US State Department: Only telethon violates human rights in Ukraine
24 April 2024 11:47
The US State Department has added the Single Telethon to its 2023 report on human rights violations in Ukraine. This is stated in a document published on the department’s website, Komersant ukrainskyi 
reports.
In the report on Ukraine, in addition to the issue of government corruption, freedom to participate in political processes and general human rights, a separate section highlights the violation of the rights of Ukrainian media to work and disseminate information.
“President Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing martial law in February 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which allowed for further restrictions on the media and media freedom,” the report says,
– the document says.
Thus, according to the State Department, the telethon adheres to the government’s line in covering the Russian-Ukrainian war. The US diplomatic agency emphasises that the national television marathon (the Unified Telethon) has enabled an unprecedented level of control over prime-time television news. Furthermore, some media outlets reported that they had already been deprived of lucrative terrestrial broadcasting contracts in the spring of 2022 and were under pressure from the President’s Office.
The government has also reportedly banned, blocked or sanctioned media outlets and individual journalists who were deemed a threat to national security or who expressed positions that the authorities believe undermine the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Some speakers who criticised the government were also blacklisted from government news programmes. Investigative journalists critical of the government were sometimes subjected to negative social media campaigns, sometimes through government-friendly channels. Other practices continued to affect media freedom, including self-censorship,”
– the report says.
It is worth noting that for the first time since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the balance of public trust and distrust in the United News telethon was negative.
Thus, in February 2024, 36% of people trusted United News, while 47% did not. Back in December last year, this balance was reversed: 43% against 38% in favour of trust.
The United News telethon is the only TV programme broadcast by leading national TV channels since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The content for the broadcast is created by Public Broadcasting, 1 1 Media, Starlight Media (ICTV, STB, Novy Channel), Inter Media Group (Inter, NTN) and Rada TV channel.
The Ministry of Culture has also recognised the TV channels participating in the United News telethon as critical for ensuring the functioning of the economy and the life of the population during the special period.
We would like to add that on 4 April, Kommersant Ukrainian published an article on whether journalists will eventually have reservations and which media outlets are entitled to them.
Read more in the article:
Is there areservation for journalists in Ukraine: what do editorial offices and parliament say?
