TRC Kyiv complains about being "bullied by pseudo-activists" after a scandalous report

TV channel "Kyiv," whose journalist harassed a curfew violator over the erotic content on his smartphone, believes that her story is "not a systemic screw-up, but a terrible mistake," and complains of "bullying by pseudo-activists."

This is stated in the TV channel's response signed by Lyubov Bolbukh from the strategic communications and PR department, provided at Detector Media's request.

"Once again, we apologize to the person shown in this report and to the society. The journalist who made this story violated 'Kyiv's' standards first and foremost; she has been suspended indefinitely, her future at 'Kyiv' is being discussed. She had a traumatic experience, albeit belatedly, but realized her mistake and is ready to apologize," the answer reads.

Also, according to the reply, those who let the report out on air were also punished.

"The chief of reporters, the editor, the SMM and the producer – everyone who missed the report's content – have received an administrative penalty. And most importantly – this case became an important lesson for us, it taught us to be not just attentive, but meticulous about our own work and the work of our colleagues, because there are no 'not-mine' reports on the air. The investigation has revealed that this is not a system screw-up, but a terrible mistake," the reply states.

At the same time, the TV channel complained about "being bullied by a group of pseudo-activists."

"At the same time, unfortunately, we see that the new 'Kyiv,' which has withstood almost everything, including missile strikes effectively a block down, the hyper-monopoly in the media space, is still kicking and has remained neither pro-government nor oppositional, but instead is nearly the only platform where all points of view are being freely discussed; however, it also seems to be a bone in the throat of a certain group of pseudo-activists. We are ready for constructive criticism and are grateful to viewers and colleagues for it, but in this case the channel is really being bullied. They demand that we "punish," "dismiss," liquidate the channel, and some even propose we introduce preliminary censorship at our channel! This is where we are now," the channel's reply reads.

We will remind you that on October 7, the "Night Watch" channel, working with the capital's patrol officers, aired a report about curfew violators. While talking to a young offender, the report's author Angelika Muzychenko started asking him questions about the content on his smartphone and condemned him for a private video.

Social media were the first to react to this. After the backlash, the "Kyiv" TV channel apologized for the material and the journalist's behavior. She has been suspended from work.