U.S. Embassy: “We kindly ask Publika to issue a refutation, so that its viewers are not misinformed by mistaken reporting”

On Monday, December 21, Publika TV aired several materials about President Nicolae Timofti nominating Ion Sturza for prime minister, in which this decision was qualified as a “cheap game” and “political error.” Among the opinions condemning the President’s decision, they added the statement of U.S. Ambassador in Chisinau James Pettit, which Publika TV used in the following context: “I wonder if anyone is thinking about what the Moldovan people want? Democracy is about truly representing the will and desire of the people. Being a democracy means truly serving the people you represent. Leaders in a democracy should be servants to their country and their citizens – not the other way around,” wrote U.S. Ambassador James Pettit. PUBLIKA.MD reminds that today, President Nicolae Timofti has nominated Ion Sturza as a candidate for prime minister.”
On Tuesday, December 22, the U.S. Embassy asked Publika TV to issue a refutation, so that its viewers are not misled: “In response to a misleading report broadcast by Publika TV, the U.S. Embassy wishes to make a clarification. Publika TV claims that Ambassador Pettit commented on President Timofti’s nomination of Ion Sturza. Ambassador Pettit’s comment refers to the situation in Moldova in general. It was not a reaction to the President’s nomination, and in fact was posted yesterday at 3:50pm, hours before the President’s announcement. We kindly ask Publika to issue a refutation, so that its viewers are not misinformed by mistaken reporting.”
After the U.S. Embassy posted its message, Publika TV added one phrase to its initial news story: “The U.S. Embassy posted a message on Facebook, drawing attention to the fact that the ambassador’s message had been posted before President Nicolae Timofti announced his decision.”

Press Council chairman Ludmila Andronic commented this situation for Media Azi:
In my opinion, this quote, presented in a deliberately wrong context, is a violation of ethical and professional standards. The manner in which Publika TV acted, unfortunately, distorted the message of one of the most important development partners of Moldova, and this fact makes the violation that much more serious. We cannot afford interpreting the statements of foreign diplomats, regardless of the advantages or disadvantages these statements could bring to us.