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According to the study presented on February 22, in Chisinau, the local media is trusted the most by citizens of the Republic of Moldova, with a share of approximately 50%, followed by the press from the Russian Federation trusted by almost 43% of respondents. About 40% of respondents trust the EU press, and about 10% fewer people (33.5%) trust the Romanian press. Approximately 1/5 of respondents trust the media from the USA and Ukraine.
The survey data also shows that TV remains the basic source of information (circa 74%); this trend has been maintained for several years. The Internet ranks second: it is used daily by 67% of the population and considered the essential source of information by 59% of respondents. Radio ranks third: it is listened to by 27% of respondents on a daily basis, and 16% list it as the most important source of information. Print media and books remain the choice of the minority.
THE MOST WATCHED TV CHANNELS
According to the survey, the most watched channels are Prime TV, with a rating of 44%, followed by the public TV channel Moldova 1 (27.5%). The following three TV channels enjoy approximately equal popularity with the audience: Jurnal TV (24%), RTR Moldova (23%), and Publika (22%). They are followed by NTV (21%), Pro TV Chisinau (19%), TV8 (14%), Canal 2 (6%), Canal 3 (6%), TVR Moldova (3%), Realitatea TV (2%), N4 (2%), and Euro TV (1%).
COVID-19 AND COMBATING FAKE NEWS
The study also includes respondents’ answers regarding citizens’ attitude towards COVID-19. According to the representative of the company which conducted the survey, identifying solutions to counter misinformation and fake news is a must. The analysis of the answers reveals that the population is skeptical about anti-COVID-19 vaccinations: almost 39% of respondents say they would not like to be vaccinated. “As we have stated on other occasions, at various stages of the pandemic, over the past year, insufficient information and losing the battle against fake news are probably the basic challenge in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova,” Vasile Cantarji, “CBS-Research” company sociologist, affirms.
The survey was conducted by “CBS-Research” Sociological Research and Marketing Center commissioned by the Public Policy Institute (PPI). The survey was conducted from January 28 to February 14 and included 1108 persons from 86 localities, representative of the adult population of the Republic of Moldova (except for the Transnistrian region), the maximum error equated to ± 3%.
