Media Movement turns to Zelensky over government pressure upon "Ukrainska Pravda"

Ілюстрація ІМІ

We, Ukrainian journalists and media organizations, members of the Media Movement, strongly protest against the attempts of government officials to put pressure on independent media, which is becoming more and more systematic. 

Media Movement statement

Of particular concern is the practice of individual advisers and officials allowing themselves to interfere with the activities of journalists by imposing unofficial restrictions on officials' communication with the media, blocking access to events for certain blacklisted independent media outlets, and creating other obstacles to the functioning of independent resources.

For example, according to our colleagues at Ukrayinska Pravda, presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn, who previously worked as a journalist and political expert, has been imposing restrictions on communication between government officials and journalists from Ukrayinska Pravda in recent months. 

We emphasize that this is not a problem of one person, but a much broader trend of narrowing the space for independent media and the government's attempts to control all public discourse. We are witnessing more and more active attempts by the authorities to create a single controlled narrative, which limits critical analysis and diversity of opinion in the information space of Ukraine and narrows people's right to receive socially important information. The war cannot serve as an excuse for such actions. 

Today, Ukrainian journalists are working under unprecedented pressure and danger. Our colleagues are not just informing the public, but fulfilling a critical mission: they document the crimes of the aggressor, tell the world the truth about the war and protect the right of people to reliable information. Unfortunately, many of them have already paid the ultimate price for this - their lives. Independent media is the key to a stable democratic society, as it ensures public control over the actions of the authorities, promotes transparency and accountability. 

We call on the President of Ukraine to immediately take measures to stop pressure on the media by any government officials or advisors, to guarantee transparency and openness of government agencies to communicate with journalists, and to provide the media with unimpeded access to information that is important to society. 

Conflicts with the independent media damage not only the reputation of government agencies, but also the country as a whole. The media is not an enemy of the state - it is a partner in the fight for freedom and democratic values. 

For information: Media Movement is a community that brings together journalists from leading Ukrainian media, investigative journalists, and experts from media NGOs. Media Movement was launched on February 5, 2019.

The first signatories of the Media Movement memorandum were UA: Pershyi, Ukrainian Radio, Hromadske Radio, Ukrinform, Interfax-Ukraine, Liga.net, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Ukraine”, NV, ‘Censor.net’, Channel 5, ‘Ukrainian Week’, Opinion, a number of regional media, NGOs Independent Media Council, Detector Media, Institute of Mass Information, Internews Ukraine, Center for Democracy and Rule of Law, Souspilnist Foundation, National Association of Media, Donetsk Institute of Information, Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, Zmina Human Rights Center.

Later, other organizations and individual journalists joined - more than 70 participants in total. On November 16, 2021, representatives of leading media outlets called on journalists to unite in the professional community Media Movement to counter political and commercial pressure on freedom of speech. The statement was initiated by 29 journalists and experts, their names are available here.