Almost all news on "112 Ukraina" about sanctions unbalanced - IMI monitoring

112.ua

Almost all the "112 Ukraina" stories on Youtube channel (85 out of 87) covering the sanctions targeting TV channels NewsOne, ZIK and “112” were unbalanced and negatory. Such are the conclusions of the expert study made on February 2-3by the Institute of Mass Information on the blocking of TV channels NewsOne, ZIK and 112.

During the monitoring, 87 videos were posted on the Youtube channel "112 Ukraina". Of these, only two presented thefacts in a neutral tone.

The first is an archives video with Zelensky saying : “I have never closed any TV channel. I am personally standing for freedom of speech ". The second is the statement of the MP from "Servants of the People" Yevhen Bragar from the Committee on Freedom of Speech, which considered the sanctions against TV channels: "I am receptive to the situation that has occurred to the journalists of TV channels. This situation is a personal grief for each of you. You are hostages of the current situation… We do not yet know the reasons and justification of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council. Accordingly, our committee cannot make a reasoned decision. "

All other videos had some negative judgments.

In total, we can identify six manipulative theses, which were voiced:

• Sanctions cannot be imposed on Ukrainians;
• Channel blocking is censorship and a crackdown on freedom of speech;
• It is necessary to unite the media against the common threat;
• This is foreign administration of the country;
• One should launch impeachment to Zelensky;
• Sanctions on TV channels will cause a crisis in Ukraine.

All these news translate ideas of representatives of the “Opposition Platform- for Life” party, a pool of "experts" from Medvedchuk-Kozak TV channels and pro-Russian media.

Among the media experts who opposed the blocking of TV channels were: Anatoliy Shariy, Olga Shariy, chairman of the National Union of Journalists Serhiy Tomilenko , Olesya Medvedeva and Svitlana Kryukova from the “Strana” website, blogger Ruslan Kotsaba , Diana Panchenko, Pavlo Kuzheev , pseudo-journalists Volodymyr Katzman, Yuri Molchanov. Some media professionals spoke of necessity to consolidate and resist                                  :

• Olga Shariy: "Now it is important to support each other, to act as a united solidarity front";
• Medvedeva : "I want to call on all Ukrainian journalists to join about what is happening in terms of solidarity… If there is such a need to protest and support the Ukrainian community, to declare that freedom of speech cannot be violated by whoever you are";
• Anna Herman : “We need to gather a journalistic headquarters of the resistance. I am ready to work in such a headquarters day and night. "

Instead, Vyacheslav Pikhovshek voiced whose help he refused: "If the “Detector Media”, the “Mirror of the Week” started to stand up for us now, or “Radio Svoboda”, I would say: 'Let's get out of here , we despise your support.' "We are disgusted" - in Ukrainian .

The full study can be found here.