23 May 2018 19:13

Estonian president criticizes Russian media for propaganda

KYIV. May 23 (Interfax) - Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said she does not trust Russian media because she is confident that the majority of it is ideologically controlled and used in "hybrid warfare," but she considers it necessary to respond to "fake" accusations.

It is clear that, with very few exceptions, Russian media is ideologically controlled, Kaljulaid said at a presentation of a study called "Narratives of Russian Propaganda about Europe and Ukraine" created by the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center's analytical group for hybrid threats in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Information is a weapon; no war is necessary in order to use it as a weapon, but it is very important to respond to fake accusations, she said.

Russia uses almost the same pattern when undertaking military campaigns in Georgia and Ukraine or meddling with elections in the United States or France, Kaljulaid said.

She advised reporters to avoid propaganda and work for the sake of their reputation.

Propaganda may appear to be an effective tool in the short term, but it is more important to build trust in the media, the Estonian president said.