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In a joint statement eight media NGOs, including the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC), have expressed their concern over the verbal attacks and threats made by the candidate for mayor of Balti, Nicolai Chirilciuc, against the editor of the independent periodical “СП” and the Esp.md portal, Slava Perunov.
According to the editorial staff’s statement, which was confirmed by an audio recording, Chirilciuc was dissatisfied with some of the questions he was asked during the electoral debates organized by Esp.md and thus verbally assaulted Slava Perunov, using licentious and offensive words, labels and insults. Chirilciuc implied that the editorial staff should be loyal to him in the electoral campaign, because he paid for electoral advertising. Moreover, Chirilciuc alluded to a possible physical scuffle with Perunov.
These attacks and threats were condemned and Chirilciuc was asked to stop any attempt to intimidate journalists and influence the editorial policy of the media institution. The signatories expressed its solidarity with Perunov and the “СП” editorial staff and asked the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Balti Police Inspectorate to investigate the case. |
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The IJC has called on the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to continue supervising the execution of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Manole and others v. Moldova, in response to the authorities’ call to cease supervision of the case.
IJC experts believe that national legislation still lacks effective safeguards against interference with the right to freedom of expression by public authorities, political parties, and any other interest groups.
The IJC points out that the government report refers to the fact that the Broadcasting Council (BC) is an autonomous body, but recent changes to the Audiovisual Media Services Code show that the authority is at risk of political influence and that any parliamentary majority can remove BC members from office for “improper execution or non-execution of their duties” or “defective activity.” The IJC experts also believe that placing Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) under parliamentary control could allow direct political interference in the work of the institution.
Under these circumstances, the IJC considers it premature to end the Committee of Ministers’ supervision of the case and recommends additional general measures, inviting the Committee of Ministers to request the Moldovan Government to adopt them.In 2002, journalist Larisa Manole together with eight other TRM employees lodged a complaint against the Republic of Moldova to the ECtHR for violating the right to freedom of expression. According to the complainants, TRM “has been subject to censorship throughout its existence.” In September 2009, the ECHR ruled in their favor. |
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The European Broadcasting Union (EBU/UER) has expressed concern about moving Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) under parliamentary control. This reaction was expressed in an open letter from EBU Director General Noel Curran to the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sport and the Media, Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei.
“We believe that the proposed amendments to directly involve Parliament in the appointment and dismissal (for broad and undefined reasons) of the Director General are a step backwards in ensuring the autonomy and independence of TRM. In addition, a new power for Parliament to dismiss the entire supervisory body (Supervisory and Development Council) each year by rejecting the annual activity report would inevitably put TRM under even more political pressure,” the letter states.
Noel Curran also recalled the case law of the ECtHR, which held in a case directly concerning the governance of TRM (Manole and Others v. Moldova) that states have a positive obligation to implement a legal framework ensuring independence of the public broadcaster from political interference and control.
The EBU letter, published on the TRM website, was sent on November 3, the day before MPs were due to vote on the draft law in its final reading.
The EBU is a worldwide alliance of public service media and has 115 member organizations in 56 countries and 31 associates in Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. |
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President Maia Sandu has backed a bill to bring the state-owned Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) back under parliamentary control, so that the provider “is taken out of Dodon’s [Igor Dodon – former president of Moldova] control” and “we have a BBC of the Republic of Moldova.” Sandu made this statement at a November 19 press conference.
The Head of State said that she had enacted the law so that citizens would benefit from quality services. “We believe that we must have a public television, of the citizens. And this is not only what I say, but also the citizens have expressed their dissatisfaction over time that public money is used to support and finance a television station that works for one politician or another. So, we need to have a BBC of the Republic of Moldova, if you like.”
According to Sandu, it is necessary to watch “what kind of people will be delegated to the management of the institution and how it will change – if it will change well enough, enough.” |
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Parliament rejected the BC’s activity report for 2020 at its November 11 plenary session, after the Media Committee came up with a recommendation and the Legal Committee proposed a draft resolution to that effect.
The activity report, presented by the Chairwoman of the BC, Ala Ursu-Antoci, was harshly criticized by Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) MPs.
The Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on the Media, Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, said that after examining the BC’s activity report, the majority of committee members found that the authority “did not ensure compliance by media service providers and distributors with the requirements of ensuring impartiality, balance and favoring the free formation of opinions in the content of audiovisual programs, especially during the electoral campaigns that took place in 2020.” The members of the Legal, Appointments and Immunities Committee, likewise, examined the draft resolution on the rejection of the BC’s activity report for 2020. The Chairwoman of the Committee, Olesea Stamate, said that the majority of the members voted to approve the draft resolution on the rejection of the BC’s activity report for 2020, citing the reason that the BC members did not perform their work properly.
Bloc of Communists and Socialists (BCS) Deputy Vasile Bolea said in this context that, through this mechanism, the rulers “want to take over” the BC.
The rejection of the activity report of the BC entails the automatic dismissal of the members of the Council when the law comes into force. The bill was adopted by 55 votes of PAS MPs. |
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Ala Ursu-Antoci, the sacked chairwoman of the Broadcasting Council (BC), told the IJC’s Media Azi portal that she will challenge the Parliament’s decision to remove her from her post in court. According to her, the examination of the BC’s activity report was “an abuse.” Twice the same report was heard – once satisfactory, the second time unsatisfactory. It is an abuse, and, in fact, politicians have shown their incompetence,” commented Ursu-Antoci.
She also said that the authority is currently operating without its board members: “The work of the institution is paralyzed.”
Since the adoption of the decision by Parliament (on November 11), the mandates of six members of the BC have expired: Ala Ursu-Antoci, Larisa Manole, Tatiana Buraga, Lidia Viziru, Corneliu Mihalache, and Iulian Rosca.
Previously, the BC activity report for 2020 was examined again at a meeting of the specialized committee. Committee Chair Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei explained that the hearing took place in the context of the new legislative changes which provide for the report to be examined in plenary. Moreover, Nicolaescu-Onofrei noted that the document had not previously been registered in the legislature and no decision had been taken by MPs during the previous examination of the document. |
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In March, the Parliamentary Media Committee (in its old composition) examined the BC activity report and gave it a satisfactory grade. Following the adoption of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Code in November, the new members of the commission repeatedly examined the activity report of the BC and rated it unsatisfactory. This led to the dismissal of the members of the authority – an issue on which experts and lawyers are divided.
Media researcher Aneta Gonta describes the decision of parliamentarians to repeatedly examine the BC’s activity report for 2020 as “logical in the sense of the amendments made to the Audiovisual Media Services Code.” “It is ridiculous, of course, to say in November that this report is bad, and that the BC has not fulfilled its duties properly, after in March the majority of MPs described the situation as ‘satisfactory.’ But then the composition of the Parliamentary Committee was also different,” recalls Gonta.
Lawyer Tatiana Puiu, Freedom House’s Local Representative in Moldova, believes that the MPs’ intention to change the composition of the BC is understandable, as several civil society representatives have expressed their dissatisfaction with the institution’s work. However, she believes that the repeated examination of the report and subsequent dismissal of the members of the authority “raises several questions” and is “problematic,” because the law does not apply retroactively.
Political scientist Denis Cenusa, likewise, believes that “you can’t make changes retroactively by applying newly voted legislation” and that this “will be a black mark against the government.” The Executive Director of the Electronic Press Association (APEL), Ion Bunduchi, referring to the responsibility that the government assumes in the audiovisual field, argues that there is a way, however, that does not require amending the legislation to change things for the better. Bunduchi proposes “delegating to the BC members who are in full compliance with the law (until the Code is amended), who have integrity, are professionals, and have no political affiliation.” |
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The Parliamentary Media Committee has approved seven candidates for membership in the Broadcasting Council (BC). Of the 12 people who submitted applications, only 11 were admitted for hearings (one file was incomplete).
Thus, Ruslan Mihalevschi, nominated by the Moldovan President, and Liliana Vitu-Esanu, recommended by the Moldovan government, were selected for appointment to the BC. Three candidates will represent the Moldovan Parliament – Larisa Turea and Orest Dabija from the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) parliamentary faction and Tatiana Crestenco from the BCS parliamentary faction. Civil society will have two representatives in the Broadcasting Council – Ana Gonta, proposed by the IJC and the Independent Press Association, and Eugeniu Ribca, recommended by the Independent Press Association and Media Guard.
Journalist and politician Valeriu Saharneanu and two former members of TRM’s Supervisory Council, Larisa Calugaru and Alexandru Versinin, failed in their bids for appointment. |
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Three weeks after the legislature passed the bill on the return of the state-owned TRM to parliamentary control, Parliament decided by 81 votes to appoint new members to the TRM SDC. According to the decision, the new SDC will consist of seven members: Arcadie Gherasim and Sergiu Stanciu (proposed by the parliamentary majority); Corneliu Popovici, (proposed by the opposition); and Aurelian Danila, Loretta Handrabura, Cristian Jardan, and Irina Matenco (representing civil society).
The SDC is to propose to Parliament the nomination of the general director of the national public media service provider, who will be appointed for a six-year term.
Parliament’s decision entered into force on the date of adoption. Members of the SDC are appointed for a single six-year term. |
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Teleradio-Moldova’s (TRM) Supervisory and Development Council (SDC) has nominated Vlad Turcanu for the position of general director of the public company TRM, according to the Trm.md website. Six of the seven SDC members voted for his candidacy at the first meeting, which took place on November 29. The information was confirmed to Trm.md by SDC member and Secretary, Sergiu Stanciu, who said that Vlad Turcanu was nominated for the post by the newly elected President of the Council, Arcadie Gherasim. According to Moldovacurata.md, Vlad Turcanu worked at TRM between 1992 and 1999, after which he became marketing director at Radio Contact. In his career, Vlad Turcanu has also worked at Radio Free Europe, served as the editor-in-chief at Radio Chisinau, served as a communication expert for two medical projects of the European Commission, and served as a BC member from 2006 until 2008. In 2009, Turcanu was Development Director of the media program of the American IREX Institute, and in 2010 – Deputy Director of the Mir TV affiliate in Moldova. In 2012, he became a spokesman for former President Nicolae Timofti. In August 2019, Turcanu was appointed leader of the Liberal Reformatory Party, renamed the Romanian People’s Party (PPR). However, in December of the same year, he announced that he was leaving the party “due to differences in vision regarding how the Romanian political axis should be strengthened in the Republic of Moldova.” In early 2020, he was elected first Vice-President of the National Unity Party (PUN), led by former MP Octavian Tlcu. In November of the same year, he left the ranks of PUN and announced his retirement from politics.
Vlad Turcanu holds a degree in Journalism and Communication Sciences from the State University of Moldova.
According to the new amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Code, Parliament appoints the director-general of the national public media service provider, on the proposal of the SDC.
Update: With the vote of 58 MPs (57 from PAS and 1 from BCS) Vlad Turcanu has been appointed, by a Parliament decision of 3 December, to the position of Director General of the national public provider Teleradio-Moldova (TRM). |
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On November 4, an order signed by the Director of the Information and Security Service (ISS) Alexandr Esaulenco requested the blocking of the websites politnavigator.net, politnavigator.news, and aparatorul.md for allegedly publishing fake news related to the energy crisis.
According to ISS, the falsehoods promoted by these portals include the so-called disconnection of districts from electricity, the suspension of electricity supply by the Cuciurgan thermoelectric power plant, the temporary disconnection of the Eternal Fire at the “Eternity” Memorial Complex as a “demonstrative action by the Moldovan authorities in response to Gazprom’s threat to cut off the supply of natural gas,” etc.
On 8 November, the ISS announced that it had identified the website geopolitika.ro as having promoted false information. “The new power in Chisinau has decided to risk Moldovans freezing over the winter just to argue with Russia”, says, among other things, a material published on this site.
The service asked online resources that distributed or retrieved the information to remove it.
The ISS recently launched a guide on how to spot false information online, urging citizens to analyze articles before deciding to like or share them on social media. |
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Representatives of the eGovernment Agency (AGE) have announced that they, together with the Information Technology and Cyber Security Service, are developing a new type of mobile electronic signature that could be installed in a phone and even used by journalists to sign documents or online information requests. The concept was presented at AGE’s Digital Transformation Press Club.
Experts in the field say that the new mobile e-signature requires citizens to have internet connection and install the application on a mobile device. Initial registration can be done at Public Service Agency offices, consular offices or online using an existing electronic signature. According to the experts, it is impossible to guess a user’s PIN, and cloning of the app or phone is automatically detected.
With the app, users will be able to sign/authenticate PDF documents directly in Msign (the government’s integrated electronic signature service) or other services integrated with MPass (the government’s electronic authentication and access control service).
Officials present at the press club did not say when citizens will be able to start using the new type of mobile electronic signature. |
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The draft law on the return to parliamentary control of TRM and the new mechanisms for appointing members of the SDC and the BC was voted on in its final reading at the plenary session of the legislature on November 4. 56 PAS MPs voted in favor of the draft law, which provides that the TRM general director will be appointed by the legislature, on the proposal of the SDC. At the same time, the authors want the general director of the TRM to be dismissed by parliamentarians “following a finding of improper performance or non-performance of his duties.” The lawmakers also propose that the mandate of the current members of the Supervisory Council, the general director and the TRM’s deputies should automatically end on the date of the law’s entry into force.
PAS Deputy Virgiliu Paslariuc has tabled two amendments on the draft. One of them states that deputy general director should be excluded from this article. The MP also proposed that the SDC should consist of four members proposed by representative civil society organizations instead of two (as stipulated in the first version).
Changes were also proposed to the composition of the Council. Among the requirements for those who apply for the position of member of the SDC is that the candidate must not be prohibited from holding public office based on a National Integrity Authority (ANI) finding.
As in the case of the SDC, BC members may be dismissed if Parliament rejects the annual activity report. According to Paslariuc’s amendment, it is proposed that, by way of derogation from the provisions of the article, a member of the Board appointed in the year in which the activity report is submitted cannot be dismissed. |
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The legislature approved the draft law on advertising in first reading with the vote of 53 deputies. The document, drafted by IJC experts, had already been voted on three years ago in first reading without being finalized. The current initiative largely transposes the text of the original draft. The document regulates the establishment and implementation of the legal regime for public service announcements, the requirements for ensuring transparency in the advertising market, self-regulation in the field of advertising, and political advertising during non-election periods, etc.
The draft law is part of an IJC campaign focused on amending the Advertising Law and improving the legal framework in the media sector. |
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PAS MPs supported the adoption of the draft law on banning gambling advertising in the media in its final reading. The law received 56 votes at the plenary session of the legislature on November 25.
The document prohibits in any form, direct or indirect, advertising actions for the promotion and/or encouragement of all types of gambling (lotteries and betting on competitions/sporting events, momentary lotteries). Included in the measure are advertising spots on radio and television, in the print media, in film and video services, via the Internet, or via telephone networks. Penalties are also foreseen for those who place or broadcast advertisements for gambling exploitation.
The authors argue that gambling creates victims and addiction among the most vulnerable sections of society, including minors.
The law amends the Law on the Organization and Conduct of Gambling, the Law on Advertising, the Audiovisual Media Services Code and the Contravention Code.
Previously, the draft was subject to public debate, during which representatives of several media institutions and advertising sales houses pointed out that such a law could affect them financially. |
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| On November 11, Parliament voted in second reading on a draft law which provides, among other things, that the activity of media organizations originating in offshore areas or involved in money laundering should be banned in Moldova. Fifty-five MPs voted in favor of the bill. The initiative lists the conditions for investors to carry out investment activities and supervision mechanisms in areas important for state security, including media and audiovisual services. The document was drafted by a group of PAS MPs.
At the beginning of the sitting, BCS MP Vlad Batrancea proposed that the draft initiative be excluded from consideration on the grounds that the initiative could “create problems” for investors. PAS MP and co-author of the initiative Dumitru Alaiba rejected the accusations, saying that “the project is urgent precisely because we need to protect our strategic infrastructure from obscure interests.” Batrancea’s proposal was not supported. According to him, the faction could challenge the initiative at the Constitutional Court (CC).
The authors of the initiative have foreseen that the examination of investment projects in the mentioned areas should be handled by a collegial body within the Government – the Council for the Promotion of Investment Projects of Importance for State Security. |
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On November 23, the CC declared unconstitutional the legal provision obliging media service distributors to exclude advertising and teleshopping from programs retransmitted from abroad.
The complaint was submitted to the CC in relation to an action brought in 2020 by a group of cable operators (Moldtelecom, TV BOX, ARAX-IMPEX, Orange Moldova, and STV IT Company) against sanctions imposed by the BC for retransmission of foreign advertising. According to the Audiovisual Media Services Code, distributors were obliged to exclude this type of advertising as well as teleshopping. The obligation was introduced at the end of 2019 by Socialist MP Adrian Lebedinschi. Representatives of media service distributors stated that compliance with this provision required considerable financial and human resources, thus running the risk that a large portion of the TV channels retransmitted in Moldova would disappear from the grid.
Following the raising of the exception of unconstitutionality, the High Court argued that it had analyzed the issue in light of the right to freedom of expression, recalling that Moldova had ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Thus, the Court ruling held that “the right to freedom of expression includes the right to retransmit foreign programs that include advertising or teleshopping.” |
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On October 18, ITV aired a report entitled “Беспредел в КСТР продолжается” (from Russian, “At the Broadcasting Council (BC) the transgressions continue”), in which it was reported that at an October 15 public meeting, the BC sanctioned with maximum fines the TV channels not acceptable to the head of the authority. The journalist specified that ITV was sanctioned with a maximum fine totaling 15,000 lei (750 euro) for not broadcasting the proper amount of local programs in accordance with the legal provisions, while TV stations belonging to the media holding of former President Igor Dodon were not sanctioned.
BC monitoring alleged that the report “was made and presented unilaterally, with a number of inconsistencies in the reporting of the channel’s opinion, which presented the real facts and the de facto situation in relation to the chronology and reason for the sanctions applied to the ITV TV channel”.
The BC decided by unanimous vote to publicly warn the broadcaster for this report, and Board Chair Ala Ursu-Antoci said she would take the broadcaster to court for defamation. |
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Twelve years ago, Moldova was condemned at the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Manole and Others v. Moldova, a case which concerned censorship at the public company TRM. Recently, the authorities in Chisinau asked the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers to stop supervising the execution of this judgment, since, according to the executive, the state has taken several actions in recent years, which it considers sufficient to prevent similar violations in the future.In the November edition of Media Azi, lawyers and media experts argue that the government’s request is premature and that the TRM has tended at various times to favor the government. At the same time, they point out that the legislature has recently passed two legislative initiatives that bring the public media service provider back under parliamentary control and interfere with the mechanisms guaranteeing the independence of the BC and TRM |
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| The media, like any other field, adapts as new tools emerge, especially when it comes to online tools. While Facebook and Instagram are already part of daily life, for many newsrooms, TikTok, for example, is still an unknown. In addition to social media, other tools are emerging such as robots as presenters. But can we persuade journalists to step out of their “comfort zone” and use new technologies for professional gain? Dumitru Ciorici, a consultant with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, who has been working with several teams of journalists in Moldova’s regions for some time, answers this and other questions in a new edition of Media Azi. |
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Moldova is hosting the international World Press Photo exhibition for the fifth time. The launch of the exhibition, held under the theme “Stories that Matter,” took place on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at the National Museum of History of Moldova. The event was attended by ambassadors and representatives of international organizations based in Chisinau, as well as by journalists, photojournalists, and students.
Floris van Eijk, Head of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Chisinau, gave a speech in Romanian in which he praised the efforts of the World Press Photo Foundation of the Netherlands in supporting photojournalism in the field of human rights. Raphael Dias e Silva, World Press Photo Exhibition Coordinator, Netherlands, also came to Chisinau. He mentioned that World Press Photo every year celebrates the work of photographers and journalists who put themselves in harm’s way to provide the public with reliable information.
IJC Editor-in-Chief Victoria Dodon said that the IJC is honored to contribute to hosting the prestigious World Press Photo exhibition in Chisinau. According to her, the title of this exhibition – “Stories that Matter” – “illustrates in retrospect a difficult year – Covid, armed conflicts, protests, environmental issues, migration, health issues, portraits of people who either suffer or overcome themselves or the system”.
This year, 4,315 photographers from 130 countries took part in the competition and submitted 74,470 images. The winners of World Press Photo 2021 include 45 photographers from 28 countries.
The event is organized by the World Press Photo Foundation in the Netherlands, in partnership with the IJC, with the support of the Office of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Chisinau. |
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The lack of a national strategy on media literacy and the insufficient number of media literacy professionals are among the challenges identified in the study “Comprehensive Approach and Advancing Media Literacy in Moldova.” During an event presenting the preliminary results of the research, experts, civil society representatives and ambassadors addressed the problems and suggested solutions.
Angela Vacaru, the author of the study, says that it is necessary to identify an institution responsible for media literacy and to adopt good practices from countries with a similar profile to Moldova. She also spoke about the role of the BC, which must be “proactive in sanctioning disinformation, manipulation and fake news” and must “be more open to reactions and information received from civil society.”
Press Council Chairwoman Viorica Zaharia referred to the role of the public media service provider in enhancing the literacy of the population, as TRM has national coverage. Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, Chairwoman of Parliament’s Committee on Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sport and the Media, said that the fight against disinformation and propaganda is one of the priorities of the new legislative line-up.The ambassadors present at the event noted the relevance of media education in the context of the infodemic generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, Janis Mazeiks, drew attention to “disinformation campaigns by foreign actors,” while Ambassador of Latvia in Chisinau, Uldis Mikuts recalled that disinformation and falsehoods represent “a serious risk” for the world’s democracies.
The British Ambassador to Chisinau, Steven Fisher, referred to the British government’s involvement in supporting efforts to introduce the optional Media Literacy course in schools. “Media education can and should successfully change attitudes and behaviors. As a result, pupils will be better prepared to face challenges,” he concluded.
The IJC, in cooperation with the Baltic Center for Media Excellence, launched the research on November 17. |
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The IJC has released a study assessing whether the state has been able to remedy the problems raised by the complainant journalists in the case of Manole and Others v. Moldova. The aim of the research is to contribute to the Moldovan government’s proper implementation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments in freedom of expression cases.
Each conviction is followed by the enforcement of ECtHR judgments, including the implementation of measures to exclude the possibility of repeated violations of the same kind. Thus, on October 7, 2021, the Moldovan government came up with a revised Action Plan, requesting the Committee of Ministers to cease its supervision in the case of Manole and Others v. Moldova in relation to the adjustment of the national legal framework to meet ECtHR standards.
“Existing media practices in Moldova, however, show that challenges to journalists’ freedom of expression have not ceased, and the legislative interventions made in autumn 2021 constitute a step backwards in ensuring the autonomy and independence of the national public media service provider and the regulatory authority in the audiovisual field. [The interventions] are capable of leading to the repetition of the violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR),” the IJC study states.
According to the document, the recent amendments to the audiovisual legislation invalidate the reliability of the arguments contained in the Government’s revised Action Plan and prove the ineffectiveness of the measures taken by the state to fully implement the ECtHR’s judgment in Manole and Others v. Moldova.
In this respect, the IJC makes a number of recommendations for improvement.
The study was prepared in the framework of the project “Facilitating the enforcement of ECtHR judgments in freedom of expression cases” carried out by the Independent Journalism Centre (IJC), with the financial support of the Baltic Centre for Media Excellence (BCME). |
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After a break of several months, the cuMINTE Podcast returns to the Mediacritica.md portal with new shows on cultivating critical thinking. In the first episode of the new season, entitled “Two citizens, Socrates and what it means to think critically,” psychology experts Ecaterina Moga and Dorina Vasilache, activist Diana Guja, and communication specialist Vasile Micleusanu offer useful advice on critical thinking in an interview with podcast host, journalist Ana Sarbu. “Critical thinking means being open to all kinds of information, without having preconceptions,” says Guja. And Moga warns, “Critical thinking means forming an opinion that you don’t impose from a personal point of view, labelling people around you”. Her colleague Vasilache adds, “It’s irresponsible to express your point of view in an aggressive way because you might incite hatred and make others change their opinion of you.” Micleușanu says, “People often become violent online to impose their views.”
According to the guests on the show, our decisions to check information, avoid clickbait or phishing sites, the comments we write, and the thoughts we express in a discussion show are key indicators of whether we are critical thinkers.The cuMINTE podcast is produced by the Independent Journalism Center with support from the Black Sea Trust, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. |
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IJC and Internews Updates |
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The IJC, in partnership with Internews in Moldova, has launched the fifth grant competition under the Media in Support of Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M) program to run campaigns against misinformation and propaganda in the media.
In order to reduce the impact of propaganda and fake news and to contribute to the development of critical thinking among citizens, media institutions and NGOs will produce and promote press materials that reveal disinformation and explain how propaganda takes place. Competition materials will present and analyze the following: deliberately false or misleading stories disseminated from foreign sources, short videos with specific examples of manipulation of information and propaganda (from which media consumers can understand where and how misinformation/manipulation techniques have been used and the motivations behind them); practical guides in the form of video/audio/animation spots (from which users can learn how to detect manipulation and propaganda techniques); and tutorials in other innovative formats.
The IJC will award two grants worth $5000 each to support the production and promotion of these materials through an open competition for media and NGOs. The IJC will also hire a mentor who will provide support to grantees for the production and distribution of the developed materials. Campaign activities are to be implemented from January 15 to July 15, 2022. At the end of the project, the materials should be available to the public.
The grant program is open to all media institutions and NGOs. Projects with media content in Romanian and Russian are eligible.
The deadline for submission of applications is December 15, 2021. Contact person: Mariana Tabuncic, Program Manager. Phone: 022 213 652.In the selection process, the IJC does not discriminate directly or indirectly against candidates. Only their professional skills will be taken into account. The IJC offers equal opportunities to all, and files are examined objectively and in complete confidentiality.
“Media in Support of Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M), launched by Internews in 2017 with financial support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK Aid, is a five-year program that aims to promote the development of independent and professional media and create a media sector more resilient to political and economic pressures. |
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Access to information is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of Moldova and the country’s legislation. However, the Moldovan government has not ensured the effective implementation of this right, failing to establish adequate legislative requirements that clearly define the content authorities must share, or to properly justify restrictions on information access. These are among the most significant conclusions of Freedom House’s new special report Freedom of Information Index: Measuring Transparency of Public Institutions in Moldova. This first annual report, published in English, Romanian, and Russian in November 2021, represents the first comprehensive review of the state of access to information in Moldova, and draws on an original methodological approach inspired by international standards and best practices. At a hybrid event on November 29, the report’s authors, Stela Pavlov and Dawid Szescilo, discussed the findings of the report and offered recommendations to viewers on how the Moldovan government can approve the quality of access to information in the country. The Chair of the the Parliamentary Committee for Culture, Education, Research, Youth, Sport and Media, Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, Ministry of Justice Secretary of State Iulian Rusu, Moldova Press Council President Viorica Zaharia, and EU expert Primoz Vehar also participated on a panel alongside the report authors on the state of access to information in Moldova. USAID Moldova Deputy Head of Mission John Riordan provided opening remarks on the importance of protecting citizens’ right to information. The event’s concluding remarks were made by Freedom House Local Representative, Tatiana Puiu. |
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In early December, Freedom House’s Local Representative in Moldova, Tatiana Puiu, will continue advocacy of Freedom House’s civil society stakeholder submission on access to information in Moldova for the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Moldova by participating in the official UPR Pre-Session for civil society on December 7. Puiu will present a pre-recorded official statement which covers the level of progress made by the Moldovan government in implementing human rights reforms since the previous UPR in 2016 and offers recommendations to the government related to the topic of access to information. The Third Cycle of Moldova’s UN UPR is scheduled to take place at the 40 th Session in January-February 2022. |
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Freedom House Media Freedom Matters advocacy grants recipient Media Guard completed project “Monitoring Access to Information in Public Institutions at Local, Regional and National Levels” |
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Freedom House grantee Media Guard’s has completed its project “Monitoring Access to Information in Public Institutions at Local, Regional and National Levels,” which aimed to facilitate a multi-faceted public campaign advocating for government accountability for press freedom and citizens’ increased access to information. Media Guard journalists have developed materials that highlight and document examples of government obstruction of the right to access to information and increase public understanding of the practical and legal dimensions of this topic. One of the most popular recent articles describes the efforts of a Ziarul de Garda journalist, Cristina Dulea, to obtain information of public interest. It took her three days of calls and requests to confirm the name of the director of a state-owned company. After the publication of the article, the journalist was contacted by the director of the Public Property Agency, Eugeniu Cozonac, who expressed his regret for the delays and gave assurances that he would discuss with his colleagues how to change the situation in the field of communication Under the project, Media Guard also launched a new online platform PressCheck — a unique tool that rates the transparency and credibility of Moldovan news sites, helping citizens identify news websites that implement ethical journalistic practices. PressCheck launched monitoring activities for 12 of the most popular news sites across the Republic of Moldova, utilizing a unique methodology that captures their transparency and journalistic integrity according to ten indicators. |
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