European Federation of Journalists calls on Ukrainian authorities to consider closing telethon
According to Censor.NET, citing Suspilne, this was reported on the website of the European Federation of Journalists.
As noted, the organisation is concerned about the sharp deterioration in the level of trust between officials and independent Ukrainian media.
The EFJ experts noted that Ukraine should develop systemic safeguards to prevent the control of media outlets by the Security Service of Ukraine. They also mentioned the SSU's surveillance of Bihus.Info journalists, journalist Yevhen Shulhat of Slidstvo.Info, and attempts to intimidate investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov of Nashi Hroshi by a group of unknown persons.
"The fact that several of Ukraine's main TV channels continue to broadcast joint news bulletins 24 hours a day seriously reduces the quantity and quality of information that Ukrainian viewers receive. As a result, the data showed that over the past year, the viewership of the telethon has dropped significantly, and Ukrainians have turned to anonymous telegram channels to read what is perceived as 'real' news," the federation said.
They added that the sources used by anonymous Telegram channels are often impossible to identify, as well as their sponsors.
According to the federation, this shift away from the media poses a serious threat to Ukraine's information security, as the political agenda of anonymous channels usually remains unknown.
"In addition, Telegram has a relatively lenient policy on hate and other problematic and manipulative content," the federation added.
What preceded it
On 15 April, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal responded to a petition demanding that the funds intended for the production of the United News telethon be redirected to the purchase of drones for the Armed Forces and stated that this was inappropriate.
According to KIIS data released in April, 36% of Ukrainians trust the United News telethon, while 47% do not. Every month, fewer and fewer viewers watch the single news marathon, and even fewer trust it.
On 16 November 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he considered the United News telethon to be one of the stages of Ukraine's unbreakable strength and a factor of unity.
