The National Television and Radio Company of New Zealand fired its editor, who introduced pro-Russian theses into the news about Russiaʼs war in Ukraine.
RNZ said in a statement.
In early June, it became known that an employee of the New Zealand national broadcaster had edited a number of articles. He added pro-Russian propaganda to them. The editor was sent on leave and the incident was investigated.
As of June 21, RNZ staff found 36 articles that had been improperly edited. In addition to Ukraine, they talked about Israel, Syria, Taiwan and China.
The television and radio company continues to check the materials edited by the dismissed employee for the past five years. And an independent commission has launched an investigation into RNZʼs editorial policies and processes.
- Broadcaster New Zealand (RNZ) is the national radio station and news website. The media is financed by the state, but it has editorial independence. RNZ has a big influence in New Zealand — as well as being one of the biggest newsrooms in the country, it has deals with all the major commercial media organizations in New Zealand, meaning RNZ articles are regularly reprinted by news sites and newspapers across the country.