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journalist for the Europa Libera radio station,program coordinator within the Foreign Policy Association of Moldova
The information offensive of the Russian Federation has dominated the post-Soviet space throughout the period following the USSR collapse but, most of the times, the authorities of the newly independent states perceived it as a soft power, almost innocent, of Moscow that complied with the principles of democracy and freedom of expression. Only a few states have taken, from the very beginning, measures aimed at protecting their informational spaces. This, according to the experts, was one of the factors that caused the difference between the current situation of the Baltic countries, on the one hand, and of Ukraine and Moldova, on the other hand.
During the last years, Russia began to strengthen and extend this „soft-power”, against the backdrop of corruption, indifference or complicity of the authorities from the former Soviet republics, and in the West – taking advantage of the Westerners’ conviction according to which the freedom of expression is inviolable. The problem began to be acknowledged as a global threat only along the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the aggression from Donbass, when the propagandistic and the misinforming components were practically the spearhead of the attack against Ukraine.
Why is the propaganda detrimental?
„The hybrid war seeks not as much to obtain victory as to create chaos on the enemy’s territory and, most importantly, create chaos in the public opinion - when the citizens are willing to fight against their own country, along with Russia”, Grigori Perepelitea, the Ukrainian expert in foreign policy and security, said.
What can be done?
Before giving suggestions, we will try to make a brief radiography of Moldova’s current situation:
The ordinary citizen is alone in front of the Russian propaganda and is disarmed against the "export" or domestic manipulation and disinformation phenomenon.
The Russian propaganda acts absolutely free, through dozens of radio and TV stations rebroadcast without any kind of filter, while the authorities were caught unawares and benumbed. Practically, they have not even noticed that the country became the target of a powerful media aggression and that the existence of Moldova as a state is threatened.
The state institutions and authorities do not have much legislative levers to bring order into the audiovisual field. The political class, which should come up with solutions to this situation, as well as with new and effective laws, preferred to take advantage of the created circumstances and, together with the oligarchic clans, subordinated the media manipulation phenomenon to their own interests.
The corruption, incompetence or even the complicity of the political class led to this situation where Moldova has absolutely no immunity to the external propaganda virus. The mass media, the Moldovan one in particular, is a resonant chamber that often, carelessly, amplifies the propaganda and the manipulation phenomenon.Some measures that Moldova could take, in the context of a conscious and responsible political class, are:
- Adopt a new Audiovisual Code, developed by the experts with the support of the EU in 2011 and totally ignored by the Parliament. Now, this is again recorded as a legislative initiative, from March, only that it has little chance of being called into question, given the unstable political situation and the disinterest of the political class with respect to this topic.
- Create some alternative sources, in Romanian, but also in Russian, with the support of some international media institutions and the European Union. Create real alternatives – to bring the TVR and the Western televisions back into the Moldovan media space.
- Take over the experience of the Baltic countries, Poland and Ukraine in fighting against the propaganda.
- The politicians and the experts from the non-governmental organizations should discuss with the society and the media to provide pluralism of opinions and voices.
- The people should be encouraged to pay more attention to their own problems and call the authorities to account.
- The critical thinking and the habit of taking information from multiple sources, of comparing it and make own conclusions should be developed and promoted.
- Good quality informational alternatives should be offered.
- The quality of the journalism should be enhanced, the journalists should improve their skills and the media owners should become more responsible.
The article was published within the Advocacy Campaigns Aimed at Improving Transparency of Media Ownership, Access to Information and promotion of EU values and integration project, implemented by the IJC, which is, in its turn, part of the Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society project, implemented by FHI 360.This article is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content are the responsibility of author and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
