Moldova didn’t get rid of the foreign propaganda eve if the Broadcasting Code was amended to secure the information sphere. In the campaign prior to the parliamentary elections of this autumn, the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) should react promptly to the cases of propaganda as these could influence the election outcome, said experts invited to the talk show “Expertise hour” on Jurnal TV channel, IPN reports.
Journalist Alex Cozer said Moldova didn’t get rid of propaganda following the adoption of the anti-propaganda law. Moldova’s foreign partners that approved of the Democratic Party’s initiative should understand that propaganda continues to be spread. “Plahotniuc’s channels do not disseminate propaganda so aggressively, but the channels of Dodon and other Russian channels retransmit propaganda slightly modified and insert it in news bulletins,” stated Alex Cozer.
Civic activist Valeriu Pasa said the law to amend the Broadcasting Code was made for the purpose of ensuring Moldova’s information security and protecting it from information that could destabilize the internal situation and influence the domestic political processes. “If a TV channel during the election campaign prior to the parliamentary elections that lasts for a month only retransmits nonstop, day after day, a propagandistic and brainwashing content that clearly influences the elections in the Republic of Moldova, the BCC should not take a month to analyze things and impose a fine or two. After the elections these channels can be closed, but it will be late already. If something like this is allowed, the election outcome could be influenced,” stated the activist. According to him, the BCC should intervene swiftly in the election campaign.
Stefan Gligor, programs director at the Center for Policies and Reforms, said that if the authorities pretend to be fighting foreign propaganda and do not apply the law in evident cases of violations, this shows that things in Moldova do not go well.
