Labeled as “traitor”: How journalists from Gagauzia were attacked during the election period and who generates hate speech
Elena Celac, freelance journalist
We, independent journalists of Gagauzia, work in specific conditions. Every day we provide truthful, verified information, analyze events, refute fakes, and conduct investigations. In response, we still get hate. During the presidential election and the referendum, we faced different types of attacks, from cyberattacks to psychological pressure. Why? The answer is quite funny: simply because we are telling the truth.
“Such questions are unacceptable here” – Division into “us” and “them”
First of all, I would like to convey a little the atmosphere into which we plunged since the beginning of the election period. In Gagauzia, many residents began to publicly speak out against Moldova’s accession to the EU and against Maia Sandu. Against this background, articles about the EU’s assistance to Gagauzia were perceived very aggressively. Journalists were called “sold out” and “agents” of Maia Sandu (although we did not campaign for her).
A little from personal experience: Some friends asked me, “Well, are you going to vote for Sandu? You probably have no other choice,” “You are probably for Europe, you get grants for your salary.” When I tried to explain to them what independent journalism is and that using grants does not equate to promoting someone’s agenda for money, I faced misunderstanding. As arguments, there were many fakes that had no logical connections, and a firm conviction that all journalists “belong to someone”.
On election day, I visited several localities in Gagauzia. I will tell you about the case that I remember the most. In Ceadir-Lunga, I approached a group of people who looked from 50 to 70 years old. When I asked, “What do you think about the prospect of Moldova joining the EU?”, I was immediately named “not one of us” – “What kind of question is this? Which Europe? Of course, we are against it,” “Can’t you see that she is for Sandu?”, “You are for Sandu, right? Tell us! You came from Chisinau! Our people understand why such questions are unacceptable here.”
Visiting the pages of other independent journalists and media of Gagauzia, I found similar claims against them. I have collected some comments from social networks under the streams of independent journalists. Some journalists commented on this situation.
“Another order from Sandu?” – An attempt to undermine trust
Nokta.md is a news site that has faced aggression against journalists throughout its existence. Because this media outlet analyzes the events taking place in Gagauzia and openly shares the European vector of Moldova, journalists are called traitors. Usually, this can be heard and read from residents of the autonomy. I’ll show you some examples.
On September 5, Nokta published an announcement about the upcoming debates in Cahul on the topic of European integration and the referendum on accession to the EU. The announcement was accompanied by a video message from the journalist, director Mihail Sirkeli, who spoke about upcoming topics and guests. Some commentators said that he was hated by the whole of Gagauzia and that he was following orders from Sandu.
Attacks are also coming from the team of Governor Evghenia Guțul. In September, Ivan Bessarab, an activist from Gagauzia who distributes Shor’s narratives, called for harassment of Nokta host Mihail Sirkeli and his family. Previously, Bessarab called for spreading “people’s hatred” against Mihail Sirkeli. After the election, everything continues. In streams where Sirkeli discussed the results of the referendum and the presidential election with his guests, he is called a traitor and again accused of being affiliated to Maia Sandu.
“Lousy Gagauz” – insults and playing on feelings
Anna Altiparmak from Vulcanesti started working as a presenter on Ava.md a year and a half ago. In the “Aspect” program, she analyzes the events that take place in Gagauzia. She faced a wave of hate, and the situation escalated during the election period.
“No matter how you tried to convey your opinion to the Gagauz people, everything was perceived with hostility: I was anti-Gagauz because of my position towards Shor and the bribery of voters, a lesbian because I supported joining the EU, a w…e journalist because my position was different from the opinion of others, lousy blogger and lousy journalist because of my videos with representatives of the current government,” said Anna and showed some comments under her streams.
Cyberattacks and bots are technical obstacles
Journalist Vitaly Gaidarji, head of the information portal Laf.md, said that during the elections and the election campaign, the information portal Laf.md faced a number of serious problems, including cyberattacks, security threats, and manipulation.
“One of the key problems was cyberattacks aimed at destabilizing the work of the portal, hacking attempts, and attacks on servers. These attacks required the constant attention of the technical support team and increased protection. In addition, there were many bots that acted aggressively under the materials of Laf.md and spoke out against European integration, etc.,” Vitaly said. According to him, this created certain difficulties, but the journalists did not stop working. “These difficulties affected the overall work of the portal, requiring the team to increase concentration and efficiency. Nevertheless, the portal continued to adhere to the principles of independent coverage of events, striving to provide the audience with high-quality and reliable content,” he added.
Also, according to Gaidarji, against the background of the elections, there was activity on social networks by accounts that created and promoted disinformation and manipulative materials aimed at discrediting official sources and creating political tension. And then on election days, according to Vitaly Gaidarji, the staff of the portal Laf.md faced aggression when collecting people’s opinions about voting and expectations. In addition, some readers under the streams expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that journalists analyze the work of the current government of Gagauzia and the actions of Ilan Shor. In their opinion, this is “denigration”.
Why are journalists who tell the truth being attacked?
Anna Altiparmak links the attacks against journalists to the fact that most of the citizens living in Gagauzia still have post-Soviet thinking and do not accept those who disagree with it. “Gagauzia still has a post–Soviet mindset: it was good back then, Russia is a great power and it will be better with it, under Dodon gas cost 4 lei, and under Stoianoglo we will be set for life. And when you try to convey to people that everything doesn’t work that way, Shor turns on full blast fairy tales about a ‘better’ future. Russian propaganda is the strongest, it can be seen even in the election results in the autonomy. And when I, as a journalist who has her own position, try to talk to them, even through my videos, then I am bad for them. Because my opinion differs from the opinion of the majority of Gagauz people, because, in principle, I have my own opinion and I want a better future for my home, Gagauzia. I am ready to be ‘anti-Gagauz’ and a ‘lousy journalist’ as long as I can convey my position to people,” she said.
Freelance journalist Piotr Garciu notes that hate speech comes from politicians, and only then spreads further. He said, “In my opinion, the hate speech that journalists often hear addressed to them comes from politicians. They are the ones who often refer to journalists in their speeches, put labels on them and thus tell the audience, ‘That is who is responsible for all the troubles – journalists.’ For example, when an investigation or critical material comes out, the first thing politicians or officials say is that this is a political order. So as to justify themselves. People read all this, and they get the image of a journalist as a person who is dishonest, works for money and for someone.”
According to Vitaly Gaidarji, the increasing attacks on Gagauz journalists are related to politicians affiliated to Ilan Shor: “These are purposeful narratives on the part of Shor’s politicians. The goal is to discredit independent media in the autonomy, which is already scarce. It is aimed precisely at making people stop reading and watching us. They take advantage of the anti-European sentiment in the region, accusing us of being sold out for European and American money.”
The fact that the autonomy’s government exerts pressure on journalists was also confirmed by the editor of the portal Laf.md Oxana Posmac, ex-editor of the website of the public television company GRT. Oxana left her previous job after the arrival of a new director, Vasily Dermenji, associated with Ilan Shor, who, according to her, began to conduct editorial policy in the interests of Shor and demanded to delete news that was unfavorable to the Guțul and Shor team. “Then I decided that I could not work in a company where there was pressure on journalists. I think I did the right thing by making this situation public then,” she said.
Working in Laf.md, Oxana continues to observe abuses by the leadership of Gagauzia: “In our programs and materials, we make analyses and invite guests who talk about the inaction of the authorities of Gagauzia, about how Gagauzia has been captured by Shor. Of course, the Executive Committee and some members in the People’s Assembly do not like this and attacks are being made.”
Despite the increased hate speech and attacks against the media, we, independent journalists, confidently continue our mission, as new challenges require even more attention. Society must receive truthful information!
This analysis is made possible by the generous support of the American and British people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UK. The contents are the responsibility of IJC and do not necessarily reflect the views of UK, USAID or the United States Government.
