The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) called on the Ukrainian authorities to seriously review the format of the "United News" telethon and to consider the issue of closing this project.
The EFJ press service writes about it.
They believe that the closing of the telethon should be considered in the context of inefficient targeted use of resources, because, according to their conclusion, this harms the information security of Ukraine and the diversity of the media in the country.
The fact that several of Ukraine’s main television channels continue to conduct common news broadcasts, 24 hours a day, seriously lowers the quantity and quality of information received by Ukrainian viewers," EFJ writes.
The reach of the telethon is falling, and meanwhile Ukrainians receive information from anonymous Telegram channels.
"The sources used by anonymous Telegram channels are often impossible to determine, as are their sponsors. This move away from the media creates a serious danger to Ukraine’s informational security, as the political agenda of anonymous channels normally remains unknown," the federation added.
The European Federation of Journalists drew attention to repeated incidents of surveillance of journalists, such as Bihus.Info, investigative journalist Yury Nikolov, Slidstva.Info journalist Yevgeny Shulgat.
EFJ called the accreditation system for journalists who want to gain access to the war zone another problem of press freedom in Ukraine.
"Anonymous reports by Ukrainian journalists show that military commanders on the ground regularly disregard official red zones, or impose additional restrictions on the work of journalists not required by national regulations," the federation explained.
In February 2024, zoning appeared in the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine No. 73 "On the organization of interaction between the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other components of the defense forces and representatives of the mass media during the legal regime of martial law."
Individual accredited media representatives accompanied by relevant officials may work in the red zone. In the yellow zone, it is possible to work without escort, but within the limits of the route agreed by the commander (commander) of the troop group.