The Audiovisual Council (CA) announces in a press release that it won its case in the first instance on November 14, 2023, when the Chisinau Court, Râșcani seat, rejected as unfounded the action TELESISTEM-TV SRL, founder of the television service Primul in Moldova.

The company complained to the CA which, on 11 March 2022, sanctioned the provider with two fines in the amount of 10 000 lei for lack of impartiality and balance in the news broadcast on 24-25 February 2022 on the coverage of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

“Thus, on 24 February 2022, in the Russian-language news program “Новости” in the realization of the topic “Война в Украине” and in the main bulletin of the day “News” – “Ukraine in a state of war” First in Moldova did not ensure impartiality, balance and favoring the free formation of opinions by presenting the main opposing points of view, even if, apparently, they would have been reflected.

The moderator’s accounts of the situation in the neighbouring country may have created the impression that the Russian Federation’s actions were aimed at liberation: ‘Украина объявила военное положение. Чрезвычайную меру одобрила сегодня утром Верховная Рада после начала Россией масштабной военной операции в соседней страней, которую назвала “освободительной”. The reporter’s comment referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements that the attack on Ukraine was aimed at protecting Russian citizens in Donbas. The Kremlin leader’s claim that the Ukrainian government had been taken hostage was then reproduced: “Сегодняшние события связаны … с защитой самой России от тех, кто взял Украину в заложники и пытаются использовать её против нашей страны и её народа … это самозащита от создаваемых нам угроз и от ещё большей беды”. To Vladimir Putin’s threats to thwart any external action against the war in Ukraine, no other position or response was presented, implying that the Russian president’s decision to invade Ukraine is a justified one.

The provider showed Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski’s speech, which claimed that his country wants peace: “Народ Украины хочет мира, власть Украины хочет мира, хочет и делает. Делает всё, всё что может. Мы не одни – это правда, Украину в этом подддерживает много стран. Почему? Да потому что речь не о мире любой ценой, речь о мире и о принципах, о справедливости”. Moreover, with these statements taken out of context, it was possible that the news could be understood in the sense Putin put it, that Ukraine was a hostage. In length, the Russian president’s statements significantly exceeded those of the Ukrainian president,” the CA statement said.

At the same time, according to CA, the report mentioned that Ukraine’s military and defence infrastructure had been destroyed as a result of the “Russian operation”. In this case, no other source was cited and it was not clear how this conclusion was drawn, the Ukrainian side was disadvantaged by unproven and unbalanced information. This story was also featured on the main news bulletin at 6pm.

CA also notes that in the news of 25 February 2022 – “First casualties of the war”, the provider did not take into account the principle of correct reporting of a fact or event, verification and presentation of information impartially and in good faith: “The first day of war in Ukraine took the lives of 137 soldiers and civilians, and the number of wounded, announced by the authorities of the neighboring country, was more than 300. Official casualties on the Russian side are not known.” Thus, it was not clear which authorities were referred to and how truthful the figures reported were. Moreover, the headline of the news report indicated that the casualties of the war were only on the Ukrainian side.