Media experts consider actionsof Russian mass-media regarding hate speech abusive and encourage Ukrainianjournalists to answer with truth.
Experts stress on the key role of Russian mass mediapropaganda in stirring conflict in Ukraine. It was one of the questions thatarose during today’s international media lawyers’ conference held by Media LawInstitute in Kyiv.
“Russian television’s activity is a subject ofArticle on hate speech of Criminal Code because conscious spread of liesregarding events was aimed at formation of hostile attitude of Eastern citizensregarding other Ukrainian residents, resulting in military actions,” – Media Law Institute Director TarasShevchenko points out.
Ukrainian and international media experts gathered together to discussthreats and problems that arose during the last time in post-soviet countries,specifically in connection with Ukrainian-Russian military conflict, on MediaLaw Institute’s international conference that was held on the 7th ofNovember in Kyiv.
According to the words of co-founder of the “Stop Fake” initiative, MargoGontar, Russian mass media actions seem to be well coordinated. Thus, Russianmass media recently stopped to use words “khunta” (junta) and “karately”(punishers). Margo stresses that Ukrainian mass media do not need to take partin information war using the same propaganda means as Russian colleagues do. FromMargo’s and other conference participants’ point of view, temporary truthprovision is the best way to fight with propaganda.
“Democracy lies in balance,” – Ad van Loon, X-MediaStrategies expert (Netherlands), says. It means that every social group has to be duly protected. At thesame time, while hate speech is spread, the State has to apply sanctions not tothe mass media, but, firstly, to the sources, cited by them.
Lawyers and media experts from Great Britain, Netherlands, Moldova,Belarus, Armenia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan andUkraine became the participants of international conference “Modern challenges for freedom of speech inUkraine, Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Central Asia and South Caucasus states”.During the conference they discussed the situation that formed in media sphereof post-soviet states during the last three years and its sharpening inconnection with aggravation of the situation and hate speech in media duringundeclared war between Ukrainian and Russia, the state of freedom of speech inthese countries, judicial practice as well as means of definition and reactionto the fake news.