Lively debate on Russian media investment in the West
“The battle for the truth” was the title of the debate hosted by the Nordic Council of Ministers at Meg16. Four experts on Russia and Russian journalism sat on the panel moderated by the head of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ communications department, Mary Gestrin.
“Russia wants to spread distrust. It’s not motivated by making people believe that what it says is true, rather it wants to make us believe that everything is propaganda – that everyone’s working for someone, including the western media,” said Kalle Kniivilä, journalist at the Sydsvenskan newspaper and an expert on Russia.
Kenneth Broman, Chief of Staff at the Nordic Council of Ministers and head of its international co-operation, urged for caution in the use of the word “propaganda”.
Pluralism in the Russian-language media is a central issue. For us it’s ultimately a question of democracy. Freedom of the press and democracy go hand in hand. We also see it as a key aspect of social inclusion.
Broman highlighted the Nordic Council of Ministers’ 25-year partnership with the Baltic countries. He stressed that the council of ministers does not want a dichotomy, rather it seeks to unite, and cited, for instance, Nordic support for independent Russian-language media in the Baltic.
“Pluralism in the Russian-language media is a central issue. For us it’s ultimately a question of democracy. Freedom of the press and democracy go hand in hand. We also see it as a key aspect of social inclusion.”
Kniivilä warned against comparing journalism in the West with the way the Russian media works.
“We must ensure that there is a decisive and sizeable difference between Russian propaganda and western journalism. Otherwise we just fall into the trap that the Russians want us to fall into.”
Criticism of the Russian state media
The panel also included Ludmila Bozjko Månson, who writes about Scandinavia for the Russian state news agency Rossija Segodnja. She said she works like any other journalist:
“I write like all other Scandinavia correspondents. It’s not propaganda and Moscow doesn’t tell me how to write.”
Galina Timtjenko, founder and CEO of the independent Russian-language news website Meduza in Latvia, was very critical of the state-controlled media in Russia, and also warned of its influence on Russian-speaking citizens in the Baltic countries. Timtjenko said that the Russian-speaking minority has been made to look at Russia through rose-tinted glasses for the last 20 years by way of Russian television.
“They have no opportunity to compare the news they get from Russian state channels with reality.”
