Paul
Goble
Staunton, December 22 – “In the
struggle with Russian disinformation, the so-called ‘BBC standards’ of
journalism not only do not work but on the contrary are exceptionally
destructive,” regularly giving Moscow victories it does not deserve and must
not gain, according to Evhen Tsybulenko.
The professor at Tallinn Technical
University and co-editor of the important new book, The Use of Force Against
Ukraine and International Law (The Hague, 2018, 481 pp.) says that these
standards are important and work well when there are competing news sources but
not when a news source is up against disinformation (mnews.world/ru/evgen-tsybulenko-intervyu-s-rusofobom/).
If journalists give equal time to
truthful information and disinformation “as these standards require, then then people
will not find the truth in between but rather a deeply distorted reality. And
that, unfortunately, is happening ever more often.”
Consider the following “simple example.
Imagine that all Russian media day in and day out say that the earth is flat,
and Western outlets say that the earth is round but report both positions as
the BBC standards require. What will be
the result of this ‘truth in the middle’? That the earth is a cube?”
That is exactly what has been
happening with coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine both in Ukrainian outlets
and international ones, Tsybulenko says. Related to this is the desire of journalists
to pose as neutral, something that prompts them to use terms which the Russian
side won’t object to and thus gives Moscow’s disinformation effort another
victory.
Given the criminalization of
propaganda by the Russian side, its promotion of ethnic, racial and religious
hatred, there is no reason for journalists to adopt such strategies because
such actions are banned by Article 20 of the International Pact on Civic and Political
Rights – or for governments to allow such information free access to their
populations.
In the course of an extensive
interview taken by Vadim Shtepa, Tsybulenko makes three other important
points. First, now in contrast to Soviet
times, Estonians understand and clearly distinguish between ethnic Russians and
ethnic Ukrainians in their midst. Earlier, these two groups behaved similarly
as Soviets and were viewed as such by Estonians.
Second, in per capita terms, Estonia
has been provided Ukraine with more help in its fight against Russian
aggression than any other country. Because Estonia is a small state, the total
it has been sending is relatively small, but the burdens its people have willingly
assumed underscores their understanding and support.
And third, Tsybulenko says that “the
only alternative to real federalization of russia is its complete
disintegration,” something “no one should be afraid of” because “the disintegration
of empires is not only in the interests of the surrounding world but also in
the first instance in the interests of the Russians themselves.”
That is because if the empire
continues to exist, the Tallinn scholar says, Russians will continue to be used
by the Kremlin as cannon fodder or “in the best case as the target of state
theft. The new republics, I hope, will
respect international law and conduct an entirely different policy.”
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