom remarks: “At the same time, the head of the GPI says that the detained persons presumably have connections with the opposition political parties’ representatives and some protest organizers, but does not mention any names or political formations while speaking about alleged connections.” Later, the media outlet quoted the reply by Marina Tauber: “these are insinuations,” and the Sor Party is not involved in this case, and a quote by the representative of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Djabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the upper house of the Russian Parliament), who denies that Moscow is behind these destabilization attempts. Thus, judging by the way the news item was constructed, and also by the emphasis made by the journalists, the newsroom suggests that either the head of the GPI is lying or that it could be a scenario arranged by the police.

In the newscast of March 16, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast two news items on the topic, with a broadcasting time of 10 minutes and 40 seconds out of a total of 25 minutes. The information regarding the protest was presented in the light of:

1. the announcement about Alexandru Nesterovschi’s leaving the parliamentary fraction of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS), joining the Movement for the People, and taking part in the protest in front of the legislative authority, demanding from the Government “to pay the bills for the winter months”;
2. the protests announced for March 21 by the Patronage Association of Auto Transport Operators (PAATO) after some representatives of the association were fined and had some restrictions after transporting people to the protest organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 12.

RTR Moldova/Cinema 1

In the newscasts of March 13 and 16, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1 did not cover the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The only remark about the protest on March 16 was in the news that the BCS was preparing a bill to prohibit party switching. The decision was presented in the context of the announcement of Alexandru Nesterovschi’s departure from the BCS parliamentary faction and joining the Movement for the People. Therefore, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, by deciding to avoid covering the topic of the protests, resorts to the omission technique.

NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV

On March 13, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV broadcast a news item reporting about seven men who had been detained two days earlier due to mass disturbances and kept under arrest for 30 days. The newsroom reports that the detainees, according to the head of the GPI, were the leaders of a criminal group and were intending to cause mass destabilization during the protests on March 12. The news item was presented neutrally and impartially, and the editorial board did not commit any deontological breaches while providing the information.

Prime TV

In the case of Prime TV, the main newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On March 13, the TV channel broadcast a seven-minute news item (“A Violent Protest in Chisinau”) about the protest rally organized a day earlier. The editorial board mentioned the detention of over 50 persons, 21 of whom were minors, as well as discovering an internal destabilization plan coordinated by the Russian security services. In the news item lasting 5 minutes and 30 seconds in the newscast of March 16 (“Chaos in the Center of the Capital”), the media outlet covers the protests organized in front of the Parliament and the protesters’ demands to the governance. In both situations, Prime TV presents the information without deontological breaches, in a neutral and impartial manner.

Conclusions

• Most of the monitored media outlets published or broadcast the news about the protests (except RTR Moldova/Cinema 1).
• Such publications as Kp.md and Vedomosti.md had a similar approach to covering the topic of the protests, as well as Primul in Moldova and TV6/Orizont TV channels.
• Several monitored media outlets republished the press releases by the Sor Party posted on the political formation’s website (Accent TV, Vedomosti.md, and Kp.md).
• Almost all the monitored media outlets committed ethical breaches (except Prime TV and NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV).
• The most frequently identified deontological breaches committed by the monitored media outlets are mixing facts and opinions, lack of the right to reply, irony, suggestion, blurred information, reference to unverifiable sources, lack of sources of the video images broadcast, etc.
• The press from the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia had largely the same approach in covering the events, presenting the authorities of the Republic of Moldova in a negative light and the representatives of the Sor Party and the protesters in a positive light.

Victor Gotisan

This case study is an analysis of journalistic materials published and/or broadcast on March 11-18, 2023, by 11 media outlets which covered the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People in Chisinau and the other localities of the country on March 12 and 16, 2023. The monitored topics included eventual attempts of internal destabilization, the police activity during the protests, the statements of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, and other issues related to the topic of the protests.

CONTEXT

On March 3, 2023, during a press conference, the Movement for the People consisting of the Sor Party, the “Renastere-Vozrojdenie” Party, the Centrist Union, the “Acasa Construim Europa” Political Party, etc., announced an anti-government protest to be held on March 12. According to its organizers, the current government has not tried to find any relevant solutions to the well-grounded demands from the citizens who do not have enough money to pay the high tariffs for heating in the cold season. A few days after the announcement, several formations which were the members of the Movement for the People announced they were refusing and would not participate in the protest.

On March 12, protests were organized both in Chisinau and in the other localities of the country. At the same time, the organizers accused the police of intimidating the protesters and restricting their trip to Chisinau to join in the protests in the capital. Later, on March 14, the Sor Party/Movement for the People announced another protest to be held on March 16, in front of the Parliament, and asked the deputies to adopt a legal framework for completely paying the citizens’ bills for the winter months. During both protests, there were several clashes between the police and the protesters. According to the law enforcement officers, more than 50 persons, including minors, were detained.

Monitoring period: March 11-18, 2023

Subject of the study: news on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People

Media outlets monitored: Kp.md, Vedomosti.md, A-tv.md, Pervii Pridnestrovskii, Dnestr TV, Gagauzinfo.md, Primul in Moldova, Prime TV, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, TV6/Orizont TV, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV news portals.

Kp.md

On March 11-18, 2023, Kp.md published ten materials on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The newsroom covered the information in a biased and unbalanced manner. Most of the articles were completely borrowed from the Sor Party press releases, often without any references to the primary source.

On March 11, Kp.md published a press release entirely taken from the formation’s website: “The Current Governance Keeps Doing Everything Possible to Prohibit the Protests on Sunday, March 12, in Chisinau” (orig., „Нынешняя власть делает все возможное, чтобы помешать воскресному митингу, 12 марта, в Кишиневе”). Kp.md included the reference to the “Source” (“Источник”) providing a link to the press release only at the end of the material, but without mentioning it explicitly (e.g. Source: Sor Party).

On March 12, Kp.md published three materials. In one of them, the newsroom mentions that, “in Moldova, the police was taken out since early morning by Maia Sandu’s regime to block the protests of the Movement for the People” (orig., “В Молдове полиция выведена режимом Майи Санду прямо с утра для блокирования манифестации Движения Для Народа”), which is a mixture of facts and opinions. At the same time, by the wording “Maia Sandu’s regime,” the newsroom resorts to the internal enemy manipulation technique, suggesting that the president of the Republic of Moldova is to blame for the issues the country is currently facing. Other identified breaches include:

• mixing facts and opinions: “Cases of unprecedented abuses by Maia Sandu’s regime. The police was massively mobilized to prevent a peaceful protest planned in the capital by the Movement for the People” (“Беспрецедентные злоупотребления со стороны режима Майи Санду. Полиция была массово мобилизована для предотвращения мирной манифестации, которую планирует провести в столице Движение Для Народа”);
• lack of right of reply: “People expressed their indignation regarding the negligence of Maia Sandu’s regime towards human rights in our country and believers. They affirmed that, a week ago, the police allowed conducting a feminist march which included gay and lesbian participants, but prevented a peaceful protest of the majority of the population driven to the streets by poverty” (“Люди выражали возмущение по поводу пренебрежительного отношения режима Майи Санду к правам человека в нашей стране и к верующим. Они заявляли, что неделю назад полиция разрешила феминистский марш, в котором участвовали геи и лесбиянки, но не разрешает мирную манифестацию большинства населения, которое на улицу гонит нищета”).

Two other materials published on the same day (1, 2) by Kp.md were press releases by the Sor Party, at the end of which the newsroom referred to the source and included the relevant links. In a text dated March 13, the portal wrote about the protests organized on March 12 and “the police restrictions for the protesters from various localities of the country.” This material was largely based on a Sor Party press release without referring to the primary source.

The following day, Kp.md published two articles on the monitored topic. One news item announces the protest planned by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 16, during which the organizers intended to publish a resolution/draft law demanding from the Government to pay for all the public utility services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The second article was another press release from the Sor Party informing that the authors of the resolution requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Only in the second material, Kp.md mentioned the source and included the link at last. On March 15, Kp.md also borrowed a press release from the Sor Party’s website, mentioning the source, in which Ilan Sor, the head of the formation, urged the public to join the protest to be held by the Movement for the People on March 16. On the day of the protest, the newsroom republished another material from the Sor Party’s website which reported about the protests organized in Chisinau. In this case, Kp.md mentions the primary source with the link.

Most of the published materials mentioned either the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) or President Maia Sandu. The newsroom did not offer the right of reply in any of these cases (lack of right to reply).

Moldavskie Vedomosti

Vedomosti.md published eight materials on the monitored topic, one of which was republished and seven were prepared independently – four news items, one report, and two opinion materials (not marked properly). Three news items dated March 12 (including an item entirely borrowed from Rupor.md, mentioning the source), covered the events of the protests in Chisinau, Balti, and Soroca. In one case, there were several elements of mixing facts and opinions, for instance: “As a result of today’s protest, we don’t expect anything to change – neither the authorities’ crazy course, nor the stupid attempts to control the budgets for the protests. That is, behind the wave of accusations of destabilization, a fairly authentic Moldovan stability is concealed. We would like everything to be different, we wish the government could stop acting like a bunch of morons, and the protest against the moron-like government could yield its results and make the government act at least in a little less moron-like way, but not currently, maybe some other time” (“По итогам сегодняшнего протеста по-прежнему не ждём никаких изменений – ни в дебильном курсе власти, ни в бестолковых попытках освоить бюджеты на протесты. То есть, за вуалью обвинений в дестабилизации скрывается вполне себе аутентичная молдавская стабильность. Хотелось бы, чтобы всё было иначе, чтобы и власть не была дебильной, и протесты против дебильной власти давали результаты и делали власть хотя бы чуть менее дебильной, но не в этот, очередной, раз”).

On March 13, Vedomosti.md published two materials. “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” (“Российские диверсанты вербовали в Кишиневе инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) is a rhetorical title of one of them. The editorial board speaks ironically about the authorities in this report, suggesting that the protesters were mostly retired people, whereas the government regarded them as infiltrators. In the second material titled “The Authorities Demonize the Protests to Attract Europe’s Attention” (“Власть демонизирует протесты, чтобы привлечь внимание Европы”), Vedomosti.md reports on the events in the center of Chisinau and in the town of Comrat. The text is a series of the journalist’s personal opinions with elements of on-the-spot reporting. At the same time, in a number of cases, the newsroom refers to unverifiable sources: “At the public channels in Moldova, the opinion is increasingly being spread that the protest organizers coordinate all the activities with the government, and the protesters are merely being used in this game” (“В молдавских пабликах все чаще высказывают мнение о том, что организаторы протестов координируют свои действия с властью, а рядовых участников акции используют «втемную»”). The authors also resort to mixing  facts and opinions: “The authorities, as usual, have declared that the hand of Moscow is behind these protests, mentioning Sor and Plahotniuc, and, in the same usual manner, have provided no evidence why Sor is the hand of Moscow, not of Israel” (“Власть привычно объявила, что за этим стоит рука Кремля, ссылаясь на Шора и Плахотнюка, и так же привычно не представила никаких доказательств того, почему Шор – это рука Москвы, а не Израиля”).

On March 14, Vedomosti.md published a news item titled “Foreigners Dressed as Moldovan Carabineers Ensure Public Order at the Protests” (“Иностранцы, переодетые в молдавских карабинеров, охраняют порядок на протестах”). The text includes a statement – with a reference to the Telegram channels – that “Maia Sandu’s regime (labeling) involves foreigners in the peaceful protests in Chisinau” (in Russian: “режим Майи Санду задействует иностранцев на мирных протестах в Кишиневе”) suggesting that the government is implicitly guided by some external forces (suggestion). The entire material is a combination of facts mixed with opinions, for instance: “On the same day of March 13, the eyewitnesses noticed a sturdy man wearing a mask who admitted that he ‘didn’t speak Romanian’ but detained the protestors for some reason” (“В тот же день 13 марта очевидцы зафиксировали мужчину крепкого телосложения в маске, который признал, что «don’t speak Romanian», но почему-то задерживал людей на митинге”); “Why doesn’t the ISS react? Please show us the employment contracts for the girl with a Romanian accent and the gentleman who doesn’t speak Romanian” (“Почему СИБ не реагирует? Трудовые контракты девушки с румынским акцентом и мистера, который не говорит по-румынски, – в студию”).

On March 15, the newsroom published a material titled “The ‘Good People’ Themselves Create a Pretext for Anti-Russian Statements” (“Хорошие люди» сами создают повод для антироссийских деклараций”). It is placed in the category of “Politics,” but looks more like an opinion-based item, without being properly marked. Among the multiple cases of mixing facts and opinions, some cases of labeling: “The DA Platform, which has transformed from the opposition party into a the party which keeps doing what PAS says, joins the game” (orig., “В игру вступила Платформа DA, которая из оппозиционной превратилась в подтанцовку для PAS”) and irony: “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” („Российские диверсанты вербовали инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) can also be identified.

In the last material dated March 16, which is also included in the category of “Politics,” the authors analyze an opinion article by Anatol Taranu for IPN, in which he discusses the particularities and differences between the protests in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. In this text, Vedomosti.md also resorts to mixing facts with opinions.

Accent TV

On March 11-18, the A-tv.md published 23 news items. The newsroom covered the two protests in a biased and unbalanced manner. In all 23 materials, Accent TV covers the information from the point of view of the Sor Party, presenting the protest organizers and the Movement for the People positively, and the governance, the police of the Republic of Moldova, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu negatively. All the 23 materials were taken from the other platforms, yet the primary sources were referred to. In more than half of them – 13 news items – the journalists republished the entire press releases by the Sor Party (posted on Partidulsor.md), and mentioned at the end: “At the time of broadcasting this news items, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and PAS have not commented upon Marina Tauber’s statements”; “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, the GPI, and the PAS have not commented upon the information reported in the press release by the ‘SOR’ Party”, “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon Ilan Sor’s statements.” Such an approach does not comply with the rules of professional deontology. The press has the mission to request and ensure the right to reply to the persons concerned.

Accent TV did the same thing, borrowing the news from other media platforms. For instance, on March 13, the editorial board published three news items written after the participation of Marina Tauber, vice-president of the Sor Party, in the “Tema” show broadcast by Primul in Moldova TV channel. In the context of this news item, Marina Tauber blamed and criticized President Maia Sandu, the Government, and the PAS. The newsroom did not request the opinion of the persons concerned, remarking that, “at the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, the PAS, and the MIA have not commented on the statements made by Marina Tauber during the show.” Some news items were written based on the posts/ opinions published on Facebook or Telegram social networks by Marina Tauber, Ion Chicu, the Police of the Republic of Moldova, or the Movement for the People. The articles end with the same note: “At the time of writing this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon the statements…”

At the same time, while covering the two protests, Accent TV avoided mentioning certain context-specific events, details, and/or information (omission and blurring technique). For instance, it provided no information on the apprehensions of protesters who had silent weapons; the attempts to destabilize the country countered by the police; the attempts to turn the protests into violent actions; minors’ participation in the protests, etc.

Pervii Pridnestrovskii

In the newscastof March 13, Pervii Pridnestrovskii broadcast a news item titled “Protests in Moldova: Clashes with the Police” (“Протесты в Молдове: столкновения с полицией”). The material lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds informs us about the protests in Chisinau organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. Pervii Pridnestrovskii emphasizes that the situation in the Republic of Moldova is rather tense, the protesters were intimidated and assaulted by the police of the Republic of Moldova, their trip and access to Chisinau were restricted, the population of the ATU of Gagauzia is extremely dissatisfied with the governance in Chisinau, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs blames the Russian Federation for the destabilization. At the same time, Pervii Pridnestrovskii commits other deontological breaches:

• reference to unverifiable sources: “Moldovan media outlets write that over 50 persons have been detained”;
• lack of right to reply. The central authorities of the Republic of Moldova were accused of the complicated situation in the country and growing prices, including those for public utility services. The newsroom’s mission was to ensure the right to reply to those concerned, yet it did not happen.

Besides, in the newscast of March 16, Pervii Pridnestrovskii used the title: “Sandu Complains to the USA about the Russian Federation” (“Санду пожаловалась США на Россию”). The news item covers the visit of Dereck J. Hogan, the former US ambassador, to the Republic of Moldova. The journalists from Pervii Pridnestrovskii, while informing the audience about the meeting between the American official and President Maia Sandu, emphasized that the head of the state “…complained about Russia to the USA” (“… пожаловалась США на Россию”) (mixture of facts and opinions). In the same news item, the newsroom also mentions that, “…at the same time, protests continue in Moldova. Today, people from the entire country have been trying to get to Chisinau to join the protest, and the police have blocked the roads. The people of Moldova demand lower prices for public utility services and a better life” (generalization).

Dnestr TV

On March 11-18, the Dnestr TV channel portal published a news item on the monitored topic, based on the information from RIA Novosti and Sputniknews.ru.The newsroom favors the Sor Party and the organizers of the protests of March 12, providing the opinions of the organizers and the statements made by Ilan Sor, without ensuring the right to reply to those mentioned and/or accused (e.g., Chisinau Government). Dnestr TV also resorts to:

• generalization: “According to the experts, ordinary consumers’ gas debts in Chisinau have increased seven times since last November” (“По оценке экспертов, в Кишиневе долги по оплате газа у рядовых потребителей увеличились с ноября прошлого года в семь раз”);
• reference to unverifiable sources: “Many polls demonstrate that almost 60% of the country’s population doubt the ability of the PAS as the ruling party to keep the power for another three years” (“Многочисленные опросы показывают, что около 60% населения страны сомневаются в возможности правящей партии “Действие и солидарность”удержаться у власти еще три года…”).

Gagauzinfo.md

On March 11-18, Gagauzinfo.md published seven news items on the topic monitored in this case study. Four of them were published on March 13 and referred to the protests organized in Chisinau and Comrat on March 12, the opinion of the PAS on the protests of the Sor Party, possible involvement of Russia in coordinating the protests, and Marina Tauber’s statements regarding physical aggression from the head of the GPI. The other three news published on March 15, 16, and 17 referred to the actions of the police blocking the protests and flashmobs organized by the Sor Party and Prime Minister Dorin Recean’s statement on his refusal to meet with the authors of the petition who demanded from the Government to entirely pay the citizens’ bills for the winter months. Almost all the news were based on the information from other media institutions, including Sputniknews.ru, Newsmaker.md, Govoritmoskva.ru, Point.md, Rupor.md, Protv.md, and Realitatea.md.

Gagauzinfo.md also resorts to:

• mixing facts and opinions: “The protesters expressed their indignation by the fact that the compensation provided by the Government and widely promoted by the country’s authorities virtually does not save the people who have to choose whether to spend money on paying their bills or buying some food” (“Участники протеста выразили негодование тем, что широко разрекламированные властями страны компенсации от правительства практически не спасают людей, которые вынуждены выбирать – тратить деньги на счета или на пропитание”);
• false information: “Deputy Ilia Uzun recalled that it had taken Russia 70 years to build factories, plants, roads, and hospitals in Moldova, whereas ‘the EU has done nothing’ in more than 30 years of the country’s independence” (Russian, “Депутат Народного собрания Илья Узун напомнил, что за 70 лет Россия отстроила в Молдове фабрики, заводы, дороги, больницы и поликлиники, тогда как за 30 лет независимости страны “Европейский союз не сделал ничего”). The journalist was supposed to disprove these statements, either by offering the right of reply to those mentioned/accused (the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova) or by providing contextual information to present alternative data proving that this statement is nothing more than a fake;
• reversing the course of a news item by emphasizing certain (secondary) elements in order to intentionally highlight them at the expense of the others (the essential ones) which should have actually been placed in the beginning of the story. For instance, in a news item, journalists from md started the material by emphasizing the statements made by a Russian official, who affirms that the affirmation by Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, claiming that Russia was supposedly behind the protests, was false. According to the logic of the events, the news should have started with the fact that the Moldovan authorities declared that Russia was supposedly involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova by destabilizing the situation, and after that, the Russian authorities had to be offered the right to reply;
• lack of right of reply. In one of the news items, the editorial board mentions Marina Tauber’s statements according to which Viorel Cernauteanu used physical aggression against her during the protests of March 12. The right of reply was not provided.

Primul in Moldova

In case of Primul in Moldova TV channel, two “Vremuri Bune 2023” newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On the one hand, Primul in Moldova presents the Sor Party and the protesters in an exclusively positive light, and on the other hand, it shows the PAS, the Government, the police of the Republic of Moldova, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light. Therefore, by presenting the information in this way, Primul in Moldova used, on the one hand, the internal enemy technique, blaming the Government, the Police, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu for the complicated situation in the country and, subtly, the external enemy technique, suggesting that the United States of America and the European Union supported the government in Chisinau, but also applied double standards to the protests in Georgia versus those in the Republic of Moldova. Besides, the “National Savior technique” could be noted, as the Sor Party, Marina Tauber, Ilan Sor, and the Russian Federation were praised for struggling for people and supporting them.

In the newscast of March 12, Primul in Moldova broadcast five news items which opened the edition and had a total duration of 26 minutes (circa 70% of the 37-minute newscast). The news covered the demonstration in Chisinau (“Another Protest in Chisinau”), Moldovan and Russian officials’ comments on the protests (“Reactions to Sunday’s Protest”), actions of the police on the country’s roads (“Chaos on the Highways,” “Left without License Plates”), reactions to the protests on the social networks (“Social Networks on the Protests”). Primul in Moldova has committed several deontological breaches, including:

• biased selection of statements. The representatives of the Sor Party, the Russian Federation, and the protesters had direct, complex, and exhaustive statements placed in the specific context, while the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS had brief, blurred, and general quotes which sometimes were taken out of context. For instance, Marina Tauber and Dinu Turcanu, President of Orhei District, had direct statements of about 2 minutes each, whereas Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament, was quoted for about 25 seconds, and his statement was taken from Facebook;
• lack of right to reply. The TV channel did not offer the right of reply to the head of the GPI who was accused of physical aggression by Marina Tauber;
• blurring information: “The Euronews portal published an article on Sunday mentioning that the USA accused Russia of intending to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to overthrow the European Government in Chisinau.” In fact, on the same day of March 12, during a press conference, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, made a statement about the destabilization planned by Russia, and also mentioned a scheme set up by the special services of the Russian Federation and the detention of some organizers which was related to these issues. Primul in Moldova omits this information;
• mixing facts and opinions: “A true chaos was created yesterday on the highways of the entire country. It started after the police turned the buses full of people who intended to arrive in the capital to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People off the road. In spite of that, some protestors took part in the event. During a press briefing, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, said that several vehicles had been stopped due to some irregularities in the documents, while the others continued their way unhindered. From the images posted on social networks, it is obvious that these were not just a few vehicles”;
• reference to unverifiable sources: “… several videos in which people expressed their discontent have appeared in the public space”;
• missing sources of video images. In almost all the cases, Primul in Moldova does not include the source of the video images taken and broadcast;
• suggestion: “…and the driver of a bus going from Cantemir District to Chisinau with almost 50 passengers on board almost got into an accident. His bus had a flat tire after some nails which had inexplicably appeared on the route punctured it”;
• biased selection of opinions expressed on social networks. In one of the news, the journalists from Primul in Moldova quoted only the posts and comments on Facebook or Telegram channels which support the protests and have an anti-government attitude, making it clear that the protests were presumably supported by most citizens;
• tendentious headlines. “Chaos on the Highways.”

In the newscast of March 16, Primul in Moldova broadcast two news items with a total broadcasting time of eight minutes out of 35 (circa 23% of the newscast). In both of them, the reporters covered the protests in front of the legislative authority (“Another Protest in the Capital”) and the actions of the police documenting those who had arrived in Chisinau to join the event (“Blocked on the Route”). Primul in Moldova resorts to:

• lack of right to reply. “Thousands of people have protested today in the center of the capital, demanding from the governance to fully pay the population’s bills for the winter months,” Marina Tauber stated that the authorities were breaching the right to freedom of expression; Dinu Turcanu affirms that today, over 90% of those who intended to join the peaceful protest here in the heart of the capital were turned away by the police. Primul in Moldova does not offer the right of reply to those mentioned or accused;
• mixing facts and opinions: “The chaos does not cease on the highways in the country. Again, the police stopped the buses with protesters from different districts of the country which were on their way to the capital in order to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People”;
• missing sources of video images. Primul in Moldova does not mention the source of the video images.

TV6/Orizont TV

In the case of TV6/Orizont TV the newscasts in Romanian dated March 13 and 16 were monitored. The media outlet favored the Sor Party and presented the governance, the police, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light (the head of state was not offered the right to reply in the news in which she was mentioned). The TV channel’s approach was similar to that of Primul in Moldova newsroom: the same sequence of items in the newscast; a similar approach; largely similar titles, sources, and statements.

In the newscast of March 13, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast four news items about the previous day’s protests which accounted for half of the newscast (23 minutes out of a total of 45 minutes). TV6/Orizont TV resorts to:

• The journalists mention the police announcement that some provocateurs could be among the protest participants, which was followed by the quotes from some protesters who affirmed that they had not arrived there to start any provocations and were only intending to protest, mentioning that they only had their personal items with them. However, TV6/Orizont TV does not mention the persons detained during the protest who had silent weapons with them and were later taken to the police station;
• biased selection of statements. The Sor Party representatives and the protesters had complex, exhaustive statements which were presented in an appropriate context, whereas the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS were quoted with brief and general statements;
• The news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police” was placed at the end of the newscast, separately from the other items regarding the protests. TV6/Orizont TV thus makes an impression that it intended to separate the information about the protests from that about the detained persons, as well as suggests that discovering the group and detention of several persons had nothing in common with the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People;
• In the news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police”, the newsroom remarks: “At the same time, the head of the GPI says that the detained persons presumably have connections with the opposition political parties’ representatives and some protest organizers, but does not mention any names or political formations while speaking about alleged connections.” Later, the media outlet quoted the reply by Marina Tauber: “these are insinuations,” and the Sor Party is not involved in this case, and a quote by the representative of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Djabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the upper house of the Russian Parliament), who denies that Moscow is behind these destabilization attempts. Thus, judging by the way the news item was constructed, and also by the emphasis made by the journalists, the newsroom suggests that either the head of the GPI is lying or that it could be a scenario arranged by the police.

In the newscast of March 16, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast two news items on the topic, with a broadcasting time of 10 minutes and 40 seconds out of a total of 25 minutes. The information regarding the protest was presented in the light of:

1. the announcement about Alexandru Nesterovschi’s leaving the parliamentary fraction of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS), joining the Movement for the People, and taking part in the protest in front of the legislative authority, demanding from the Government “to pay the bills for the winter months”;
2. the protests announced for March 21 by the Patronage Association of Auto Transport Operators (PAATO) after some representatives of the association were fined and had some restrictions after transporting people to the protest organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 12.

RTR Moldova/Cinema 1

In the newscasts of March 13 and 16, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1 did not cover the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The only remark about the protest on March 16 was in the news that the BCS was preparing a bill to prohibit party switching. The decision was presented in the context of the announcement of Alexandru Nesterovschi’s departure from the BCS parliamentary faction and joining the Movement for the People. Therefore, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, by deciding to avoid covering the topic of the protests, resorts to the omission technique.

NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV

On March 13, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV broadcast a news item reporting about seven men who had been detained two days earlier due to mass disturbances and kept under arrest for 30 days. The newsroom reports that the detainees, according to the head of the GPI, were the leaders of a criminal group and were intending to cause mass destabilization during the protests on March 12. The news item was presented neutrally and impartially, and the editorial board did not commit any deontological breaches while providing the information.

Prime TV

In the case of Prime TV, the main newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On March 13, the TV channel broadcast a seven-minute news item (“A Violent Protest in Chisinau”) about the protest rally organized a day earlier. The editorial board mentioned the detention of over 50 persons, 21 of whom were minors, as well as discovering an internal destabilization plan coordinated by the Russian security services. In the news item lasting 5 minutes and 30 seconds in the newscast of March 16 (“Chaos in the Center of the Capital”), the media outlet covers the protests organized in front of the Parliament and the protesters’ demands to the governance. In both situations, Prime TV presents the information without deontological breaches, in a neutral and impartial manner.

Conclusions

• Most of the monitored media outlets published or broadcast the news about the protests (except RTR Moldova/Cinema 1).
• Such publications as Kp.md and Vedomosti.md had a similar approach to covering the topic of the protests, as well as Primul in Moldova and TV6/Orizont TV channels.
• Several monitored media outlets republished the press releases by the Sor Party posted on the political formation’s website (Accent TV, Vedomosti.md, and Kp.md).
• Almost all the monitored media outlets committed ethical breaches (except Prime TV and NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV).
• The most frequently identified deontological breaches committed by the monitored media outlets are mixing facts and opinions, lack of the right to reply, irony, suggestion, blurred information, reference to unverifiable sources, lack of sources of the video images broadcast, etc.
• The press from the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia had largely the same approach in covering the events, presenting the authorities of the Republic of Moldova in a negative light and the representatives of the Sor Party and the protesters in a positive light.

Victor Gotisan

This case study is an analysis of journalistic materials published and/or broadcast on March 11-18, 2023, by 11 media outlets which covered the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People in Chisinau and the other localities of the country on March 12 and 16, 2023. The monitored topics included eventual attempts of internal destabilization, the police activity during the protests, the statements of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, and other issues related to the topic of the protests.

CONTEXT

On March 3, 2023, during a press conference, the Movement for the People consisting of the Sor Party, the “Renastere-Vozrojdenie” Party, the Centrist Union, the “Acasa Construim Europa” Political Party, etc., announced an anti-government protest to be held on March 12. According to its organizers, the current government has not tried to find any relevant solutions to the well-grounded demands from the citizens who do not have enough money to pay the high tariffs for heating in the cold season. A few days after the announcement, several formations which were the members of the Movement for the People announced they were refusing and would not participate in the protest.

On March 12, protests were organized both in Chisinau and in the other localities of the country. At the same time, the organizers accused the police of intimidating the protesters and restricting their trip to Chisinau to join in the protests in the capital. Later, on March 14, the Sor Party/Movement for the People announced another protest to be held on March 16, in front of the Parliament, and asked the deputies to adopt a legal framework for completely paying the citizens’ bills for the winter months. During both protests, there were several clashes between the police and the protesters. According to the law enforcement officers, more than 50 persons, including minors, were detained.

Monitoring period: March 11-18, 2023

Subject of the study: news on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People

Media outlets monitored: Kp.md, Vedomosti.md, A-tv.md, Pervii Pridnestrovskii, Dnestr TV, Gagauzinfo.md, Primul in Moldova, Prime TV, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, TV6/Orizont TV, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV news portals.

Kp.md

On March 11-18, 2023, Kp.md published ten materials on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The newsroom covered the information in a biased and unbalanced manner. Most of the articles were completely borrowed from the Sor Party press releases, often without any references to the primary source.

On March 11, Kp.md published a press release entirely taken from the formation’s website: “The Current Governance Keeps Doing Everything Possible to Prohibit the Protests on Sunday, March 12, in Chisinau” (orig., „Нынешняя власть делает все возможное, чтобы помешать воскресному митингу, 12 марта, в Кишиневе”). Kp.md included the reference to the “Source” (“Источник”) providing a link to the press release only at the end of the material, but without mentioning it explicitly (e.g. Source: Sor Party).

On March 12, Kp.md published three materials. In one of them, the newsroom mentions that, “in Moldova, the police was taken out since early morning by Maia Sandu’s regime to block the protests of the Movement for the People” (orig., “В Молдове полиция выведена режимом Майи Санду прямо с утра для блокирования манифестации Движения Для Народа”), which is a mixture of facts and opinions. At the same time, by the wording “Maia Sandu’s regime,” the newsroom resorts to the internal enemy manipulation technique, suggesting that the president of the Republic of Moldova is to blame for the issues the country is currently facing. Other identified breaches include:

• mixing facts and opinions: “Cases of unprecedented abuses by Maia Sandu’s regime. The police was massively mobilized to prevent a peaceful protest planned in the capital by the Movement for the People” (“Беспрецедентные злоупотребления со стороны режима Майи Санду. Полиция была массово мобилизована для предотвращения мирной манифестации, которую планирует провести в столице Движение Для Народа”);
• lack of right of reply: “People expressed their indignation regarding the negligence of Maia Sandu’s regime towards human rights in our country and believers. They affirmed that, a week ago, the police allowed conducting a feminist march which included gay and lesbian participants, but prevented a peaceful protest of the majority of the population driven to the streets by poverty” (“Люди выражали возмущение по поводу пренебрежительного отношения режима Майи Санду к правам человека в нашей стране и к верующим. Они заявляли, что неделю назад полиция разрешила феминистский марш, в котором участвовали геи и лесбиянки, но не разрешает мирную манифестацию большинства населения, которое на улицу гонит нищета”).

Two other materials published on the same day (1, 2) by Kp.md were press releases by the Sor Party, at the end of which the newsroom referred to the source and included the relevant links. In a text dated March 13, the portal wrote about the protests organized on March 12 and “the police restrictions for the protesters from various localities of the country.” This material was largely based on a Sor Party press release without referring to the primary source.

The following day, Kp.md published two articles on the monitored topic. One news item announces the protest planned by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 16, during which the organizers intended to publish a resolution/draft law demanding from the Government to pay for all the public utility services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The second article was another press release from the Sor Party informing that the authors of the resolution requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Only in the second material, Kp.md mentioned the source and included the link at last. On March 15, Kp.md also borrowed a press release from the Sor Party’s website, mentioning the source, in which Ilan Sor, the head of the formation, urged the public to join the protest to be held by the Movement for the People on March 16. On the day of the protest, the newsroom republished another material from the Sor Party’s website which reported about the protests organized in Chisinau. In this case, Kp.md mentions the primary source with the link.

Most of the published materials mentioned either the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) or President Maia Sandu. The newsroom did not offer the right of reply in any of these cases (lack of right to reply).

Moldavskie Vedomosti

Vedomosti.md published eight materials on the monitored topic, one of which was republished and seven were prepared independently – four news items, one report, and two opinion materials (not marked properly). Three news items dated March 12 (including an item entirely borrowed from Rupor.md, mentioning the source), covered the events of the protests in Chisinau, Balti, and Soroca. In one case, there were several elements of mixing facts and opinions, for instance: “As a result of today’s protest, we don’t expect anything to change – neither the authorities’ crazy course, nor the stupid attempts to control the budgets for the protests. That is, behind the wave of accusations of destabilization, a fairly authentic Moldovan stability is concealed. We would like everything to be different, we wish the government could stop acting like a bunch of morons, and the protest against the moron-like government could yield its results and make the government act at least in a little less moron-like way, but not currently, maybe some other time” (“По итогам сегодняшнего протеста по-прежнему не ждём никаких изменений – ни в дебильном курсе власти, ни в бестолковых попытках освоить бюджеты на протесты. То есть, за вуалью обвинений в дестабилизации скрывается вполне себе аутентичная молдавская стабильность. Хотелось бы, чтобы всё было иначе, чтобы и власть не была дебильной, и протесты против дебильной власти давали результаты и делали власть хотя бы чуть менее дебильной, но не в этот, очередной, раз”).

On March 13, Vedomosti.md published two materials. “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” (“Российские диверсанты вербовали в Кишиневе инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) is a rhetorical title of one of them. The editorial board speaks ironically about the authorities in this report, suggesting that the protesters were mostly retired people, whereas the government regarded them as infiltrators. In the second material titled “The Authorities Demonize the Protests to Attract Europe’s Attention” (“Власть демонизирует протесты, чтобы привлечь внимание Европы”), Vedomosti.md reports on the events in the center of Chisinau and in the town of Comrat. The text is a series of the journalist’s personal opinions with elements of on-the-spot reporting. At the same time, in a number of cases, the newsroom refers to unverifiable sources: “At the public channels in Moldova, the opinion is increasingly being spread that the protest organizers coordinate all the activities with the government, and the protesters are merely being used in this game” (“В молдавских пабликах все чаще высказывают мнение о том, что организаторы протестов координируют свои действия с властью, а рядовых участников акции используют «втемную»”). The authors also resort to mixing  facts and opinions: “The authorities, as usual, have declared that the hand of Moscow is behind these protests, mentioning Sor and Plahotniuc, and, in the same usual manner, have provided no evidence why Sor is the hand of Moscow, not of Israel” (“Власть привычно объявила, что за этим стоит рука Кремля, ссылаясь на Шора и Плахотнюка, и так же привычно не представила никаких доказательств того, почему Шор – это рука Москвы, а не Израиля”).

On March 14, Vedomosti.md published a news item titled “Foreigners Dressed as Moldovan Carabineers Ensure Public Order at the Protests” (“Иностранцы, переодетые в молдавских карабинеров, охраняют порядок на протестах”). The text includes a statement – with a reference to the Telegram channels – that “Maia Sandu’s regime (labeling) involves foreigners in the peaceful protests in Chisinau” (in Russian: “режим Майи Санду задействует иностранцев на мирных протестах в Кишиневе”) suggesting that the government is implicitly guided by some external forces (suggestion). The entire material is a combination of facts mixed with opinions, for instance: “On the same day of March 13, the eyewitnesses noticed a sturdy man wearing a mask who admitted that he ‘didn’t speak Romanian’ but detained the protestors for some reason” (“В тот же день 13 марта очевидцы зафиксировали мужчину крепкого телосложения в маске, который признал, что «don’t speak Romanian», но почему-то задерживал людей на митинге”); “Why doesn’t the ISS react? Please show us the employment contracts for the girl with a Romanian accent and the gentleman who doesn’t speak Romanian” (“Почему СИБ не реагирует? Трудовые контракты девушки с румынским акцентом и мистера, который не говорит по-румынски, – в студию”).

On March 15, the newsroom published a material titled “The ‘Good People’ Themselves Create a Pretext for Anti-Russian Statements” (“Хорошие люди» сами создают повод для антироссийских деклараций”). It is placed in the category of “Politics,” but looks more like an opinion-based item, without being properly marked. Among the multiple cases of mixing facts and opinions, some cases of labeling: “The DA Platform, which has transformed from the opposition party into a the party which keeps doing what PAS says, joins the game” (orig., “В игру вступила Платформа DA, которая из оппозиционной превратилась в подтанцовку для PAS”) and irony: “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” („Российские диверсанты вербовали инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) can also be identified.

In the last material dated March 16, which is also included in the category of “Politics,” the authors analyze an opinion article by Anatol Taranu for IPN, in which he discusses the particularities and differences between the protests in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. In this text, Vedomosti.md also resorts to mixing facts with opinions.

Accent TV

On March 11-18, the A-tv.md published 23 news items. The newsroom covered the two protests in a biased and unbalanced manner. In all 23 materials, Accent TV covers the information from the point of view of the Sor Party, presenting the protest organizers and the Movement for the People positively, and the governance, the police of the Republic of Moldova, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu negatively. All the 23 materials were taken from the other platforms, yet the primary sources were referred to. In more than half of them – 13 news items – the journalists republished the entire press releases by the Sor Party (posted on Partidulsor.md), and mentioned at the end: “At the time of broadcasting this news items, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and PAS have not commented upon Marina Tauber’s statements”; “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, the GPI, and the PAS have not commented upon the information reported in the press release by the ‘SOR’ Party”, “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon Ilan Sor’s statements.” Such an approach does not comply with the rules of professional deontology. The press has the mission to request and ensure the right to reply to the persons concerned.

Accent TV did the same thing, borrowing the news from other media platforms. For instance, on March 13, the editorial board published three news items written after the participation of Marina Tauber, vice-president of the Sor Party, in the “Tema” show broadcast by Primul in Moldova TV channel. In the context of this news item, Marina Tauber blamed and criticized President Maia Sandu, the Government, and the PAS. The newsroom did not request the opinion of the persons concerned, remarking that, “at the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, the PAS, and the MIA have not commented on the statements made by Marina Tauber during the show.” Some news items were written based on the posts/ opinions published on Facebook or Telegram social networks by Marina Tauber, Ion Chicu, the Police of the Republic of Moldova, or the Movement for the People. The articles end with the same note: “At the time of writing this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon the statements…”

At the same time, while covering the two protests, Accent TV avoided mentioning certain context-specific events, details, and/or information (omission and blurring technique). For instance, it provided no information on the apprehensions of protesters who had silent weapons; the attempts to destabilize the country countered by the police; the attempts to turn the protests into violent actions; minors’ participation in the protests, etc.

Pervii Pridnestrovskii

In the newscastof March 13, Pervii Pridnestrovskii broadcast a news item titled “Protests in Moldova: Clashes with the Police” (“Протесты в Молдове: столкновения с полицией”). The material lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds informs us about the protests in Chisinau organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. Pervii Pridnestrovskii emphasizes that the situation in the Republic of Moldova is rather tense, the protesters were intimidated and assaulted by the police of the Republic of Moldova, their trip and access to Chisinau were restricted, the population of the ATU of Gagauzia is extremely dissatisfied with the governance in Chisinau, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs blames the Russian Federation for the destabilization. At the same time, Pervii Pridnestrovskii commits other deontological breaches:

• reference to unverifiable sources: “Moldovan media outlets write that over 50 persons have been detained”;
• lack of right to reply. The central authorities of the Republic of Moldova were accused of the complicated situation in the country and growing prices, including those for public utility services. The newsroom’s mission was to ensure the right to reply to those concerned, yet it did not happen.

Besides, in the newscast of March 16, Pervii Pridnestrovskii used the title: “Sandu Complains to the USA about the Russian Federation” (“Санду пожаловалась США на Россию”). The news item covers the visit of Dereck J. Hogan, the former US ambassador, to the Republic of Moldova. The journalists from Pervii Pridnestrovskii, while informing the audience about the meeting between the American official and President Maia Sandu, emphasized that the head of the state “…complained about Russia to the USA” (“… пожаловалась США на Россию”) (mixture of facts and opinions). In the same news item, the newsroom also mentions that, “…at the same time, protests continue in Moldova. Today, people from the entire country have been trying to get to Chisinau to join the protest, and the police have blocked the roads. The people of Moldova demand lower prices for public utility services and a better life” (generalization).

Dnestr TV

On March 11-18, the Dnestr TV channel portal published a news item on the monitored topic, based on the information from RIA Novosti and Sputniknews.ru.The newsroom favors the Sor Party and the organizers of the protests of March 12, providing the opinions of the organizers and the statements made by Ilan Sor, without ensuring the right to reply to those mentioned and/or accused (e.g., Chisinau Government). Dnestr TV also resorts to:

• generalization: “According to the experts, ordinary consumers’ gas debts in Chisinau have increased seven times since last November” (“По оценке экспертов, в Кишиневе долги по оплате газа у рядовых потребителей увеличились с ноября прошлого года в семь раз”);
• reference to unverifiable sources: “Many polls demonstrate that almost 60% of the country’s population doubt the ability of the PAS as the ruling party to keep the power for another three years” (“Многочисленные опросы показывают, что около 60% населения страны сомневаются в возможности правящей партии “Действие и солидарность”удержаться у власти еще три года…”).

Gagauzinfo.md

On March 11-18, Gagauzinfo.md published seven news items on the topic monitored in this case study. Four of them were published on March 13 and referred to the protests organized in Chisinau and Comrat on March 12, the opinion of the PAS on the protests of the Sor Party, possible involvement of Russia in coordinating the protests, and Marina Tauber’s statements regarding physical aggression from the head of the GPI. The other three news published on March 15, 16, and 17 referred to the actions of the police blocking the protests and flashmobs organized by the Sor Party and Prime Minister Dorin Recean’s statement on his refusal to meet with the authors of the petition who demanded from the Government to entirely pay the citizens’ bills for the winter months. Almost all the news were based on the information from other media institutions, including Sputniknews.ru, Newsmaker.md, Govoritmoskva.ru, Point.md, Rupor.md, Protv.md, and Realitatea.md.

Gagauzinfo.md also resorts to:

• mixing facts and opinions: “The protesters expressed their indignation by the fact that the compensation provided by the Government and widely promoted by the country’s authorities virtually does not save the people who have to choose whether to spend money on paying their bills or buying some food” (“Участники протеста выразили негодование тем, что широко разрекламированные властями страны компенсации от правительства практически не спасают людей, которые вынуждены выбирать – тратить деньги на счета или на пропитание”);
• false information: “Deputy Ilia Uzun recalled that it had taken Russia 70 years to build factories, plants, roads, and hospitals in Moldova, whereas ‘the EU has done nothing’ in more than 30 years of the country’s independence” (Russian, “Депутат Народного собрания Илья Узун напомнил, что за 70 лет Россия отстроила в Молдове фабрики, заводы, дороги, больницы и поликлиники, тогда как за 30 лет независимости страны “Европейский союз не сделал ничего”). The journalist was supposed to disprove these statements, either by offering the right of reply to those mentioned/accused (the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova) or by providing contextual information to present alternative data proving that this statement is nothing more than a fake;
• reversing the course of a news item by emphasizing certain (secondary) elements in order to intentionally highlight them at the expense of the others (the essential ones) which should have actually been placed in the beginning of the story. For instance, in a news item, journalists from md started the material by emphasizing the statements made by a Russian official, who affirms that the affirmation by Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, claiming that Russia was supposedly behind the protests, was false. According to the logic of the events, the news should have started with the fact that the Moldovan authorities declared that Russia was supposedly involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova by destabilizing the situation, and after that, the Russian authorities had to be offered the right to reply;
• lack of right of reply. In one of the news items, the editorial board mentions Marina Tauber’s statements according to which Viorel Cernauteanu used physical aggression against her during the protests of March 12. The right of reply was not provided.

Primul in Moldova

In case of Primul in Moldova TV channel, two “Vremuri Bune 2023” newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On the one hand, Primul in Moldova presents the Sor Party and the protesters in an exclusively positive light, and on the other hand, it shows the PAS, the Government, the police of the Republic of Moldova, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light. Therefore, by presenting the information in this way, Primul in Moldova used, on the one hand, the internal enemy technique, blaming the Government, the Police, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu for the complicated situation in the country and, subtly, the external enemy technique, suggesting that the United States of America and the European Union supported the government in Chisinau, but also applied double standards to the protests in Georgia versus those in the Republic of Moldova. Besides, the “National Savior technique” could be noted, as the Sor Party, Marina Tauber, Ilan Sor, and the Russian Federation were praised for struggling for people and supporting them.

In the newscast of March 12, Primul in Moldova broadcast five news items which opened the edition and had a total duration of 26 minutes (circa 70% of the 37-minute newscast). The news covered the demonstration in Chisinau (“Another Protest in Chisinau”), Moldovan and Russian officials’ comments on the protests (“Reactions to Sunday’s Protest”), actions of the police on the country’s roads (“Chaos on the Highways,” “Left without License Plates”), reactions to the protests on the social networks (“Social Networks on the Protests”). Primul in Moldova has committed several deontological breaches, including:

• biased selection of statements. The representatives of the Sor Party, the Russian Federation, and the protesters had direct, complex, and exhaustive statements placed in the specific context, while the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS had brief, blurred, and general quotes which sometimes were taken out of context. For instance, Marina Tauber and Dinu Turcanu, President of Orhei District, had direct statements of about 2 minutes each, whereas Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament, was quoted for about 25 seconds, and his statement was taken from Facebook;
• lack of right to reply. The TV channel did not offer the right of reply to the head of the GPI who was accused of physical aggression by Marina Tauber;
• blurring information: “The Euronews portal published an article on Sunday mentioning that the USA accused Russia of intending to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to overthrow the European Government in Chisinau.” In fact, on the same day of March 12, during a press conference, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, made a statement about the destabilization planned by Russia, and also mentioned a scheme set up by the special services of the Russian Federation and the detention of some organizers which was related to these issues. Primul in Moldova omits this information;
• mixing facts and opinions: “A true chaos was created yesterday on the highways of the entire country. It started after the police turned the buses full of people who intended to arrive in the capital to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People off the road. In spite of that, some protestors took part in the event. During a press briefing, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, said that several vehicles had been stopped due to some irregularities in the documents, while the others continued their way unhindered. From the images posted on social networks, it is obvious that these were not just a few vehicles”;
• reference to unverifiable sources: “… several videos in which people expressed their discontent have appeared in the public space”;
• missing sources of video images. In almost all the cases, Primul in Moldova does not include the source of the video images taken and broadcast;
• suggestion: “…and the driver of a bus going from Cantemir District to Chisinau with almost 50 passengers on board almost got into an accident. His bus had a flat tire after some nails which had inexplicably appeared on the route punctured it”;
• biased selection of opinions expressed on social networks. In one of the news, the journalists from Primul in Moldova quoted only the posts and comments on Facebook or Telegram channels which support the protests and have an anti-government attitude, making it clear that the protests were presumably supported by most citizens;
• tendentious headlines. “Chaos on the Highways.”

In the newscast of March 16, Primul in Moldova broadcast two news items with a total broadcasting time of eight minutes out of 35 (circa 23% of the newscast). In both of them, the reporters covered the protests in front of the legislative authority (“Another Protest in the Capital”) and the actions of the police documenting those who had arrived in Chisinau to join the event (“Blocked on the Route”). Primul in Moldova resorts to:

• lack of right to reply. “Thousands of people have protested today in the center of the capital, demanding from the governance to fully pay the population’s bills for the winter months,” Marina Tauber stated that the authorities were breaching the right to freedom of expression; Dinu Turcanu affirms that today, over 90% of those who intended to join the peaceful protest here in the heart of the capital were turned away by the police. Primul in Moldova does not offer the right of reply to those mentioned or accused;
• mixing facts and opinions: “The chaos does not cease on the highways in the country. Again, the police stopped the buses with protesters from different districts of the country which were on their way to the capital in order to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People”;
• missing sources of video images. Primul in Moldova does not mention the source of the video images.

TV6/Orizont TV

In the case of TV6/Orizont TV the newscasts in Romanian dated March 13 and 16 were monitored. The media outlet favored the Sor Party and presented the governance, the police, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light (the head of state was not offered the right to reply in the news in which she was mentioned). The TV channel’s approach was similar to that of Primul in Moldova newsroom: the same sequence of items in the newscast; a similar approach; largely similar titles, sources, and statements.

In the newscast of March 13, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast four news items about the previous day’s protests which accounted for half of the newscast (23 minutes out of a total of 45 minutes). TV6/Orizont TV resorts to:

• The journalists mention the police announcement that some provocateurs could be among the protest participants, which was followed by the quotes from some protesters who affirmed that they had not arrived there to start any provocations and were only intending to protest, mentioning that they only had their personal items with them. However, TV6/Orizont TV does not mention the persons detained during the protest who had silent weapons with them and were later taken to the police station;
• biased selection of statements. The Sor Party representatives and the protesters had complex, exhaustive statements which were presented in an appropriate context, whereas the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS were quoted with brief and general statements;
• The news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police” was placed at the end of the newscast, separately from the other items regarding the protests. TV6/Orizont TV thus makes an impression that it intended to separate the information about the protests from that about the detained persons, as well as suggests that discovering the group and detention of several persons had nothing in common with the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People;
• In the news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police”, the newsroom remarks: “At the same time, the head of the GPI says that the detained persons presumably have connections with the opposition political parties’ representatives and some protest organizers, but does not mention any names or political formations while speaking about alleged connections.” Later, the media outlet quoted the reply by Marina Tauber: “these are insinuations,” and the Sor Party is not involved in this case, and a quote by the representative of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Djabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the upper house of the Russian Parliament), who denies that Moscow is behind these destabilization attempts. Thus, judging by the way the news item was constructed, and also by the emphasis made by the journalists, the newsroom suggests that either the head of the GPI is lying or that it could be a scenario arranged by the police.

In the newscast of March 16, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast two news items on the topic, with a broadcasting time of 10 minutes and 40 seconds out of a total of 25 minutes. The information regarding the protest was presented in the light of:

1. the announcement about Alexandru Nesterovschi’s leaving the parliamentary fraction of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS), joining the Movement for the People, and taking part in the protest in front of the legislative authority, demanding from the Government “to pay the bills for the winter months”;
2. the protests announced for March 21 by the Patronage Association of Auto Transport Operators (PAATO) after some representatives of the association were fined and had some restrictions after transporting people to the protest organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 12.

RTR Moldova/Cinema 1

In the newscasts of March 13 and 16, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1 did not cover the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The only remark about the protest on March 16 was in the news that the BCS was preparing a bill to prohibit party switching. The decision was presented in the context of the announcement of Alexandru Nesterovschi’s departure from the BCS parliamentary faction and joining the Movement for the People. Therefore, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, by deciding to avoid covering the topic of the protests, resorts to the omission technique.

NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV

On March 13, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV broadcast a news item reporting about seven men who had been detained two days earlier due to mass disturbances and kept under arrest for 30 days. The newsroom reports that the detainees, according to the head of the GPI, were the leaders of a criminal group and were intending to cause mass destabilization during the protests on March 12. The news item was presented neutrally and impartially, and the editorial board did not commit any deontological breaches while providing the information.

Prime TV

In the case of Prime TV, the main newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On March 13, the TV channel broadcast a seven-minute news item (“A Violent Protest in Chisinau”) about the protest rally organized a day earlier. The editorial board mentioned the detention of over 50 persons, 21 of whom were minors, as well as discovering an internal destabilization plan coordinated by the Russian security services. In the news item lasting 5 minutes and 30 seconds in the newscast of March 16 (“Chaos in the Center of the Capital”), the media outlet covers the protests organized in front of the Parliament and the protesters’ demands to the governance. In both situations, Prime TV presents the information without deontological breaches, in a neutral and impartial manner.

Conclusions

• Most of the monitored media outlets published or broadcast the news about the protests (except RTR Moldova/Cinema 1).
• Such publications as Kp.md and Vedomosti.md had a similar approach to covering the topic of the protests, as well as Primul in Moldova and TV6/Orizont TV channels.
• Several monitored media outlets republished the press releases by the Sor Party posted on the political formation’s website (Accent TV, Vedomosti.md, and Kp.md).
• Almost all the monitored media outlets committed ethical breaches (except Prime TV and NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV).
• The most frequently identified deontological breaches committed by the monitored media outlets are mixing facts and opinions, lack of the right to reply, irony, suggestion, blurred information, reference to unverifiable sources, lack of sources of the video images broadcast, etc.
• The press from the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia had largely the same approach in covering the events, presenting the authorities of the Republic of Moldova in a negative light and the representatives of the Sor Party and the protesters in a positive light.

Victor Gotisan

This case study is an analysis of journalistic materials published and/or broadcast on March 11-18, 2023, by 11 media outlets which covered the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People in Chisinau and the other localities of the country on March 12 and 16, 2023. The monitored topics included eventual attempts of internal destabilization, the police activity during the protests, the statements of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, and other issues related to the topic of the protests.

CONTEXT

On March 3, 2023, during a press conference, the Movement for the People consisting of the Sor Party, the “Renastere-Vozrojdenie” Party, the Centrist Union, the “Acasa Construim Europa” Political Party, etc., announced an anti-government protest to be held on March 12. According to its organizers, the current government has not tried to find any relevant solutions to the well-grounded demands from the citizens who do not have enough money to pay the high tariffs for heating in the cold season. A few days after the announcement, several formations which were the members of the Movement for the People announced they were refusing and would not participate in the protest.

On March 12, protests were organized both in Chisinau and in the other localities of the country. At the same time, the organizers accused the police of intimidating the protesters and restricting their trip to Chisinau to join in the protests in the capital. Later, on March 14, the Sor Party/Movement for the People announced another protest to be held on March 16, in front of the Parliament, and asked the deputies to adopt a legal framework for completely paying the citizens’ bills for the winter months. During both protests, there were several clashes between the police and the protesters. According to the law enforcement officers, more than 50 persons, including minors, were detained.

Monitoring period: March 11-18, 2023

Subject of the study: news on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People

Media outlets monitored: Kp.md, Vedomosti.md, A-tv.md, Pervii Pridnestrovskii, Dnestr TV, Gagauzinfo.md, Primul in Moldova, Prime TV, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, TV6/Orizont TV, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV news portals.

Kp.md

On March 11-18, 2023, Kp.md published ten materials on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The newsroom covered the information in a biased and unbalanced manner. Most of the articles were completely borrowed from the Sor Party press releases, often without any references to the primary source.

On March 11, Kp.md published a press release entirely taken from the formation’s website: “The Current Governance Keeps Doing Everything Possible to Prohibit the Protests on Sunday, March 12, in Chisinau” (orig., „Нынешняя власть делает все возможное, чтобы помешать воскресному митингу, 12 марта, в Кишиневе”). Kp.md included the reference to the “Source” (“Источник”) providing a link to the press release only at the end of the material, but without mentioning it explicitly (e.g. Source: Sor Party).

On March 12, Kp.md published three materials. In one of them, the newsroom mentions that, “in Moldova, the police was taken out since early morning by Maia Sandu’s regime to block the protests of the Movement for the People” (orig., “В Молдове полиция выведена режимом Майи Санду прямо с утра для блокирования манифестации Движения Для Народа”), which is a mixture of facts and opinions. At the same time, by the wording “Maia Sandu’s regime,” the newsroom resorts to the internal enemy manipulation technique, suggesting that the president of the Republic of Moldova is to blame for the issues the country is currently facing. Other identified breaches include:

• mixing facts and opinions: “Cases of unprecedented abuses by Maia Sandu’s regime. The police was massively mobilized to prevent a peaceful protest planned in the capital by the Movement for the People” (“Беспрецедентные злоупотребления со стороны режима Майи Санду. Полиция была массово мобилизована для предотвращения мирной манифестации, которую планирует провести в столице Движение Для Народа”);
• lack of right of reply: “People expressed their indignation regarding the negligence of Maia Sandu’s regime towards human rights in our country and believers. They affirmed that, a week ago, the police allowed conducting a feminist march which included gay and lesbian participants, but prevented a peaceful protest of the majority of the population driven to the streets by poverty” (“Люди выражали возмущение по поводу пренебрежительного отношения режима Майи Санду к правам человека в нашей стране и к верующим. Они заявляли, что неделю назад полиция разрешила феминистский марш, в котором участвовали геи и лесбиянки, но не разрешает мирную манифестацию большинства населения, которое на улицу гонит нищета”).

Two other materials published on the same day (1, 2) by Kp.md were press releases by the Sor Party, at the end of which the newsroom referred to the source and included the relevant links. In a text dated March 13, the portal wrote about the protests organized on March 12 and “the police restrictions for the protesters from various localities of the country.” This material was largely based on a Sor Party press release without referring to the primary source.

The following day, Kp.md published two articles on the monitored topic. One news item announces the protest planned by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 16, during which the organizers intended to publish a resolution/draft law demanding from the Government to pay for all the public utility services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The second article was another press release from the Sor Party informing that the authors of the resolution requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Only in the second material, Kp.md mentioned the source and included the link at last. On March 15, Kp.md also borrowed a press release from the Sor Party’s website, mentioning the source, in which Ilan Sor, the head of the formation, urged the public to join the protest to be held by the Movement for the People on March 16. On the day of the protest, the newsroom republished another material from the Sor Party’s website which reported about the protests organized in Chisinau. In this case, Kp.md mentions the primary source with the link.

Most of the published materials mentioned either the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) or President Maia Sandu. The newsroom did not offer the right of reply in any of these cases (lack of right to reply).

Moldavskie Vedomosti

Vedomosti.md published eight materials on the monitored topic, one of which was republished and seven were prepared independently – four news items, one report, and two opinion materials (not marked properly). Three news items dated March 12 (including an item entirely borrowed from Rupor.md, mentioning the source), covered the events of the protests in Chisinau, Balti, and Soroca. In one case, there were several elements of mixing facts and opinions, for instance: “As a result of today’s protest, we don’t expect anything to change – neither the authorities’ crazy course, nor the stupid attempts to control the budgets for the protests. That is, behind the wave of accusations of destabilization, a fairly authentic Moldovan stability is concealed. We would like everything to be different, we wish the government could stop acting like a bunch of morons, and the protest against the moron-like government could yield its results and make the government act at least in a little less moron-like way, but not currently, maybe some other time” (“По итогам сегодняшнего протеста по-прежнему не ждём никаких изменений – ни в дебильном курсе власти, ни в бестолковых попытках освоить бюджеты на протесты. То есть, за вуалью обвинений в дестабилизации скрывается вполне себе аутентичная молдавская стабильность. Хотелось бы, чтобы всё было иначе, чтобы и власть не была дебильной, и протесты против дебильной власти давали результаты и делали власть хотя бы чуть менее дебильной, но не в этот, очередной, раз”).

On March 13, Vedomosti.md published two materials. “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” (“Российские диверсанты вербовали в Кишиневе инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) is a rhetorical title of one of them. The editorial board speaks ironically about the authorities in this report, suggesting that the protesters were mostly retired people, whereas the government regarded them as infiltrators. In the second material titled “The Authorities Demonize the Protests to Attract Europe’s Attention” (“Власть демонизирует протесты, чтобы привлечь внимание Европы”), Vedomosti.md reports on the events in the center of Chisinau and in the town of Comrat. The text is a series of the journalist’s personal opinions with elements of on-the-spot reporting. At the same time, in a number of cases, the newsroom refers to unverifiable sources: “At the public channels in Moldova, the opinion is increasingly being spread that the protest organizers coordinate all the activities with the government, and the protesters are merely being used in this game” (“В молдавских пабликах все чаще высказывают мнение о том, что организаторы протестов координируют свои действия с властью, а рядовых участников акции используют «втемную»”). The authors also resort to mixing  facts and opinions: “The authorities, as usual, have declared that the hand of Moscow is behind these protests, mentioning Sor and Plahotniuc, and, in the same usual manner, have provided no evidence why Sor is the hand of Moscow, not of Israel” (“Власть привычно объявила, что за этим стоит рука Кремля, ссылаясь на Шора и Плахотнюка, и так же привычно не представила никаких доказательств того, почему Шор – это рука Москвы, а не Израиля”).

On March 14, Vedomosti.md published a news item titled “Foreigners Dressed as Moldovan Carabineers Ensure Public Order at the Protests” (“Иностранцы, переодетые в молдавских карабинеров, охраняют порядок на протестах”). The text includes a statement – with a reference to the Telegram channels – that “Maia Sandu’s regime (labeling) involves foreigners in the peaceful protests in Chisinau” (in Russian: “режим Майи Санду задействует иностранцев на мирных протестах в Кишиневе”) suggesting that the government is implicitly guided by some external forces (suggestion). The entire material is a combination of facts mixed with opinions, for instance: “On the same day of March 13, the eyewitnesses noticed a sturdy man wearing a mask who admitted that he ‘didn’t speak Romanian’ but detained the protestors for some reason” (“В тот же день 13 марта очевидцы зафиксировали мужчину крепкого телосложения в маске, который признал, что «don’t speak Romanian», но почему-то задерживал людей на митинге”); “Why doesn’t the ISS react? Please show us the employment contracts for the girl with a Romanian accent and the gentleman who doesn’t speak Romanian” (“Почему СИБ не реагирует? Трудовые контракты девушки с румынским акцентом и мистера, который не говорит по-румынски, – в студию”).

On March 15, the newsroom published a material titled “The ‘Good People’ Themselves Create a Pretext for Anti-Russian Statements” (“Хорошие люди» сами создают повод для антироссийских деклараций”). It is placed in the category of “Politics,” but looks more like an opinion-based item, without being properly marked. Among the multiple cases of mixing facts and opinions, some cases of labeling: “The DA Platform, which has transformed from the opposition party into a the party which keeps doing what PAS says, joins the game” (orig., “В игру вступила Платформа DA, которая из оппозиционной превратилась в подтанцовку для PAS”) and irony: “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” („Российские диверсанты вербовали инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) can also be identified.

In the last material dated March 16, which is also included in the category of “Politics,” the authors analyze an opinion article by Anatol Taranu for IPN, in which he discusses the particularities and differences between the protests in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. In this text, Vedomosti.md also resorts to mixing facts with opinions.

Accent TV

On March 11-18, the A-tv.md published 23 news items. The newsroom covered the two protests in a biased and unbalanced manner. In all 23 materials, Accent TV covers the information from the point of view of the Sor Party, presenting the protest organizers and the Movement for the People positively, and the governance, the police of the Republic of Moldova, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu negatively. All the 23 materials were taken from the other platforms, yet the primary sources were referred to. In more than half of them – 13 news items – the journalists republished the entire press releases by the Sor Party (posted on Partidulsor.md), and mentioned at the end: “At the time of broadcasting this news items, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and PAS have not commented upon Marina Tauber’s statements”; “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, the GPI, and the PAS have not commented upon the information reported in the press release by the ‘SOR’ Party”, “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon Ilan Sor’s statements.” Such an approach does not comply with the rules of professional deontology. The press has the mission to request and ensure the right to reply to the persons concerned.

Accent TV did the same thing, borrowing the news from other media platforms. For instance, on March 13, the editorial board published three news items written after the participation of Marina Tauber, vice-president of the Sor Party, in the “Tema” show broadcast by Primul in Moldova TV channel. In the context of this news item, Marina Tauber blamed and criticized President Maia Sandu, the Government, and the PAS. The newsroom did not request the opinion of the persons concerned, remarking that, “at the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, the PAS, and the MIA have not commented on the statements made by Marina Tauber during the show.” Some news items were written based on the posts/ opinions published on Facebook or Telegram social networks by Marina Tauber, Ion Chicu, the Police of the Republic of Moldova, or the Movement for the People. The articles end with the same note: “At the time of writing this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon the statements…”

At the same time, while covering the two protests, Accent TV avoided mentioning certain context-specific events, details, and/or information (omission and blurring technique). For instance, it provided no information on the apprehensions of protesters who had silent weapons; the attempts to destabilize the country countered by the police; the attempts to turn the protests into violent actions; minors’ participation in the protests, etc.

Pervii Pridnestrovskii

In the newscastof March 13, Pervii Pridnestrovskii broadcast a news item titled “Protests in Moldova: Clashes with the Police” (“Протесты в Молдове: столкновения с полицией”). The material lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds informs us about the protests in Chisinau organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. Pervii Pridnestrovskii emphasizes that the situation in the Republic of Moldova is rather tense, the protesters were intimidated and assaulted by the police of the Republic of Moldova, their trip and access to Chisinau were restricted, the population of the ATU of Gagauzia is extremely dissatisfied with the governance in Chisinau, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs blames the Russian Federation for the destabilization. At the same time, Pervii Pridnestrovskii commits other deontological breaches:

• reference to unverifiable sources: “Moldovan media outlets write that over 50 persons have been detained”;
• lack of right to reply. The central authorities of the Republic of Moldova were accused of the complicated situation in the country and growing prices, including those for public utility services. The newsroom’s mission was to ensure the right to reply to those concerned, yet it did not happen.

Besides, in the newscast of March 16, Pervii Pridnestrovskii used the title: “Sandu Complains to the USA about the Russian Federation” (“Санду пожаловалась США на Россию”). The news item covers the visit of Dereck J. Hogan, the former US ambassador, to the Republic of Moldova. The journalists from Pervii Pridnestrovskii, while informing the audience about the meeting between the American official and President Maia Sandu, emphasized that the head of the state “…complained about Russia to the USA” (“… пожаловалась США на Россию”) (mixture of facts and opinions). In the same news item, the newsroom also mentions that, “…at the same time, protests continue in Moldova. Today, people from the entire country have been trying to get to Chisinau to join the protest, and the police have blocked the roads. The people of Moldova demand lower prices for public utility services and a better life” (generalization).

Dnestr TV

On March 11-18, the Dnestr TV channel portal published a news item on the monitored topic, based on the information from RIA Novosti and Sputniknews.ru.The newsroom favors the Sor Party and the organizers of the protests of March 12, providing the opinions of the organizers and the statements made by Ilan Sor, without ensuring the right to reply to those mentioned and/or accused (e.g., Chisinau Government). Dnestr TV also resorts to:

• generalization: “According to the experts, ordinary consumers’ gas debts in Chisinau have increased seven times since last November” (“По оценке экспертов, в Кишиневе долги по оплате газа у рядовых потребителей увеличились с ноября прошлого года в семь раз”);
• reference to unverifiable sources: “Many polls demonstrate that almost 60% of the country’s population doubt the ability of the PAS as the ruling party to keep the power for another three years” (“Многочисленные опросы показывают, что около 60% населения страны сомневаются в возможности правящей партии “Действие и солидарность”удержаться у власти еще три года…”).

Gagauzinfo.md

On March 11-18, Gagauzinfo.md published seven news items on the topic monitored in this case study. Four of them were published on March 13 and referred to the protests organized in Chisinau and Comrat on March 12, the opinion of the PAS on the protests of the Sor Party, possible involvement of Russia in coordinating the protests, and Marina Tauber’s statements regarding physical aggression from the head of the GPI. The other three news published on March 15, 16, and 17 referred to the actions of the police blocking the protests and flashmobs organized by the Sor Party and Prime Minister Dorin Recean’s statement on his refusal to meet with the authors of the petition who demanded from the Government to entirely pay the citizens’ bills for the winter months. Almost all the news were based on the information from other media institutions, including Sputniknews.ru, Newsmaker.md, Govoritmoskva.ru, Point.md, Rupor.md, Protv.md, and Realitatea.md.

Gagauzinfo.md also resorts to:

• mixing facts and opinions: “The protesters expressed their indignation by the fact that the compensation provided by the Government and widely promoted by the country’s authorities virtually does not save the people who have to choose whether to spend money on paying their bills or buying some food” (“Участники протеста выразили негодование тем, что широко разрекламированные властями страны компенсации от правительства практически не спасают людей, которые вынуждены выбирать – тратить деньги на счета или на пропитание”);
• false information: “Deputy Ilia Uzun recalled that it had taken Russia 70 years to build factories, plants, roads, and hospitals in Moldova, whereas ‘the EU has done nothing’ in more than 30 years of the country’s independence” (Russian, “Депутат Народного собрания Илья Узун напомнил, что за 70 лет Россия отстроила в Молдове фабрики, заводы, дороги, больницы и поликлиники, тогда как за 30 лет независимости страны “Европейский союз не сделал ничего”). The journalist was supposed to disprove these statements, either by offering the right of reply to those mentioned/accused (the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova) or by providing contextual information to present alternative data proving that this statement is nothing more than a fake;
• reversing the course of a news item by emphasizing certain (secondary) elements in order to intentionally highlight them at the expense of the others (the essential ones) which should have actually been placed in the beginning of the story. For instance, in a news item, journalists from md started the material by emphasizing the statements made by a Russian official, who affirms that the affirmation by Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, claiming that Russia was supposedly behind the protests, was false. According to the logic of the events, the news should have started with the fact that the Moldovan authorities declared that Russia was supposedly involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova by destabilizing the situation, and after that, the Russian authorities had to be offered the right to reply;
• lack of right of reply. In one of the news items, the editorial board mentions Marina Tauber’s statements according to which Viorel Cernauteanu used physical aggression against her during the protests of March 12. The right of reply was not provided.

Primul in Moldova

In case of Primul in Moldova TV channel, two “Vremuri Bune 2023” newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On the one hand, Primul in Moldova presents the Sor Party and the protesters in an exclusively positive light, and on the other hand, it shows the PAS, the Government, the police of the Republic of Moldova, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light. Therefore, by presenting the information in this way, Primul in Moldova used, on the one hand, the internal enemy technique, blaming the Government, the Police, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu for the complicated situation in the country and, subtly, the external enemy technique, suggesting that the United States of America and the European Union supported the government in Chisinau, but also applied double standards to the protests in Georgia versus those in the Republic of Moldova. Besides, the “National Savior technique” could be noted, as the Sor Party, Marina Tauber, Ilan Sor, and the Russian Federation were praised for struggling for people and supporting them.

In the newscast of March 12, Primul in Moldova broadcast five news items which opened the edition and had a total duration of 26 minutes (circa 70% of the 37-minute newscast). The news covered the demonstration in Chisinau (“Another Protest in Chisinau”), Moldovan and Russian officials’ comments on the protests (“Reactions to Sunday’s Protest”), actions of the police on the country’s roads (“Chaos on the Highways,” “Left without License Plates”), reactions to the protests on the social networks (“Social Networks on the Protests”). Primul in Moldova has committed several deontological breaches, including:

• biased selection of statements. The representatives of the Sor Party, the Russian Federation, and the protesters had direct, complex, and exhaustive statements placed in the specific context, while the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS had brief, blurred, and general quotes which sometimes were taken out of context. For instance, Marina Tauber and Dinu Turcanu, President of Orhei District, had direct statements of about 2 minutes each, whereas Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament, was quoted for about 25 seconds, and his statement was taken from Facebook;
• lack of right to reply. The TV channel did not offer the right of reply to the head of the GPI who was accused of physical aggression by Marina Tauber;
• blurring information: “The Euronews portal published an article on Sunday mentioning that the USA accused Russia of intending to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to overthrow the European Government in Chisinau.” In fact, on the same day of March 12, during a press conference, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, made a statement about the destabilization planned by Russia, and also mentioned a scheme set up by the special services of the Russian Federation and the detention of some organizers which was related to these issues. Primul in Moldova omits this information;
• mixing facts and opinions: “A true chaos was created yesterday on the highways of the entire country. It started after the police turned the buses full of people who intended to arrive in the capital to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People off the road. In spite of that, some protestors took part in the event. During a press briefing, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, said that several vehicles had been stopped due to some irregularities in the documents, while the others continued their way unhindered. From the images posted on social networks, it is obvious that these were not just a few vehicles”;
• reference to unverifiable sources: “… several videos in which people expressed their discontent have appeared in the public space”;
• missing sources of video images. In almost all the cases, Primul in Moldova does not include the source of the video images taken and broadcast;
• suggestion: “…and the driver of a bus going from Cantemir District to Chisinau with almost 50 passengers on board almost got into an accident. His bus had a flat tire after some nails which had inexplicably appeared on the route punctured it”;
• biased selection of opinions expressed on social networks. In one of the news, the journalists from Primul in Moldova quoted only the posts and comments on Facebook or Telegram channels which support the protests and have an anti-government attitude, making it clear that the protests were presumably supported by most citizens;
• tendentious headlines. “Chaos on the Highways.”

In the newscast of March 16, Primul in Moldova broadcast two news items with a total broadcasting time of eight minutes out of 35 (circa 23% of the newscast). In both of them, the reporters covered the protests in front of the legislative authority (“Another Protest in the Capital”) and the actions of the police documenting those who had arrived in Chisinau to join the event (“Blocked on the Route”). Primul in Moldova resorts to:

• lack of right to reply. “Thousands of people have protested today in the center of the capital, demanding from the governance to fully pay the population’s bills for the winter months,” Marina Tauber stated that the authorities were breaching the right to freedom of expression; Dinu Turcanu affirms that today, over 90% of those who intended to join the peaceful protest here in the heart of the capital were turned away by the police. Primul in Moldova does not offer the right of reply to those mentioned or accused;
• mixing facts and opinions: “The chaos does not cease on the highways in the country. Again, the police stopped the buses with protesters from different districts of the country which were on their way to the capital in order to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People”;
• missing sources of video images. Primul in Moldova does not mention the source of the video images.

TV6/Orizont TV

In the case of TV6/Orizont TV the newscasts in Romanian dated March 13 and 16 were monitored. The media outlet favored the Sor Party and presented the governance, the police, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light (the head of state was not offered the right to reply in the news in which she was mentioned). The TV channel’s approach was similar to that of Primul in Moldova newsroom: the same sequence of items in the newscast; a similar approach; largely similar titles, sources, and statements.

In the newscast of March 13, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast four news items about the previous day’s protests which accounted for half of the newscast (23 minutes out of a total of 45 minutes). TV6/Orizont TV resorts to:

• The journalists mention the police announcement that some provocateurs could be among the protest participants, which was followed by the quotes from some protesters who affirmed that they had not arrived there to start any provocations and were only intending to protest, mentioning that they only had their personal items with them. However, TV6/Orizont TV does not mention the persons detained during the protest who had silent weapons with them and were later taken to the police station;
• biased selection of statements. The Sor Party representatives and the protesters had complex, exhaustive statements which were presented in an appropriate context, whereas the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS were quoted with brief and general statements;
• The news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police” was placed at the end of the newscast, separately from the other items regarding the protests. TV6/Orizont TV thus makes an impression that it intended to separate the information about the protests from that about the detained persons, as well as suggests that discovering the group and detention of several persons had nothing in common with the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People;
• In the news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police”, the newsroom remarks: “At the same time, the head of the GPI says that the detained persons presumably have connections with the opposition political parties’ representatives and some protest organizers, but does not mention any names or political formations while speaking about alleged connections.” Later, the media outlet quoted the reply by Marina Tauber: “these are insinuations,” and the Sor Party is not involved in this case, and a quote by the representative of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Djabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the upper house of the Russian Parliament), who denies that Moscow is behind these destabilization attempts. Thus, judging by the way the news item was constructed, and also by the emphasis made by the journalists, the newsroom suggests that either the head of the GPI is lying or that it could be a scenario arranged by the police.

In the newscast of March 16, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast two news items on the topic, with a broadcasting time of 10 minutes and 40 seconds out of a total of 25 minutes. The information regarding the protest was presented in the light of:

1. the announcement about Alexandru Nesterovschi’s leaving the parliamentary fraction of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS), joining the Movement for the People, and taking part in the protest in front of the legislative authority, demanding from the Government “to pay the bills for the winter months”;
2. the protests announced for March 21 by the Patronage Association of Auto Transport Operators (PAATO) after some representatives of the association were fined and had some restrictions after transporting people to the protest organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 12.

RTR Moldova/Cinema 1

In the newscasts of March 13 and 16, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1 did not cover the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The only remark about the protest on March 16 was in the news that the BCS was preparing a bill to prohibit party switching. The decision was presented in the context of the announcement of Alexandru Nesterovschi’s departure from the BCS parliamentary faction and joining the Movement for the People. Therefore, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, by deciding to avoid covering the topic of the protests, resorts to the omission technique.

NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV

On March 13, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV broadcast a news item reporting about seven men who had been detained two days earlier due to mass disturbances and kept under arrest for 30 days. The newsroom reports that the detainees, according to the head of the GPI, were the leaders of a criminal group and were intending to cause mass destabilization during the protests on March 12. The news item was presented neutrally and impartially, and the editorial board did not commit any deontological breaches while providing the information.

Prime TV

In the case of Prime TV, the main newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On March 13, the TV channel broadcast a seven-minute news item (“A Violent Protest in Chisinau”) about the protest rally organized a day earlier. The editorial board mentioned the detention of over 50 persons, 21 of whom were minors, as well as discovering an internal destabilization plan coordinated by the Russian security services. In the news item lasting 5 minutes and 30 seconds in the newscast of March 16 (“Chaos in the Center of the Capital”), the media outlet covers the protests organized in front of the Parliament and the protesters’ demands to the governance. In both situations, Prime TV presents the information without deontological breaches, in a neutral and impartial manner.

Conclusions

• Most of the monitored media outlets published or broadcast the news about the protests (except RTR Moldova/Cinema 1).
• Such publications as Kp.md and Vedomosti.md had a similar approach to covering the topic of the protests, as well as Primul in Moldova and TV6/Orizont TV channels.
• Several monitored media outlets republished the press releases by the Sor Party posted on the political formation’s website (Accent TV, Vedomosti.md, and Kp.md).
• Almost all the monitored media outlets committed ethical breaches (except Prime TV and NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV).
• The most frequently identified deontological breaches committed by the monitored media outlets are mixing facts and opinions, lack of the right to reply, irony, suggestion, blurred information, reference to unverifiable sources, lack of sources of the video images broadcast, etc.
• The press from the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia had largely the same approach in covering the events, presenting the authorities of the Republic of Moldova in a negative light and the representatives of the Sor Party and the protesters in a positive light.

Victor Gotisan

This case study is an analysis of journalistic materials published and/or broadcast on March 11-18, 2023, by 11 media outlets which covered the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People in Chisinau and the other localities of the country on March 12 and 16, 2023. The monitored topics included eventual attempts of internal destabilization, the police activity during the protests, the statements of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, and other issues related to the topic of the protests.

CONTEXT

On March 3, 2023, during a press conference, the Movement for the People consisting of the Sor Party, the “Renastere-Vozrojdenie” Party, the Centrist Union, the “Acasa Construim Europa” Political Party, etc., announced an anti-government protest to be held on March 12. According to its organizers, the current government has not tried to find any relevant solutions to the well-grounded demands from the citizens who do not have enough money to pay the high tariffs for heating in the cold season. A few days after the announcement, several formations which were the members of the Movement for the People announced they were refusing and would not participate in the protest.

On March 12, protests were organized both in Chisinau and in the other localities of the country. At the same time, the organizers accused the police of intimidating the protesters and restricting their trip to Chisinau to join in the protests in the capital. Later, on March 14, the Sor Party/Movement for the People announced another protest to be held on March 16, in front of the Parliament, and asked the deputies to adopt a legal framework for completely paying the citizens’ bills for the winter months. During both protests, there were several clashes between the police and the protesters. According to the law enforcement officers, more than 50 persons, including minors, were detained.

Monitoring period: March 11-18, 2023

Subject of the study: news on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People

Media outlets monitored: Kp.md, Vedomosti.md, A-tv.md, Pervii Pridnestrovskii, Dnestr TV, Gagauzinfo.md, Primul in Moldova, Prime TV, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, TV6/Orizont TV, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV news portals.

Kp.md

On March 11-18, 2023, Kp.md published ten materials on the topic of the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The newsroom covered the information in a biased and unbalanced manner. Most of the articles were completely borrowed from the Sor Party press releases, often without any references to the primary source.

On March 11, Kp.md published a press release entirely taken from the formation’s website: “The Current Governance Keeps Doing Everything Possible to Prohibit the Protests on Sunday, March 12, in Chisinau” (orig., „Нынешняя власть делает все возможное, чтобы помешать воскресному митингу, 12 марта, в Кишиневе”). Kp.md included the reference to the “Source” (“Источник”) providing a link to the press release only at the end of the material, but without mentioning it explicitly (e.g. Source: Sor Party).

On March 12, Kp.md published three materials. In one of them, the newsroom mentions that, “in Moldova, the police was taken out since early morning by Maia Sandu’s regime to block the protests of the Movement for the People” (orig., “В Молдове полиция выведена режимом Майи Санду прямо с утра для блокирования манифестации Движения Для Народа”), which is a mixture of facts and opinions. At the same time, by the wording “Maia Sandu’s regime,” the newsroom resorts to the internal enemy manipulation technique, suggesting that the president of the Republic of Moldova is to blame for the issues the country is currently facing. Other identified breaches include:

• mixing facts and opinions: “Cases of unprecedented abuses by Maia Sandu’s regime. The police was massively mobilized to prevent a peaceful protest planned in the capital by the Movement for the People” (“Беспрецедентные злоупотребления со стороны режима Майи Санду. Полиция была массово мобилизована для предотвращения мирной манифестации, которую планирует провести в столице Движение Для Народа”);
• lack of right of reply: “People expressed their indignation regarding the negligence of Maia Sandu’s regime towards human rights in our country and believers. They affirmed that, a week ago, the police allowed conducting a feminist march which included gay and lesbian participants, but prevented a peaceful protest of the majority of the population driven to the streets by poverty” (“Люди выражали возмущение по поводу пренебрежительного отношения режима Майи Санду к правам человека в нашей стране и к верующим. Они заявляли, что неделю назад полиция разрешила феминистский марш, в котором участвовали геи и лесбиянки, но не разрешает мирную манифестацию большинства населения, которое на улицу гонит нищета”).

Two other materials published on the same day (1, 2) by Kp.md were press releases by the Sor Party, at the end of which the newsroom referred to the source and included the relevant links. In a text dated March 13, the portal wrote about the protests organized on March 12 and “the police restrictions for the protesters from various localities of the country.” This material was largely based on a Sor Party press release without referring to the primary source.

The following day, Kp.md published two articles on the monitored topic. One news item announces the protest planned by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 16, during which the organizers intended to publish a resolution/draft law demanding from the Government to pay for all the public utility services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The second article was another press release from the Sor Party informing that the authors of the resolution requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dorin Recean. Only in the second material, Kp.md mentioned the source and included the link at last. On March 15, Kp.md also borrowed a press release from the Sor Party’s website, mentioning the source, in which Ilan Sor, the head of the formation, urged the public to join the protest to be held by the Movement for the People on March 16. On the day of the protest, the newsroom republished another material from the Sor Party’s website which reported about the protests organized in Chisinau. In this case, Kp.md mentions the primary source with the link.

Most of the published materials mentioned either the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) or President Maia Sandu. The newsroom did not offer the right of reply in any of these cases (lack of right to reply).

Moldavskie Vedomosti

Vedomosti.md published eight materials on the monitored topic, one of which was republished and seven were prepared independently – four news items, one report, and two opinion materials (not marked properly). Three news items dated March 12 (including an item entirely borrowed from Rupor.md, mentioning the source), covered the events of the protests in Chisinau, Balti, and Soroca. In one case, there were several elements of mixing facts and opinions, for instance: “As a result of today’s protest, we don’t expect anything to change – neither the authorities’ crazy course, nor the stupid attempts to control the budgets for the protests. That is, behind the wave of accusations of destabilization, a fairly authentic Moldovan stability is concealed. We would like everything to be different, we wish the government could stop acting like a bunch of morons, and the protest against the moron-like government could yield its results and make the government act at least in a little less moron-like way, but not currently, maybe some other time” (“По итогам сегодняшнего протеста по-прежнему не ждём никаких изменений – ни в дебильном курсе власти, ни в бестолковых попытках освоить бюджеты на протесты. То есть, за вуалью обвинений в дестабилизации скрывается вполне себе аутентичная молдавская стабильность. Хотелось бы, чтобы всё было иначе, чтобы и власть не была дебильной, и протесты против дебильной власти давали результаты и делали власть хотя бы чуть менее дебильной, но не в этот, очередной, раз”).

On March 13, Vedomosti.md published two materials. “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” (“Российские диверсанты вербовали в Кишиневе инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) is a rhetorical title of one of them. The editorial board speaks ironically about the authorities in this report, suggesting that the protesters were mostly retired people, whereas the government regarded them as infiltrators. In the second material titled “The Authorities Demonize the Protests to Attract Europe’s Attention” (“Власть демонизирует протесты, чтобы привлечь внимание Европы”), Vedomosti.md reports on the events in the center of Chisinau and in the town of Comrat. The text is a series of the journalist’s personal opinions with elements of on-the-spot reporting. At the same time, in a number of cases, the newsroom refers to unverifiable sources: “At the public channels in Moldova, the opinion is increasingly being spread that the protest organizers coordinate all the activities with the government, and the protesters are merely being used in this game” (“В молдавских пабликах все чаще высказывают мнение о том, что организаторы протестов координируют свои действия с властью, а рядовых участников акции используют «втемную»”). The authors also resort to mixing  facts and opinions: “The authorities, as usual, have declared that the hand of Moscow is behind these protests, mentioning Sor and Plahotniuc, and, in the same usual manner, have provided no evidence why Sor is the hand of Moscow, not of Israel” (“Власть привычно объявила, что за этим стоит рука Кремля, ссылаясь на Шора и Плахотнюка, и так же привычно не представила никаких доказательств того, почему Шор – это рука Москвы, а не Израиля”).

On March 14, Vedomosti.md published a news item titled “Foreigners Dressed as Moldovan Carabineers Ensure Public Order at the Protests” (“Иностранцы, переодетые в молдавских карабинеров, охраняют порядок на протестах”). The text includes a statement – with a reference to the Telegram channels – that “Maia Sandu’s regime (labeling) involves foreigners in the peaceful protests in Chisinau” (in Russian: “режим Майи Санду задействует иностранцев на мирных протестах в Кишиневе”) suggesting that the government is implicitly guided by some external forces (suggestion). The entire material is a combination of facts mixed with opinions, for instance: “On the same day of March 13, the eyewitnesses noticed a sturdy man wearing a mask who admitted that he ‘didn’t speak Romanian’ but detained the protestors for some reason” (“В тот же день 13 марта очевидцы зафиксировали мужчину крепкого телосложения в маске, который признал, что «don’t speak Romanian», но почему-то задерживал людей на митинге”); “Why doesn’t the ISS react? Please show us the employment contracts for the girl with a Romanian accent and the gentleman who doesn’t speak Romanian” (“Почему СИБ не реагирует? Трудовые контракты девушки с румынским акцентом и мистера, который не говорит по-румынски, – в студию”).

On March 15, the newsroom published a material titled “The ‘Good People’ Themselves Create a Pretext for Anti-Russian Statements” (“Хорошие люди» сами создают повод для антироссийских деклараций”). It is placed in the category of “Politics,” but looks more like an opinion-based item, without being properly marked. Among the multiple cases of mixing facts and opinions, some cases of labeling: “The DA Platform, which has transformed from the opposition party into a the party which keeps doing what PAS says, joins the game” (orig., “В игру вступила Платформа DA, которая из оппозиционной превратилась в подтанцовку для PAS”) and irony: “Have Russian Infiltrators Been Recruiting Persons with Disabilities from Chisinau to Create Chaos?” („Российские диверсанты вербовали инвалидов для создания хаоса?”) can also be identified.

In the last material dated March 16, which is also included in the category of “Politics,” the authors analyze an opinion article by Anatol Taranu for IPN, in which he discusses the particularities and differences between the protests in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. In this text, Vedomosti.md also resorts to mixing facts with opinions.

Accent TV

On March 11-18, the A-tv.md published 23 news items. The newsroom covered the two protests in a biased and unbalanced manner. In all 23 materials, Accent TV covers the information from the point of view of the Sor Party, presenting the protest organizers and the Movement for the People positively, and the governance, the police of the Republic of Moldova, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu negatively. All the 23 materials were taken from the other platforms, yet the primary sources were referred to. In more than half of them – 13 news items – the journalists republished the entire press releases by the Sor Party (posted on Partidulsor.md), and mentioned at the end: “At the time of broadcasting this news items, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and PAS have not commented upon Marina Tauber’s statements”; “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, the GPI, and the PAS have not commented upon the information reported in the press release by the ‘SOR’ Party”, “At the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Parliament, the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon Ilan Sor’s statements.” Such an approach does not comply with the rules of professional deontology. The press has the mission to request and ensure the right to reply to the persons concerned.

Accent TV did the same thing, borrowing the news from other media platforms. For instance, on March 13, the editorial board published three news items written after the participation of Marina Tauber, vice-president of the Sor Party, in the “Tema” show broadcast by Primul in Moldova TV channel. In the context of this news item, Marina Tauber blamed and criticized President Maia Sandu, the Government, and the PAS. The newsroom did not request the opinion of the persons concerned, remarking that, “at the time of broadcasting this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, the PAS, and the MIA have not commented on the statements made by Marina Tauber during the show.” Some news items were written based on the posts/ opinions published on Facebook or Telegram social networks by Marina Tauber, Ion Chicu, the Police of the Republic of Moldova, or the Movement for the People. The articles end with the same note: “At the time of writing this news item, the press services of the Government, the Presidency, and the PAS have not commented upon the statements…”

At the same time, while covering the two protests, Accent TV avoided mentioning certain context-specific events, details, and/or information (omission and blurring technique). For instance, it provided no information on the apprehensions of protesters who had silent weapons; the attempts to destabilize the country countered by the police; the attempts to turn the protests into violent actions; minors’ participation in the protests, etc.

Pervii Pridnestrovskii

In the newscastof March 13, Pervii Pridnestrovskii broadcast a news item titled “Protests in Moldova: Clashes with the Police” (“Протесты в Молдове: столкновения с полицией”). The material lasting 2 minutes and 30 seconds informs us about the protests in Chisinau organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. Pervii Pridnestrovskii emphasizes that the situation in the Republic of Moldova is rather tense, the protesters were intimidated and assaulted by the police of the Republic of Moldova, their trip and access to Chisinau were restricted, the population of the ATU of Gagauzia is extremely dissatisfied with the governance in Chisinau, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs blames the Russian Federation for the destabilization. At the same time, Pervii Pridnestrovskii commits other deontological breaches:

• reference to unverifiable sources: “Moldovan media outlets write that over 50 persons have been detained”;
• lack of right to reply. The central authorities of the Republic of Moldova were accused of the complicated situation in the country and growing prices, including those for public utility services. The newsroom’s mission was to ensure the right to reply to those concerned, yet it did not happen.

Besides, in the newscast of March 16, Pervii Pridnestrovskii used the title: “Sandu Complains to the USA about the Russian Federation” (“Санду пожаловалась США на Россию”). The news item covers the visit of Dereck J. Hogan, the former US ambassador, to the Republic of Moldova. The journalists from Pervii Pridnestrovskii, while informing the audience about the meeting between the American official and President Maia Sandu, emphasized that the head of the state “…complained about Russia to the USA” (“… пожаловалась США на Россию”) (mixture of facts and opinions). In the same news item, the newsroom also mentions that, “…at the same time, protests continue in Moldova. Today, people from the entire country have been trying to get to Chisinau to join the protest, and the police have blocked the roads. The people of Moldova demand lower prices for public utility services and a better life” (generalization).

Dnestr TV

On March 11-18, the Dnestr TV channel portal published a news item on the monitored topic, based on the information from RIA Novosti and Sputniknews.ru.The newsroom favors the Sor Party and the organizers of the protests of March 12, providing the opinions of the organizers and the statements made by Ilan Sor, without ensuring the right to reply to those mentioned and/or accused (e.g., Chisinau Government). Dnestr TV also resorts to:

• generalization: “According to the experts, ordinary consumers’ gas debts in Chisinau have increased seven times since last November” (“По оценке экспертов, в Кишиневе долги по оплате газа у рядовых потребителей увеличились с ноября прошлого года в семь раз”);
• reference to unverifiable sources: “Many polls demonstrate that almost 60% of the country’s population doubt the ability of the PAS as the ruling party to keep the power for another three years” (“Многочисленные опросы показывают, что около 60% населения страны сомневаются в возможности правящей партии “Действие и солидарность”удержаться у власти еще три года…”).

Gagauzinfo.md

On March 11-18, Gagauzinfo.md published seven news items on the topic monitored in this case study. Four of them were published on March 13 and referred to the protests organized in Chisinau and Comrat on March 12, the opinion of the PAS on the protests of the Sor Party, possible involvement of Russia in coordinating the protests, and Marina Tauber’s statements regarding physical aggression from the head of the GPI. The other three news published on March 15, 16, and 17 referred to the actions of the police blocking the protests and flashmobs organized by the Sor Party and Prime Minister Dorin Recean’s statement on his refusal to meet with the authors of the petition who demanded from the Government to entirely pay the citizens’ bills for the winter months. Almost all the news were based on the information from other media institutions, including Sputniknews.ru, Newsmaker.md, Govoritmoskva.ru, Point.md, Rupor.md, Protv.md, and Realitatea.md.

Gagauzinfo.md also resorts to:

• mixing facts and opinions: “The protesters expressed their indignation by the fact that the compensation provided by the Government and widely promoted by the country’s authorities virtually does not save the people who have to choose whether to spend money on paying their bills or buying some food” (“Участники протеста выразили негодование тем, что широко разрекламированные властями страны компенсации от правительства практически не спасают людей, которые вынуждены выбирать – тратить деньги на счета или на пропитание”);
• false information: “Deputy Ilia Uzun recalled that it had taken Russia 70 years to build factories, plants, roads, and hospitals in Moldova, whereas ‘the EU has done nothing’ in more than 30 years of the country’s independence” (Russian, “Депутат Народного собрания Илья Узун напомнил, что за 70 лет Россия отстроила в Молдове фабрики, заводы, дороги, больницы и поликлиники, тогда как за 30 лет независимости страны “Европейский союз не сделал ничего”). The journalist was supposed to disprove these statements, either by offering the right of reply to those mentioned/accused (the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova) or by providing contextual information to present alternative data proving that this statement is nothing more than a fake;
• reversing the course of a news item by emphasizing certain (secondary) elements in order to intentionally highlight them at the expense of the others (the essential ones) which should have actually been placed in the beginning of the story. For instance, in a news item, journalists from md started the material by emphasizing the statements made by a Russian official, who affirms that the affirmation by Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, claiming that Russia was supposedly behind the protests, was false. According to the logic of the events, the news should have started with the fact that the Moldovan authorities declared that Russia was supposedly involved in the internal affairs of the Republic of Moldova by destabilizing the situation, and after that, the Russian authorities had to be offered the right to reply;
• lack of right of reply. In one of the news items, the editorial board mentions Marina Tauber’s statements according to which Viorel Cernauteanu used physical aggression against her during the protests of March 12. The right of reply was not provided.

Primul in Moldova

In case of Primul in Moldova TV channel, two “Vremuri Bune 2023” newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On the one hand, Primul in Moldova presents the Sor Party and the protesters in an exclusively positive light, and on the other hand, it shows the PAS, the Government, the police of the Republic of Moldova, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light. Therefore, by presenting the information in this way, Primul in Moldova used, on the one hand, the internal enemy technique, blaming the Government, the Police, the PAS, and President Maia Sandu for the complicated situation in the country and, subtly, the external enemy technique, suggesting that the United States of America and the European Union supported the government in Chisinau, but also applied double standards to the protests in Georgia versus those in the Republic of Moldova. Besides, the “National Savior technique” could be noted, as the Sor Party, Marina Tauber, Ilan Sor, and the Russian Federation were praised for struggling for people and supporting them.

In the newscast of March 12, Primul in Moldova broadcast five news items which opened the edition and had a total duration of 26 minutes (circa 70% of the 37-minute newscast). The news covered the demonstration in Chisinau (“Another Protest in Chisinau”), Moldovan and Russian officials’ comments on the protests (“Reactions to Sunday’s Protest”), actions of the police on the country’s roads (“Chaos on the Highways,” “Left without License Plates”), reactions to the protests on the social networks (“Social Networks on the Protests”). Primul in Moldova has committed several deontological breaches, including:

• biased selection of statements. The representatives of the Sor Party, the Russian Federation, and the protesters had direct, complex, and exhaustive statements placed in the specific context, while the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS had brief, blurred, and general quotes which sometimes were taken out of context. For instance, Marina Tauber and Dinu Turcanu, President of Orhei District, had direct statements of about 2 minutes each, whereas Igor Grosu, President of the Parliament, was quoted for about 25 seconds, and his statement was taken from Facebook;
• lack of right to reply. The TV channel did not offer the right of reply to the head of the GPI who was accused of physical aggression by Marina Tauber;
• blurring information: “The Euronews portal published an article on Sunday mentioning that the USA accused Russia of intending to destabilize the situation in Moldova in order to overthrow the European Government in Chisinau.” In fact, on the same day of March 12, during a press conference, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, made a statement about the destabilization planned by Russia, and also mentioned a scheme set up by the special services of the Russian Federation and the detention of some organizers which was related to these issues. Primul in Moldova omits this information;
• mixing facts and opinions: “A true chaos was created yesterday on the highways of the entire country. It started after the police turned the buses full of people who intended to arrive in the capital to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People off the road. In spite of that, some protestors took part in the event. During a press briefing, Viorel Cernauteanu, the head of the GPI, said that several vehicles had been stopped due to some irregularities in the documents, while the others continued their way unhindered. From the images posted on social networks, it is obvious that these were not just a few vehicles”;
• reference to unverifiable sources: “… several videos in which people expressed their discontent have appeared in the public space”;
• missing sources of video images. In almost all the cases, Primul in Moldova does not include the source of the video images taken and broadcast;
• suggestion: “…and the driver of a bus going from Cantemir District to Chisinau with almost 50 passengers on board almost got into an accident. His bus had a flat tire after some nails which had inexplicably appeared on the route punctured it”;
• biased selection of opinions expressed on social networks. In one of the news, the journalists from Primul in Moldova quoted only the posts and comments on Facebook or Telegram channels which support the protests and have an anti-government attitude, making it clear that the protests were presumably supported by most citizens;
• tendentious headlines. “Chaos on the Highways.”

In the newscast of March 16, Primul in Moldova broadcast two news items with a total broadcasting time of eight minutes out of 35 (circa 23% of the newscast). In both of them, the reporters covered the protests in front of the legislative authority (“Another Protest in the Capital”) and the actions of the police documenting those who had arrived in Chisinau to join the event (“Blocked on the Route”). Primul in Moldova resorts to:

• lack of right to reply. “Thousands of people have protested today in the center of the capital, demanding from the governance to fully pay the population’s bills for the winter months,” Marina Tauber stated that the authorities were breaching the right to freedom of expression; Dinu Turcanu affirms that today, over 90% of those who intended to join the peaceful protest here in the heart of the capital were turned away by the police. Primul in Moldova does not offer the right of reply to those mentioned or accused;
• mixing facts and opinions: “The chaos does not cease on the highways in the country. Again, the police stopped the buses with protesters from different districts of the country which were on their way to the capital in order to join the protest organized by the Movement for the People”;
• missing sources of video images. Primul in Moldova does not mention the source of the video images.

TV6/Orizont TV

In the case of TV6/Orizont TV the newscasts in Romanian dated March 13 and 16 were monitored. The media outlet favored the Sor Party and presented the governance, the police, and President Maia Sandu in a negative light (the head of state was not offered the right to reply in the news in which she was mentioned). The TV channel’s approach was similar to that of Primul in Moldova newsroom: the same sequence of items in the newscast; a similar approach; largely similar titles, sources, and statements.

In the newscast of March 13, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast four news items about the previous day’s protests which accounted for half of the newscast (23 minutes out of a total of 45 minutes). TV6/Orizont TV resorts to:

• The journalists mention the police announcement that some provocateurs could be among the protest participants, which was followed by the quotes from some protesters who affirmed that they had not arrived there to start any provocations and were only intending to protest, mentioning that they only had their personal items with them. However, TV6/Orizont TV does not mention the persons detained during the protest who had silent weapons with them and were later taken to the police station;
• biased selection of statements. The Sor Party representatives and the protesters had complex, exhaustive statements which were presented in an appropriate context, whereas the representatives of the governance, the police, and the PAS were quoted with brief and general statements;
• The news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police” was placed at the end of the newscast, separately from the other items regarding the protests. TV6/Orizont TV thus makes an impression that it intended to separate the information about the protests from that about the detained persons, as well as suggests that discovering the group and detention of several persons had nothing in common with the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People;
• In the news item titled “A Group Discovered by the Police”, the newsroom remarks: “At the same time, the head of the GPI says that the detained persons presumably have connections with the opposition political parties’ representatives and some protest organizers, but does not mention any names or political formations while speaking about alleged connections.” Later, the media outlet quoted the reply by Marina Tauber: “these are insinuations,” and the Sor Party is not involved in this case, and a quote by the representative of the Russian Federation (Vladimir Djabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, the upper house of the Russian Parliament), who denies that Moscow is behind these destabilization attempts. Thus, judging by the way the news item was constructed, and also by the emphasis made by the journalists, the newsroom suggests that either the head of the GPI is lying or that it could be a scenario arranged by the police.

In the newscast of March 16, TV6/Orizont TV broadcast two news items on the topic, with a broadcasting time of 10 minutes and 40 seconds out of a total of 25 minutes. The information regarding the protest was presented in the light of:

1. the announcement about Alexandru Nesterovschi’s leaving the parliamentary fraction of the Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS), joining the Movement for the People, and taking part in the protest in front of the legislative authority, demanding from the Government “to pay the bills for the winter months”;
2. the protests announced for March 21 by the Patronage Association of Auto Transport Operators (PAATO) after some representatives of the association were fined and had some restrictions after transporting people to the protest organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People on March 12.

RTR Moldova/Cinema 1

In the newscasts of March 13 and 16, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1 did not cover the protests organized by the Sor Party/Movement for the People. The only remark about the protest on March 16 was in the news that the BCS was preparing a bill to prohibit party switching. The decision was presented in the context of the announcement of Alexandru Nesterovschi’s departure from the BCS parliamentary faction and joining the Movement for the People. Therefore, RTR Moldova/Cinema 1, by deciding to avoid covering the topic of the protests, resorts to the omission technique.

NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV

On March 13, NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV broadcast a news item reporting about seven men who had been detained two days earlier due to mass disturbances and kept under arrest for 30 days. The newsroom reports that the detainees, according to the head of the GPI, were the leaders of a criminal group and were intending to cause mass destabilization during the protests on March 12. The news item was presented neutrally and impartially, and the editorial board did not commit any deontological breaches while providing the information.

Prime TV

In the case of Prime TV, the main newscasts of March 13 and 16 were monitored. On March 13, the TV channel broadcast a seven-minute news item (“A Violent Protest in Chisinau”) about the protest rally organized a day earlier. The editorial board mentioned the detention of over 50 persons, 21 of whom were minors, as well as discovering an internal destabilization plan coordinated by the Russian security services. In the news item lasting 5 minutes and 30 seconds in the newscast of March 16 (“Chaos in the Center of the Capital”), the media outlet covers the protests organized in front of the Parliament and the protesters’ demands to the governance. In both situations, Prime TV presents the information without deontological breaches, in a neutral and impartial manner.

Conclusions

• Most of the monitored media outlets published or broadcast the news about the protests (except RTR Moldova/Cinema 1).
• Such publications as Kp.md and Vedomosti.md had a similar approach to covering the topic of the protests, as well as Primul in Moldova and TV6/Orizont TV channels.
• Several monitored media outlets republished the press releases by the Sor Party posted on the political formation’s website (Accent TV, Vedomosti.md, and Kp.md).
• Almost all the monitored media outlets committed ethical breaches (except Prime TV and NTV Moldova/Exclusiv TV).
• The most frequently identified deontological breaches committed by the monitored media outlets are mixing facts and opinions, lack of the right to reply, irony, suggestion, blurred information, reference to unverifiable sources, lack of sources of the video images broadcast, etc.
• The press from the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia had largely the same approach in covering the events, presenting the authorities of the Republic of Moldova in a negative light and the representatives of the Sor Party and the protesters in a positive light.

Victor Gotisan