On Compliance with Standards of Objectivity, Institutional Completeness of Information in Covering Representative Bodies, and Warning Regarding Editorial Responsibility
Belarusian media
The disregard by Belarusian media for the existence of functioning legal institutions (such as BRA), coupled with the simulation of media interest in informal projects, creates a distorted reality for Belarusian society and international partners.
This approach directly contradicts:
Standards of professional ethics and impartiality, which require comprehensive representation of facts and a refusal to promote the interests of individual political groups and actors through the suppression of alternative institutional solutions.
The RFE/RL / USAGM Editorial Code (applicable to Radio Svaboda materials and editorials).
Standards of public accountability, as it facilitates the legitimization of powerless structures and blocks the development of legitimate civic institutions.
Based on the above, we officially state
Attempts by individual actors and media outlets to arrogate the functions of public oversight without legal grounds, as well as media facilitation of this practice through information filtering, will not pass without an official institutional assessment.
Should the one-sided coverage and silencing of BRA as an official institution with legitimate powers continue, BRA reserves the right to:
Escalate the issue of compliance with editorial standards to the level of international donors, the RFE/RL Board of Directors, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
Publish an open analytical Fact-Finding Monitoring Report detailing media manipulations and the creation of “information bubbles” surrounding the topic of representative reform.
Proposals and Demands to Editorial Offices
To restore information balance, uphold professional ethics, and provide the audience with a comprehensive picture, BRA invites independent media editorial offices to:
- Provide a platform / Include the BRA perspective in the ongoing public discussion on governance and control structures, allowing representatives of the Assembly to explain the difference between an institutional approach (Bylaws, legal liability, Fact-Finding) and declarative projects.
- Publish an expert column / commentary on behalf of BRA regarding the audit mechanisms and public rights protection safeguards enshrined in its Bylaws.
- Account for the official status of BRA and its expert positioning when preparing all subsequent analytical and news materials concerning transparency, donor accountability, and public oversight.
A more detailed explanation of our position and the text of the Bylaws are available on the digital platform of the Assembly’s founders.
We kindly ask the editorial board to bring this information to the attention of your audience and colleagues from other publications.