Anonymous people file fake inquiries to governmental bodies signed by named of journalists

Unknown individuals file letters of complaint signed by journalists and send them to various governmental bodies. Recently, journalist from Rivne Anna Kalaur received a letter like this. She received the letter at her workplace, the office of media outlet "Chetverta vlada" ("The Fourth Power") where she works. Kalaur reported this to IMI representative in Rivnenska obalst.

According to the journalist, she thought it was some kind of joke, but the letter was real.

The editor-in-chief of “Chetverta vlada” Volodymyr Torbich confirmed that it was not the first fake address or inquiry signed by the names of the media outlet's journalists.

“I know that someone filed some absurd requests from me to police and SBU. Someone violates our right to use our own names. But police does not even bring people to responsibility for impediments to journalist activities, so I am not surprised that such things go unpunished, too.  I do not know what was the goal of these people who file fake inquiries. Probably in each case those goals are different. Maybe someone is trying to draw the attention of police or journalists to some problem. But in reality, it does not draw our attention to the problems mentioned in such inquiries”, Torbich said.

Investigative journalist, author and host of the TV project "Nashi Hroshi" ("Our Money") Denys Bihus experienced similar misuse of his name. He mentioned to the IMI representative that in the period of one year and a half he was receiving answers to inquiries he never sent. The inquiries were "absolutely absurd", as he said, so some of his acquaintance called him and asked if he was ok if he wrote all this. "I had to explain to each and every one of them that it was a fake ... Sad thing, but what can you do about it", Bihus said.