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IJC Study: What Media Consume Inhabitants of the Republic of Moldova and How They Perceive Manipulation and Propaganda

28 September 2018
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Media consumers from the Republic of Moldova continue to obtain information about social-political events mainly from the TV set, but this choice is almost equal to the option for online sources. At the same time, one third of the interviewees said they did not trust any media source. These are some of the findings of ‘Media consumption and consumers’ perception of media manipulation’ Study, implemented by the Civis Sociological Center on request of the Independent Journalism Center in August - September 2018.
 
Thus, results of the sociological study show that one in two respondents (50%) prefers to look for social-political news in TV newscasts, and one in four (25%) - on web portals. Preference for the social networks (17%) lies thereabout and preference for the radio is much more infrequent (6%).
 
When asked to explain the notion of manipulation, over 60% said they know the meaning of this word, while 30% said they do not know it. The most often people consider themselves to be manipulated by the politicians (44%), media (37%) and to a lesser extent by church (9%). By contrast, Moldovan citizens have the most confidence in their family and friends and consider these manipulate them the least.
 
Note that more than half of those who do not know meaning of the term ‘manipulation’ said they were informed from TV social-political news.
 
We also tested recognition of the term propaganda in close connection with the notion of manipulation. Perception of term ‘propaganda’ is very acute in our country - 92% of interviewees agreed there is propaganda in media in the Republic of Moldova, compared to only 4% who do not agree. Confidence in the press from other countries available in the Republic of Moldova is generally low: 17% of consumers said they have much and the most confidence in the Russian media, 14% - in the press from other European countries and 10% - in Romanian media.
 
‘Media consumption and consumers’ perception of manipulation through the media’ Sociological Study aimed to measure level of consumption of the TV channels and media products in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the perception of media manipulation among the population. The research was conducted at national level in rural and urban settlements, except those in the Transnistrian region, 803 respondents aged over 18 were interviewed. CATI was the method of research used to conduct the study - telephone interview with the online link to questionnaire, and questionnaire with predefined questions and answers was the research tool. The study has a margin of error of ±3.5%. Data for the study were collected during 26 July - 12 August 2018.
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This study was conducted by the Independent Journalism Center with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, via the Swedish Embassy in Chisinau.