Ukrainian 1+1 Media Group refused to broadcast content praising the Special Forces and Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
"1+1 Media" has appealed to the Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information, the National Council on Radio and Television and the General Prosecutor of Ukraine with the request to urgently assess the facts of broadcast and promotion of films and TV series praising the strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on Ukrainian television channels. The group has also called on other national channels to join this initiative.
“Now, we are in the state of a non-declared war. At a time when the country is threatened with division and when the aggressor uses all possible levers of informational, emotional, financial and military pressure, the promotion of values and glorification of the strength of the Russian Special Forces, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and other special units can no longer be justified by any economic arguments and preferences of the audience. In our opinion, such programming policy bears all the signs of treason. Now, 1+1 Media Group has decided to remove all such TV series and other products from the air of the Group’s channels,” Oleksandr Tkachenko, the CEO of 1+1 Media, said.
Starting from May “2+2” TV channel, a part of 1+1 Media Group, has stopped broadcasting 15 TV series, that is several seasons for some of them. “2+2” TV channel is oriented towards male audience, so series about military men meet its preferences. The channel’s programming grid included a large number of such series and many of them were dedicated to the Russian Special Forces. However, in the current conditions, the Group finds it impossible to continue the actual promotion of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, although it causes serious financial losses to the Group of channels.
Meanwhile, the channel will continue broadcasting other series of Russian production, including melodramas, detective stories, comedies, etc.
Within the framework of the announced initiative, 1+1 Media Group has developed criteria regarding the broadcast of Russian TV series content on the Group’s TV channels. 1+1 Media considers it necessary to differentiate series by certain characteristics and to define which series are unacceptable to be broadcast based on these characteristics. These criteria were also sent to the mentioned authorities.
Below is a detailed list of criteria, compliance with which, in our opinion, should be the main condition for removing the products from the air:
PERIOD:
- idealization of past achievements of Special Forces by creating the illusion that the Soviet regime, in different periods of its existence, was threatened by armies of spies, agents and saboteurs from among ordinary citizens of the USSR; justification of repressive means of fighting them with so-called “historical” or “state” necessity – cruelty, terror, the increase of influence of the bodies that were predecessors of the FSB and Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff;
- retreat from democratic tolerant approaches in analysing the events of the World War II, including periods and events that preceded it and came after it, such as collectivisation, industrialisation and mass repressions; imposition of politically biased historical events;
- distortion of the role and tragedy of Ukrainian people during the resistance to fascist aggression; decrease of the level of resistance in itself; portrayal of Ukrainian people as collaborators and supporters of the fascist occupants;
- attempts of historical revisions and interpretations of the outcome of the World War II in favour of existing Soviet repression institutions, including the NKVD, during and after the World War II.
MODERN:
- systematic glorification of Russia's power structures and their representatives; portrayal of the rest of civil institutions as incapable and corrupt, which leads to the conclusion regarding the justification of using force in order to implement any assigned task;
- persistent demonstration of “superiority” of the authoritarian regime of the Russian statehood over human values, which leads to the conclusion regarding the moral superiority of the “special Russian way,” its special historical role and mission in establishing the world order, even in the conditions of significant losses of human lives;
- propaganda of xenophobia, intolerance, ideas about the superiority of some nations over others, and militarism.
Thus, 1+1 Media appeals to the current government demanding the immediate measures to ensure information security and counteract the incitement of anti-government moods among the population on the air of the nationwide TV channels.
Best regards,
Galyna Grubliak
Head of corporate communications group
Tel. +38 044 490 01 01 (int. 3781)
Cell. +38 050 556 02 89
Frunze str.,23, Kyiv, Ukraine, 04080
About company
1+1 Media Group is one of the largest media holding companies in Ukraine. The vision of the Group is to create content that changes the way people think about the world and themselves.
The structure of 1+1 Media includes 7 TV channels – “1+1,” “2+2,” “TET,” “PLUSPLUS” , “1+1 International,” "UNIAN TV"
and "Bigudi". Each channel of the Media Group holds a certain niche and is oriented towards its own viewers audience
Another component of the Group are information and news platforms TSN.ua, UNIAN and Glavred.info, which are among the most visited portals in Ukraine. Websites Telekritika and Dusia offer the latest news from the world of Ukrainian and foreign show business.
The Group structure includes Production Department “1+1 Production” responsible for creation of in-house formats and adaptation of international formats of various genres for TV channels of the Group: reality and dating shows, talent shows, scripted realities, TV series, sitcoms, documentary and sports programs, original programs, information broadcasting, etc
