Ro
En
Рy
The BC members claim they approved the decision after assessing the situation regarding the struggle against the pandemic reflected by the broadcasting environment. “The broadcasting service providers and online media service providers under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Moldova should not be encouraged to spread and transmit scientifically unfounded statements on issues covering the COVID-19 pandemic referring to inexistent sources. In informative and debate broadcasts in which the issue of COVID-19 is discussed, they should provide correct information for citizens and avoid sensational issues, thus avoiding any confusion. In all broadcasting news and debate programs covering the current situation and the consequences of the pandemic effects of COVID-19, both in the country and abroad, the above subjects should be guided exclusively by the principle of correct information,” Ala Ursu-Antoci, President of the BC, announced.
Media service providers are also required to pay more attention to the sources they use for covering the coronavirus-related topics. “Information taken from official, national, and international sources should be spread, so that the broadcasting services could contribute to combating contamination of the population with fake news, in order to avoid the negative impact public opinion and panic. Any information directly or indirectly related to COVID-19 topics should be checked, rules of ethics should be followed, and special attention should be paid to each message to be spread, not to stimulate the emotional impact and citizens’ insecurity. The information regarding evolution, effects, and control of the COVID-19 infection obtained from private sources should be verified.” Ala Ursu-Antoci added.
The head of the BC specifies that the document is a recommendation. “The Broadcasting Council as a guarantor of the public interest will keep constantly monitoring the situation in this regard and apply rigorous sanctions for deviations from the current legislation,” the president of the authority concluded.
Corneliu Mihalache, the BC member, added that the decision actually reminded the media institutions about the existing obligations regarding the verification of the information spread. His colleague, Artur Cozma, mentioned that the phrase “private sources” in the decision could be misinterpreted. The head of the BC explained that it implied such sources as “ordinary citizens.” The decision was approved unanimously, with the votes of seven members attending the meeting.
Last spring, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the Republic of Moldova, the then head of the BC, Dragos Vicol, issued a provision obliging TV and radio station journalists to avoid “expressing and emphasizing their own opinion without permission” during the state of emergency while discussing issues related to the coronavirus pandemic. After a wave of criticism from the journalists, media NGOs, and authority representatives, the organization revised its decision.
