THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND THE TELETHON «UNITED NEWS»: SPECIFICS OF COEXISTENCE UNDER MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

One of the peculiarities of martial law in Ukraine is the introduction and functioning of the Ukrainian authorities’ tool for informing a wide audience – the «United News» telethon. This platform is, in fact, a concerted effort to cover the facts, presenting them in a single format, with a single connotation, and a single assessment. Retrospectively assessing the impact of this governmental instrument, it can be stated that it has mostly had a negative impact on democratic processes and is negatively assessed by international institutions that monitor freedom of speech.

An analysis of the legislation of other countries regulating martial law gives grounds to conclude that the introduction of such power platforms is not mandatory for countries in military conflict, but rather an exceptional measure aimed mainly at controlling the presentation of information, which obviously restricts rights and freedoms and is used by Ukraine.

The monopolization of channels and consistency in the presentation/coverage of information can obviously be considered a manifestation of censorship, which allows us to consider the activities of the «United News» telethon in correlation with freedom of speech, freedom of the mass media, and the right to access information.

Amendments to legislation during special periods are usually unsystematic and characterized by the dominance of hypertrophied public interest, including in the area of the right to information. The situation is complicated by the fact that there are no permissible limits or mechanisms to control the dominance of the public interest during martial law, which provokes abuse in this area.  Thus, the question arises whether the state, in derogation of its obligations, can interfere with freedom of expression by monopolizing the information space and whether such measures are permissible and legitimate even under martial law.

The article analyzes the assessments of the telethon, substantiates the existence of a link between the right to information and the right to freedom of expression.