“We record such cases, document them and pass them on to the relevant authorities,” Olga Gerasymiuk on the media leak of strategic facility locations
19 December 18:42
While the enemy has been actively attacking the entire territory of Ukraine with missiles and drones, targeting strategic facilities and production facilities for 4 years in a row, we still have cases of “leaking” locations and photos of certain Ukrainian enterprises to the Internet or the media. Politicians and other public figures have been repeatedly accused of involvement in the dissemination of photos and videos of facilities. At the same time, in the case of the hydrocarbon processing plant in Kremenchuk destroyed by the Russians, it turned out that a map of its location had been published the day before by local media. Olga Gerasymiuk, the head of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, commented on the situation for "Komersant Ukrainian".
She drew attention to the responsibility of journalists and the media in times of war.
“As the National Council, we record, document and pass everything in these cases to the relevant authorities that check and deal with these issues.
Accordingly, I hope that they are already studying the motivation of those who did it, their backgrounds, etc. We are constantly cooperating with security agencies.
As for journalists, we have Order No. 73 (regulating the work of journalists in the combat zone, establishing accreditation rules, defining three zones (red, yellow, green) and a list of information prohibited for dissemination for the safety of the military and ensuring information hygiene during the war – ed.) And I remember many people challenged it, but I think we all came to the same conclusion: in times of war, we need to take care of security and,of course, take care of the balance between the public interest and the public importance and national security. This requires adherence to journalistic standards, journalists’ understanding of their mission, and professional education. And for this purpose, we also have a committee of journalistic ethicsthat considers cases of such journalistic actions,” she said.
According to her, the National Council has already held more than one meeting with journalists and editors, along with security agencies, to discuss where, when, under what circumstances information is published, what consequences it leads to, and how important it is to analyze and be able to avoid them.
In general, as Olga Gerasymiuk points out, the digitalization of the information space makes society more vulnerable to hybrid attacks.
“Facebook, Telegrams, AI, and many other technological capabilities give space not only for the positive, which is undoubtedly there, but also for such things. We have to learn to build a defense against hybrid attacks, but we also have to learn to be responsible. As for such stupid publications, clickbait, I am critical and negative about it, because it is dangerous and unacceptable in wartime. There are human casualties behind this…,” said the Head of the National Council.
Olha Gerasymiuk emphasized that journalists often lack the level of experience today.
“… There is a shortage of people in many editorial offices and channels. Many are mobilizing. They are replaced by inexperienced people, and they need to be trained. The level of professionalism is quite low. I think this problem should be solved by the journalistic community. We need to unite around raising the level of professionalism. At the same time, we undoubtedly have many excellent journalists whose level sets a high standard for others,” she said.
At the same time, Olga Gerasymiuk adds that the behavior of media professionals who publish information that is vulnerable to security cannot be justified, because we are living in a real war.
“No matter how we explain such actions by journalists – whether it is inability, ignorance, lack of experience, or deliberate intentions – their actions have caused damage to security. Accordingly, there must be some response to this, because we are seriously at war, not watching it in a movie on TV,” she emphasized.
