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He analysed online media’s rise in popularity in Moldova and the current landscape, ownership, affiliations, and political leanings of digital media.
Analysing the data of Audit Bureau of Circulation’s (BATI), of National Bureau of Statistics and of other relevant sources, the author concludes that Moldova’s existing Russian-language online media do not cover the country’s entire political spectrum. Accordingly, the digital media space disproportionately plays into PSRM’s positions and, in turn, Kremlin narratives about Moldova’s political direction.
Igor Fomin argues that political players interested in garnering greater support from Moldova’s Russian-speaking population must think about how they can deliver their message far and wide across ‘Moldnet’.
With reference to statistical data, the study reveals that up to 25% of active Moldovan Internet users consider themselves to be predominately Russian-speaking. This is a significant population in Moldova’s small and concentrated information space. What is more, Russian-speaking audiences are an important constituent in elections, particularly in the country’s key regions (Balti, Orhei, Gagauzia, and Taraclia).
The author analysed the most frequently visited Russian-language news portals between January and September 2018. These include: Point.md, Sputnik.md, Noi.md, Kp.md, Newsmaker.md, Publika.md and the online information agencies – Moldpres.md, Infotag.md, Ipn.md, Infomarket.md, and Interlic.md. The analysis also included portals affiliated with PSRM – Actualitati.md, Socialistii.md, Aif.md, Blocnot-moldova.md, as well as three regional agencies that could potentially play an important role in informing citizens’ opinions: Esp.md, Orhei.md, and Gagauzinfo.md.
Thus, according to the study, between January and September 2018, Point.md was accessed by 387,671 visitors (real users) from Moldova, making it the most frequently visited Moldovan news website by Russian-speakers. Fomin notes that advertising on Point.md consists mostly of stationary banners from Numbers.md and text advertising in the news feed that may include political advertisements by those political parties participating in elections.
Sputnik.md garnered 276,670 visitors from Moldova. Sputnik Moldova is part of the Russian media group ‘Russia Today’ (Federal State Unitary Enterprise International News Agency ‘Russia Today’).
Noi.md was visited by 178,778 users in Moldova. The portal is controlled by Vasilii Chirtoca, a Moldovan businessman.
Kp.md was accessed by 121,815 visitors in Moldova. The website belongs to the largest Russian-language newspaper in Moldova, Komsomolskaya Pravda v Moldove, which was created during Soviet times.
During the same period, Newsmaker.md attracted 71,050 visitors from Moldova. The news site targets readers in search of analytical and objective information and is owned by NewsMaker SRL, founded by Vladimir Soloviov. The project has previously received funding through the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Moldova, the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
To ensure that Moldova’s Russian-speaking population has better access to information about key government decisions, Igor Fomin recommends the translation into Russian of the websites of the Parliament, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, and of other government bodies. The journalist says that many of them are currently available only in Romanian, English and French, but not in Russian.
The policy brief series is part of the ‘Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M)’ Project.
