Media nongovernmental organizations condemn any manifestation of hate speech against journalists, regardless of the author and context. In a statement quoted by IPN, the media NGOs condemn the assertions made by Liberal Democratic MP Maria Ciobanu, who, in a posting on Facebook, reacted to the opinions of journalist Victor Nichituș in a style that shows lack of tolerance: “I feel I would like to hit him in the head”.
The signatories of the statement repeatedly warn that hate speech has nothing to do with the freedom of expression, including on social networking sites. These call on all the citizens, first of all the public functionaries and officials, to show a decent and correct behavior in relation to the press. At the same time, the media NGOs remind that when they do not agree with the way in which the journalists do their job, the citizens can notify the Press Council, the Broadcasting Coordination Council and other bodies that will examine the given cases and will take the necessary measures.
“We call on the representatives of the media to show professional correctness, not to become involved in campaigns to promote politicians and to abide by the Journalist’s Deontological Code of the Republic of Moldova in their work,” runs the statement.
The signatories are: Independent Journalism Center; Association of Independent Press, Electronic Press Association, Journalistic Investigations Center, Committee for the Freedom of the Press, Association of Independent Tele-journalists, “Acces-info” Center and RISE Moldova.
