The Latvia-registered Russian-language portal 'Meduza', by publishing a reader's letter about the war initiated by Russia in Ukraine, irresponsibly reflected various perspectives and effectively justified the arguments used in the letter, concluded the Media Ethics Council of Latvia, according to LETA.
The complainant indicated that by publishing a specific letter at the end of the 'War' section in the 'Letters from Readers' column, the portal spreads narratives that align with Kremlin propaganda regarding Russia's war against Ukraine, absolves Russia of responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine, and relativizes Russian aggression.
The complainant noted that such letters employ specific propaganda techniques.
At the same time, the portal's editorial team explained that by publishing such letters, it ensures a diversity of opinions, and an editorial disclaimer is added stating that the reflected opinions do not always align with the editorial stance.
However, the Ethics Council did not believe that by publishing such a letter, the editorial team added any value to it. In the council's opinion, such a publication does not responsibly reflect various perspectives but legitimizes and justifies the published opinion and the arguments used within it.
The responsible practice of media when receiving such opinions should be different, the council emphasizes. For example, it should critically assess their content and the appropriateness of further publication, explain their connection to the narratives propagated by the Kremlin outside of Russia, and provide editorial clarifications and positions.
The Ethics Council believes that diversity of opinions should not be used as an argument to diminish responsibility for the war and to justify aggressive war against an independent state.
