The share of TV news in shaping geopolitical perceptions and preferences has declined, according to a study by WatchDog.MD that analyzed foreign news coverage on Moldova’s top eight TV channels.

However, while the role of independent television channels in covering international issues has grown significantly, the influence of the Kremlin’s propaganda narratives is still strong due to the prejudices built up over the years, and also due to their continuous spread online, it was found.

The authors aimed to compare the way in which international actors are presented in the media and the way in which the public perception of them changes. The study analyzed over 300 newscasts and about 5,000 news items.

WatchDog.MD experts conclude that, compared to 2017, the role of state- and Russian-controlled media has decreased considerably – from 66% to under 20%. The biggest role in covering international events through TV news is played by independent TV channels.

ProTV Chisinau most actively covers international topics, followed by Jurnal TV. At the opposite pole are the channels NTV Moldova and Primul in Moldova, which largely neglected international news. Most of the news focused on Russia and Ukraine, a natural situation considering the ongoing war. Next come news about the EU, the United States, and Romania.

Although most of the news concerning Russia and Vladimir Putin were negative, his rating among Moldovans remains quite high. “We note that the elimination of the effects of multi-year propaganda will still take a long time, especially in the conditions of continuous disinformation through social media. In the same way, one of the assumptions is that the role of television in the formation of citizens’ opinion has decreased”, opine the authors of the study.