United News telethon cited in USA as example of violation of freedom of expression

24.04.2024, 14:52 ukranews.com

This is evidenced by the text of the report on the website of the US Department of State.

The report states that Ukrainian legislation and the constitution provide for freedom of speech, in particular for mass media and other media.

In 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on the introduction of martial law, which made it possible to introduce further restrictions on mass media and media freedom.

"For example, the national television marathon - a rotating platform of channels toeing the government's line on war reporting - has provided an unprecedented level of control over prime-time television news," the report said.

The text of the report also states that a number of Ukrainian mass media reported the loss of lucrative broadcasting contracts and pressure from the Office of the President already in the spring of 2022.

The US Department of State also reported that the government of Ukraine banned, blocked, or imposed sanctions on mass media and individual journalists who were considered a threat to national security or who expressed a position that, according to the authorities, undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

A number of public figures critical of the government were also blacklisted from government news programs.

And investigative journalists critical of the government have sometimes been the target of negative social media campaigns, sometimes through government-friendly channels.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, at the end of 2023, the national telethon United News remained one of the main sources of information for Ukrainians.

At the same time, according to the results of the USAID-Internews survey, which was conducted in November 2023, 71% of Ukrainians trust the information from the telethon.

We will remind you that in December 2023, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, questioned the effectiveness of the telethon.

And at the beginning of April of this year, Yurchyshyn said that the telethon United News will be completed if it does not regain the trust of Ukrainians by the end of 2024.