The pro-European regime in Chișinău plans on reintroducing the ban on Russian television stations, the Moldovan media writes, referring to a statement of Parliament Speaker, Igor Grosu. In fact, the Moldovan official referred to the protection and stimulation of the local audiovisual sector, including by passing a piece of legislation to give it a wider access to the media market, considering it is presently dominated by stations broadcasting TV programmes from other countries. The misinterpretation is part of a wider campaign aimed at demonizing the pro-European regime in Chișinău and to depict it as anti-Russian, ready to engage in a war pitting the West against Moscow.
NEWS: “The new pro-European power in the Republic of Moldova intends to continue its fight against Russian television stations, a fight started while the Democrats were in office. As part of the first stage, the government wants to ban all advertising for rebroadcasts from Russia”, Eurasia Daily writes, referring to the statements of Moldovan Parliament Speaker, Igor Grosu.
“He promised to destroy the monopoly of ads rebroadcast from Russia”, the publication writes, also cited by the mejdurecie.md news portal in the Republic of Moldova.
The topic has been picked up by politnavigator.net as well, which headlines “Moldova announces new crackdown on Russian TV stations”.
“The PAS Parliament majority is working on a draft law providing for a ban on advertising for Russian television stations, rebroadcast to the Republic of Moldova”.
NARRATIVE: The pro-European majority in Chișinău is banning and imposing restrictions on Russian media.
BACKGROUND: The media sector in the Republic of Moldova is relatively small and working with scattered resources. Over the years, the sector has been controlled by ruling parties, which traditionally also owned media outlets of their own. Prior to 2019, for instance, the Democratic Party (founded by Vlad Plahotniuc) held the media monopoly. Once the party was removed from office, the Party of Socialists (Igor Dodon) came to control the media market.
Without advertising-derived money, few independent audiovisual institutions developed over the years, while the majority that did endured mostly owing to projects funded by international organizations.
Under these circumstances, the audiovisual sector in the Republic of Moldova is flooded by foreign TV and radio stations, particularly from the Russian Federation.
Particularly during the last decade, civil society and experts have warned against the dangers of Russian propaganda and the growing influence of Russian media in the Republic of Moldova.
In 2018, a number of restrictions came into force, limiting the broadcasts of programmes produced in certain states. The restrictions were however lifted at the end of 2020 by the Socialist Parliament majority.
Despite the restrictions, a study conducted in 2020 shows that 70% of respondents were watching TV programmes produced in Russia. Russian TV, cinema and music continue to be favored by a large number of citizens of the Republic of Moldova, in particular national minorities and the elderly, who feel nostalgic about their youth in the former USSR.
Another study, conducted in 2018, reveals that the Republic of Moldova is the country in Central and Eastern Europe with the highest rate of exposure to Russian propaganda. The research confirms that the majority of the leading TV stations on the market rebroadcast Russian programmes, while part of the online media favors the Kremlin.
PURPOSE: To portray the pro-European regime in Chișinău as anti-Russian. To prevent the establishment of good ties between the government in Chișinău and Moscow.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: What the Russian media claims about Chișinău authorities’ plans to ban or restrict the rebroadcast of TV Russian stations is based on the statements of Moldovan Parliament Speaker, Igor Grosu, who featured in a show on Jurnal TV.
The Moldovan official said that, at present, lawmakers are working on a bill that should limit advertising for channels rebroadcasting programmes, aimed at stimulating local TV stations. Igor Grosu never made any reference to channels from Russia or any other country.
“My colleagues in Parliament’s special committee are working out the details. I’ve asked them to contact media institutions and discuss the bill with them, in order to make sure the changes will encourage local production and discourage the overrunning of the local market with rebroadcast programmes. We have an obligation to protect local producers. We have talents of our own, and the little advertising we have should be redirected to these entities”, Igor Grosu said.
At the same time, the Parliament Speaker referred to the government’s plans to eliminate the monopoly on the advertising market, which experts say is currently controlled by people close to Igor Dodon.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: Igor Grosu said that a draft law is being elaborated at the moment, aimed at stimulating local audiovisual production, including by limiting access to advertising to TV stations rebroadcasting programmes to Moldova.
WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT: The Kremlin, the Bloc of Communists and Socialists, by fueling fears in segments of the population against possible reprisals from the pro-European regime based on ethnic and linguistic criteria.
