It’s official: Telethon is included in the US State Department’s report on human rights violations in Ukraine
The U.S. State Department has published a 2023 report on human rights violations in Ukraine, adding a national telethon to the list.
“Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing martial law in February 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which allowed for further restrictions on the media and media freedom,” the document says.
For example, the national telethon, according to the U.S. State Department, adheres to the government’s line in covering the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The document also mentions that “the government has banned/blocked/imposed sanctions against media outlets and individual journalists who were considered a threat to national security or who expressed positions that, in the opinion of the authorities, undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.”
Moreover, some media outlets reported being removed from lucrative terrestrial broadcasting contracts and pressure from the President’s Office as early as the spring of 2022, the report adds.
“Some speakers who criticized the government were also blacklisted by government news programs. Investigative journalists who criticized the government were sometimes targeted by negative social media campaigns, sometimes through government-friendly channels. Media freedom continued to be affected by other practices, including self-censorship,” the statement said.
If the United News telethon does not demonstrate a change in format and restoration of trust by the end of 2024, it may be stopped, says Yurchyshyn, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech.
