Monthly Bulletin, October 2024
Eight non-governmental media organizations, including the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), have condemned the behavior of some electoral contestants, which included insulting journalists and launching campaigns to discredit media outlets. The organizations issued a joint statement in which they noted that such abuses were on the rise during the presidential election campaign and the campaign for the October 20 referendum. The signatories drew attention to the need to comply with the Electoral Code, the Law on Freedom of Expression and the Regulation on the coverage of elections by the media outlets, as well as with the rules of conduct generally acceptable in a democratic society when interacting with the media. The eight NGOs recalled that in case of disagreement with the working methods of the journalist or the way media service providers ensure the rights of electoral contestants, they can complain about the actions or inactions of the press in court, to the Audiovisual Council or to the Press Council. |
A number of media NGOs, including the IJC, the Independent Press Association and the Electronic Press Association, have issued a statement condemning the perpetuation of online intimidation of journalists. They called on law enforcement bodies to hold the harassers and perpetrators of threats, slander and libel to account. The signatories drew attention to rise in hostile and irresponsible online discourse, especially on Telegram, aimed at intimidating and discrediting the image of media outlets and journalists during the presidential and referendum electoral campaigns. As an example, they brought the Telegram channel “Ungureanu112”, which made denigrating accusations against the Agora.md editorial office and journalist Irina Soltan. Another example directed against the media was generated by the politician Ion Chicu on October 23, who used expressions incompatible with proper public discourse. According to non-governmental media organizations, this is an obvious attempt to intimidate the media and undermine the right to exercise the profession of journalist in a safe and respectful environment. The signatory organizations called on Moldovan law enforcement bodies to take note of the acts committed and to initiate legal procedures hold accountable the perpetrators of insults, offensive labels and unfounded and denigrating accusations against the press. |
The Press Council of the Republic of Moldova released a public statement criticizing the appointment of Gheorghe Gonta as the moderator of the presidential debate for the second round between candidates Maia Sandu and Alexandr Stoianoglo. Representatives of the national journalism self-regulatory structure considered this choice “disrespectful to the public” and “legitimizing behavior lacking integrity”. In the statement, the Press Council underlined that Gonta’s work has already been marred by serious accusations related to his professional conduct, noting that he “repeatedly admitted” that he had accepted “money in an envelope” from politicians for his services, which is in direct contradiction with the Moldovan Journalist’s Code of Ethics. The signatories of the statement also called on the two candidates to choose a neutral broadcaster, such as Moldova 1, where the debate could be moderated by journalists with professional integrity. The declaration was signed by the Council of Experts, the Press Council’s founding organizations, including the IJC, and some journalists. |
On October 24, the news portal Mediacritica, owned by the IJC, obtained the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification, an international mechanism that rewards ethical journalism. According to IJC Executive Director Nadine Gogu, Mediacritica is one of the few media outlets in Moldova that obtained the JTI international quality certificate in 2024. Its award once again demonstrates adherence to the principles of transparency and integrity. Nadine Gogu notes that the document, which is awarded only after a very rigorous verification of the media organization’s compliance with a set of editorial standards, certifies that the media institution is trustworthy. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders, more than 1,000 media outlets in 80 countries are already part of the process of aligning with the JTI transparency criteria. |
The deadline for the implementation of the Information Security Strategy of the Republic of Moldova, approved by the Parliament five years ago, expires in 2024. Some experts claim that although the Strategy was launched with great ambitions, its implementation raises some questions. According to the executive director of the Independent Press Association (API), Petru Macovei, “it is important that the Republic of Moldova has such a strategy, which, although it is not an ideal public policy document, is a step forward compared to the non-existence of such documents or the mimicry of strategies that have been used before”. Security expert Sanda Sandu also considers that the implementation of several activities in the strategy “have brought significant results in strengthening institutional and legislative capacities on information protection and combating cyber threats”. However, she points out, “although there has been progress in strengthening institutional capacities, gaps in the digital literacy of citizens and in adapting rapidly to new forms of propaganda and hybrid threats remain challenges that require continued solutions”. The two experts believe that the future cybersecurity strategy should prioritize the strengthening of national cyberspace protection capabilities. |
At its meeting on October 2, the Chisinau government approved an action plan aimed at protecting children from the risks of Internet use and ensuring access to a safe and healthy online environment. The program will include expanding the partnership network of the child sexual abuse reporting service. At the same time, campaigns will be run to raise awareness of the online risks to which minors may be exposed and to promote online violence reporting services. According to the Minister of Education and Research, Dan Perciun, the ministry will draw up a separate action plan in this regard from 2025. The authorities claim that these actions will ensure that minors’ exposure to online risks is minimized, that Internet use is made more responsible, and that education and awareness-raising activities are carried out to inform both children and adults about online safety. |
A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights a worrying increase in problematic use of social networking among adolescents in Europe and Central Asia, including those in Moldova. Excessive use of these platforms is often associated with emotional distress, social difficulties and poor academic performance. The report’s data shows that teenagers in Moldova, as in other parts of Europe, face challenges related to the use of social networks. Thus, 11% of teenagers reported problematic use of social networks. According to the study, the problem is more common among girls than boys, a phenomenon observed in several countries. It also found that teenagers from higher-income families are more likely to be in constant online contact with their friends than those from lower-income families. The study tracked social networking and video game usage habits in 44 countries to assess the impact of digitization on young people’s mental and social health. |
A few days before the 20 October elections, Reporters Without Borders drew the attention of the Chisinau authorities to the violations of the integrity of the Moldovan information space. The Paris-based organization recommended several protective measures to combat them. Among them: Requiring digital platforms to amplify reliable sources of Moldovan information, identified on the basis of self-regulatory systems such as the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI); Establishing fair rules for all Moldovan media, so that sources from third countries – including Russia – are subject to the same ethical obligations, regardless of their mode of dissemination; Implementing, under the supervision of an independent regulatory authority, conditions of access to the Moldovan information space based on respect for freedom of expression, pluralism and independence of the media in the third country concerned. According to RSF, Russian disinformation is a real scourge in Moldova. It serves as an amplifier for the Kremlin’s bellicose discourse and contributes to an extreme polarization of the Moldovan public debate. |
Media Legislation |
The first court recently rejected claims against Reforma Art, the founder of Jurnal.md. The litigation concerns an article published in July 2023, which reported the initiation of an on-duty investigation into “police officers who provoked a fight at a recreational area in Suruceni”. On October 2, the Chisinau District Court dismissed as unfounded the request by police officer Ghenadie Ghebosu that Jurnal.md’s editorial office deny certain information and pay moral damages and compensation. The contested journalistic article refers to the statements of the chief of the General Inspectorate of Police, Viorel Cernauteanu, according to which “an on-duty investigation has been initiated into the police officers who provoked a fight at a recreational area in Suruceni”. |
In the first half of 2024, Moldova was among the countries with legislative changes that could restrict press freedom and freedom of expression, says the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) report, a consortium of international media organizations that documented and analyzed violations on its press freedom mapping platform in the European Union member states and candidate countries. The report, released in mid-September, reveals worrying press freedom developments in the 35 countries covered. In the first six months of 2024, 756 alerts were registered. These violations affected 1,212 media persons or entities. Four hundred and seventy four of these alerts were registered in EU member states, while 282 occurred in candidate countries. Intimidation and threats were the most frequent forms of violations against journalists. At the same time, 143 violations were committed by government and public officials, and 24.6 percent of the alerts concerned the online environment, the most frequent context in which press freedom violations occurred. As for Moldova, 15 violations of freedom of expression were documented during this period. |
Media Monitoring |
During the electoral campaign for the presidential elections and the republican constitutional referendum, the IJC monitored 10 TV channels for their compliance with the broadcasting legislation and the Electoral Code on the coverage of electoral processes. These are: Cinema 1, Exclusiv TV, Jurnal TV, N4, ProTV Chisinau, TV8, TVC 21, TVR Moldova, Moldova 1 and GRT. The monitoring results have been made public on a weekly basis by the IJC, which has presented four reports during this period. The fifth report will examine the behavior of the media during the second round of elections. The monitoring takes place in the framework of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections of which the IJC is a member. |
The first monitoring report, published on October 1, presents the situation from September 20-26, 2024 on the coverage of election topics in the main news bulletins and broadcasts. The findings indicate that most stations presented candidates and political parties in a neutral light. However, exceptions were noted. For example, Maia Sandu, the candidate of the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), and Alexandr Stoianoglo, the candidate of the Socialist Party (PSRM), had both positive and negative appearances on several channels, including Cinema 1 and Exclusiv TV. The reflection of the politicians’ tone varied, with some stations favoring certain candidates with a positive portrayal, while others took a critical or balanced approach. |
The second monitoring report, released on 8 October, included the period September 27 – October 3, 2024. According to the authors’ conclusions, the electoral candidates, in most cases, were reflected neutrally. Sandu had the most appearances in a negative light, as well as in a positive one, in the remaining cases the tone was neutral. The IJC monitored the main news bulletins, the election-related programs of the 10 TV channels, as well as the debates on N4, the only TV channel that organized debates this week. The authors of the report noted that Sandu, the Executive and the ruling party were cast in a negative light in all the programs and debates broadcast during the reporting period. In the news, however, the Government’s work was predominantly positive. According to IJC executive director Nadine Gogu, who presented the report at the press conference, it was observed on several channels that the news was more or less neutral, but the tone was already changing in the programs. |
The IJC’s third monitoring report, presented on October 15, analyzed the situation from October 4-10. The results of the monitoring showed that the 10 TV channels continued to cover the electoral candidates neutrally in most cases. The Executive Director of the IJC concluded that Sandu had the most appearances in a positive and negative light, while in the remaining cases the tone was neutral. Candidate Victoria Furtuna had 10 appearances in negative light and four in positive light, Alexandr Stoianoglo, Renato Usatii and Irina Vlah were reflected mostly neutrally, but had appearances in negative and positive lights. The other competitors in the electoral race appeared mainly in neutral context. |
The fourth monitoring report was made public on October 22. It covers the monitoring period October 11-18, during which, according to the monitors, Sandu had the most appearances in a negative light and was also disadvantaged by negative materials about the work of the central public administration and PAS. The other competitors were mostly covered in a neutral context. With reference to the coverage of the referendum, Nadine Gogu noted that this fact “was not really seen on TV during this month that we have been monitoring, only in the last week the number of topics or themes about the referendum increased. People have not been able to access information that could have helped them better understand what this referendum is all about.” The monitoring was made possible by the generous support of the American and British people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK. The content is the responsibility of the Independent Journalism Center and does not necessarily reflect the views of UK, USAID or the United States Government. |
The presidential election and constitutional referendum on October 20, 2024, took place in a climate marked by massive attempts of external interference and attacks on democratic values. This is the conclusion of several international election observation missions, which presented their monitoring reports on Monday, October 21. Representatives of the International Election Observation Mission (ENEMO), who were in Chisinau to monitor the elections, found that disinformation, particularly through social media, continues to be a major challenge for the authorities. At the same time, according to a preliminary report by the ENEMO and of the International Republican Institute, the biggest threat to Moldova’s electoral integrity is the malign influence of the Russian Federation. The international observers, led by US Congressman Peter Roskam and former EU Commissioner Danuta Hübner, emphasized that this interference has manifested itself through various methods, including vote buying, propaganda, cyber attacks and provocations, with a particular impact on the elections. In a statement released on October 22, the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections also expresses deep concern about the extent of foreign interference in the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova. |
The constitutional referendum on Moldova’s membership of the European Union narrowly passed with 50.35 YES votes and 49.65 NO votes. Experts with whom the IJC portal Mediacritica spoke claim that this result reflects a deep division among citizens about the direction in which the country should go, and that misinformation and anti-EU narratives have influenced voters’ decisions. Political commentator Ion Tabarta says that during the election campaign there was a lot of misinformation about the EU and the pro-European government in Chisinau. For his part, media expert Ion Bunduchi, executive director of the Electronic Press Association, admits that “it could have been worse”, given the manipulation through propaganda, falsehoods and disinformation in this campaign. And journalist Viorica Zaharia, president of the Press Council, points out that “the referendum result was influenced by misinformation, which was spread not necessarily this year. […] There has been intense work for at least five years to discredit the European Union, democracy in general and everything that works well in the EU.” |
IJC Updates |
The 2024-2025 academic year is the eighth in which the subject Media Literacy is being taught in Moldovan schools, the IJC’s Mediacritica.md portal notes. The source notes that for the eighth year, the IJC is promoting the critical consumption of information among pupils and students, encouraging teachers to be part of this initiative. IJC Program Manager Mariana Tabuncic notes that over the past eight years, IJC has contributed to the implementation of media literacy curriculum at all grade levels, has developed manuals that facilitate the teaching of the subject in schools, and trains teachers annually to ensure effective teaching of the subject. The IJC has also launched various activities with the involvement of students and teachers that support efforts to promote media literacy in schools. The Independent Journalism Center organizes media education activities within the project “Strengthening Media Education Skills in the Republic of Moldova”, implemented by the IJC and the Ministry of Education and Research, supported by Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development” within the project “Advancing Media Literacy and Supporting Media in the Republic of Moldova”, supported by Sweden and implemented by Internews in Moldova, in the framework of the project „READ – Responding, Expanding and Acting on Disinformation” |
The Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture approved at the end of May a plan developed by the IJC to promote and mainstream media and information literacy. The document foresees the integration of media literacy into non-formal education programs for the elderly. The implementation of the measures will be coordinated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, together with the Ministries of Education and Culture. The adopted plan, valid for the period 2024-2026, envisages a series of actions focused on promoting media literacy among the elderly. These include various initiatives, resources, information and non-formal media education activities. Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Buzu told Mediacritica that older people face increased vulnerability to fake news and misinformation online. Dina Ciubotaru, a program manager at HelpAge Moldova, also says that such initiatives are more than welcome for the elderly. The material is published as part of the campaign to promote the inter-ministerial plan for the integration of information and media literacy actions, carried out in the framework of the project „READ – Responding, Expanding and Acting on Disinformation”, implemented jointly by International Media Support (IMS) and the Independent Journalism Center (IJC), with the financial support of the European Union. |
Podcast cuMINTE spoke this time with Sorin Ionita, an expert on public administration reform from Bucharest, who is also a consultant for the Council of Europe and the World Bank on Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Together they tackled a very topical subject: how misinformation can influence citizens’ perceptions, how myths and falsehoods about the European Union are used to generate confusion and mistrust among the population. The topic is of particular public interest at a time when Moldova’s European aspirations are at the forefront of political and social debates in society. The cuMINTE Podcast is produced by the Independent Journalism Center with the support of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily represent those of IWPR or its partners. The cuMINTE podcast studio was created thanks to the regional project “Civil Society Resilience and Media Response to the War in Ukraine”, funded by the European Union/European Union in the Republic of Moldova and implemented in partnership with the Prague Civil Society Center and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee. |
Social networks with large numbers of users are ideal spaces for spreading misinformation, and TikTok is one of the platforms with major risks for misinformation and user manipulation, warned security expert Sanda Sandu, founder of the Platform for Security and Defense Initiatives, on the September edition of the cuMINTE podcast. Although there have been efforts by the government and some ministers to use the platform to properly inform citizens, Sanda Sandu believes that not enough strategies have yet been put in place to combat disinformation. She also mentioned that the Center for Strategic Communication and Countering Misinformation should take a more active role in this, monitoring misinformation and developing effective strategies. |
Sixty pupils from the gymnasium in the village of Grigorievca, Causeni district, and over 100 children from kindergarten No. 2 “Povestea” in the small town of Causeni learned useful facts about the Internet while watching the show PikPok.online@guguta from the repertoire of the Municipal Puppet Theatre “Guguta”. On October 4, the theater team visited children from the two localities, explaining to them that the risks they can expose themselves to on social networks are real and anyone can become a victim of the online environment. IJC Program Coordinator Victoria Tataru said that the IJC has been taking measures over the years to train teachers, publish Media Literacy textbooks in Romanian and Russian, organize various events on media topics, including through theatrical performances. PikPok.online@guguta is an adaptation of the educational story “A Click of the Fangs or the Manipulative Wolf”, written by Solvita media researcher Denisa Liepniece from Latvia. The performance is 45 minutes long and is included in the repertoire of the “Guguta” Theater in both Russian and Romanian. |
About 220 pre-school and primary school students from the “Suleyman Demirel” Gymnasium-G kindergarten and the “N. Tretiacov” from the city. Comrat watched the show PikPok.online@guguta, from the repertoire of the Municipal Puppet Theater “Guguta”, on October 2. The director of “Guguta” Theatre, Gabriela Lungu, emphasized at the meeting that in the performance the children will learn about the unlimited possibilities they have in the online space, but also about the challenges they can face. The theatrical performance is part of a project in partnership with the IJC. The PikPok.online @guguta performance tour is organized within the framework of the project “Media education and literacy and optimizing newsrooms”. This project is financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moldova. |
An analysis by journalist and fact-checker Viorica Zaharia, published on Mediacritica, examines the falsehoods used by presidential candidates in the first 10 days of the election campaign. According to the author, the most outlandish and easily debunked came from Victoria Furtuna and Tudor Ulianovschi: “Moldovans take microcredits to pay utilities” and “PAS closed maternity hospitals”. Fakes and manipulations were also found in the speeches of Irina Vlah, Vasile Tarlev and PSRM leader Igor Dodon, who is campaigning for independent candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo. Thus, Irina Vlah stated that “Maia Sandu has banned money transfers from Russia” and that Maia Sandu has broken off all dialog with Tiraspol and even proposed “joining Europe” by renouncing Transnistria. On October 1, the electoral contestant Vasile Tarlev published an appeal to all presidential candidates to sign a “national pact to protect Moldova’s land”. In conclusion, the author of the analysis writes that in the current election campaign some candidates have taken their populism to the absurd, creating a totally imaginary reality, divorced from the real life that people live. |
In another article, Zaharia analyzed the fakes and manipulations used by some candidates to promote themselves on social networks. According to her, candidate Victoria Furtuna used the most falsifications and manipulations. At a press conference, candidate Victoria Furtuna stated that “The Russian Army is not illegally on the territory of Tiraspol”; “The Orthodox Church of Moldova must be defended”, and that our defense is already led by NATO generals, and our politics – by American advisers. Candidate Irina Vlah, who called herself the president of peace during the campaign, said in a post that the current government is “dragging the country into war”, referring to Maia Sandu. In the same post, Vlah declares that if she becomes president, “EU integration will be carried out in the interest of Moldovan citizens, not foreign partners”. Another falsehood, was about selling land to foreigners, picked up by the candidate Ion Chicu who wrote: “About her foreigners and our lands… Now do you understand why Maia Sandu needs to amend the Constitution in order to be able to vote with a simple majority in Parliament such laws?”. The author concludes that most candidates who position themselves as anti-EU or centrist are building their campaign messages to radicalize and divide society, rather than on viable strategies for the country’s development. |
Mediacritica also tracked other electoral fakes. In an analysis, journalist Victoria Dodon gives a whole series of examples of false claims that she came across on the Telegram channels of media outlets previously closed for reasons of information security. They write about the waves of migrants that could come to the country if citizens say YES in the referendum, LGBT pride parades, the danger of NGOs, Moldova’s being drawn into the war and other alleged “reasons” not to “hurry” into the European Union. The suspended licenses and blocked websites have not stopped them from quickly creating so-called clones – platforms with the same interface but a different domain name – and continuing on social networks to discredit the authorities and misinform about Moldova’s European course, to influence public opinion and discourage participation in the October 20 plebiscite. |
IJC and Internews Updates |
The IJC launched, on October 21-25, the seventh edition of the Media Education Week in Moldova (SEM), an event dedicated to promoting critical thinking and media education in schools. The event took place in the context of the UNESCO-declared World Media Education Week and was addressed to teachers who teach the optional subject Media Education. The Executive Director of the IJC, Nadine Gogu, said at the inauguration of Media Education Week that since 2018 the IJC has achieved several goals in promoting the Media Education course in schools across the country. The initiative aimed to improve students’ critical thinking skills, educating a responsible society in relation to the information they consume. During the event, the IJC organized several events with the participation of students, teachers and parents. Educational institutions involved in the fourth edition of the contest “Media Literacy – Priority in My School” continued their activities to promote media literacy in schools. Media Education Week activities are organized within the project “Strengthening Media Education Skills in the Republic of Moldova”, implemented by the IJC and the Ministry of Education and Research, supported by Deutsche Welle Akademie and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Activities are also supported by the project “Media in Support of Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova” (MEDIA-M), funded by USAID, the British Embassy in Chisinau and implemented by Internews in Moldova. |
The IJC has reprinted the updated Media Literacy manuals in Braille for blind and visually impaired people. The initiative aims to improve access to media literacy resources for the visually impaired and promote social inclusion. The updated Media Literacy textbooks for all three levels of education in Romanian and Russian have been adapted and reprinted in Braille by the National Information and Rehabilitation Center of the Association of the Blind of Moldova. They cover topics such as media history, media functions, ethical online behavior, critical consumption of information, misinformation, online safety and responsible use of media. IJC Executive Director Nadine Gogu said that the IJC’s initiative reflects its commitment to promoting equal opportunities in media literacy. In his turn, the vice-president of the Association of the Blind of Moldova, Stefan Oprea, welcomed the initiative of IJC and said that it represents a step forward in the field of promoting social inclusion and implicitly of people with visual disabilities. The Technological High School for Children with Visual Impairments in Chisinau was the first institution where Braille textbooks were distributed. The headmistress of the institution, Aurica Brinza, praised the donation, saying it was welcome and would help students improve their media literacy skills. The Braille Media Literacy manuals have been reprinted by IJC in the framework of the project “Media Literacy Advancement and Support to Moldovan Media”, supported by Sweden and implemented by Internews in Moldova. The program aims to contribute to the growth of a diverse media sector. |
