U.S. State Department adds "United News" telethon to report on human rights violations
Kyiv • UNN
The U.S. Department of State's 2023 Human Rights Report on Ukraine notes that the United News telethon, a platform for channels that follow the government line in covering the war, has provided an unprecedented level of control over prime-time television news.
The United States Department of State has published a report on human rights violations in Ukraine for 2023. Among other things, the document also mentions the United News telethon. This was reported by UNN with reference to the US State Department report.
Details
The document notes that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's signing of a decree imposing martial law in February 2022 allowed for further restrictions on the media and media freedom.
For example, the national TV marathon, a shifting platform of channels that toe the government line on war reporting, has provided an unprecedented level of control over prime-time TV news. Moreover, some media outlets reported being cut off from lucrative terrestrial broadcasting contracts and pressured by the President's Office as early as the spring of 2022
The State Department emphasized that the Constitution and laws of Ukraine provide for freedom of expression, including for the press and other media, but that the authorities have not always respected these rights.
The report also mentions that the government banned, blocked or sanctioned media outlets and individual journalists who were considered a threat to national security or who expressed positions that the authorities believed undermined the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity
Some speakers critical of the government were also blacklisted from government news programs. Investigative journalists who criticized the government were sometimes targeted by negative social media campaigns, sometimes through government-friendly channels
Nevertheless, the agency noted that with a few exceptions, people in Ukraine can usually criticize the government publicly and privately and discuss issues of public interest without fear of official reprisals.
Recall
The results of a survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) show that more Ukrainians distrust than trust the United News telethon. As of February 2024, only 36% of Ukrainians surveyed trusted the program.
