Section 1: Imran Bangash
History, geography, population, language, current government and media climate
Current Government
The constitution of Belarus consists of a president who serves a 5-year term. In July 1994, Belarus had its first President, Alexander Lukashenko, who is still President to this day due. According to the U.S. Department of State, Lukashenko “...used a non-democratic referendum in November 1996 to amend the 1994 constitution to broaden his powers and illegally extend his term in office. In 2004 he managed to undo term limits on the presidency so that he could remain in office for as long as he wants.
The official website for the President of the Republic of Belarus paints President Alexander Lukashenko as a strong leader who embraces the constitution, stating “The rights, responsibilities and status of the president of the Republic of Belarus are enshrined in the constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994 that embraced the amendments and additions adopted in the national referendums.” Although the government website is biased toward its leader, they do hold valuable information such as their current economy, social sector, demographic, and more.
Belarusian Language
The Belarusian language is an East Slavic language that is similar to Ukrainian and Russian. The language is not used in everyday life due to past discrimination and oppression. Russianization was introduced by the Russian Empire in the 1860s, the reason being to erase cultural identity from Belarusians. Russianization, described by Dasha Davidouskaya, is “...a set of measures aimed to spread and popularize the Russian language and culture in many countries, including the Belarusian territory.”
During the 1940s when Stalin was elected, those who spoke Belarusian could be executed. Schools with Belarusian as their primary language were shut down and Belarusian magazines and newspapers steadily decreased. In a similar scenario during the 1960s, the Communist party continued to normalize the Russian language. Slowly eradicating other languages, it was heavily encouraged to use Russian as the primary language.
Once Belarus became an independent country, the two official languages were Belarusian and Russian. Belarusian still wasn’t favored due to the lack of advantages you gain from knowing the language. It’s scarce due to more opportunities available in post-Soviet countries. Belarusian media is also small in comparison with Russian media. There are far more Russian entertainment, news channels, programs, education, and so on.
Even though there is a lack of support within the Belarusian community, there are still Belarusians who are fighting for cultural recognition.
Population
The population is mostly Belarusian due to the country being founded for its independence. The population is roughly 81.2% Belarusian, the rest being 11.4% Russian, 3.9% Polish, 2.4% Ukrainian, 0.3% Jewish, and 0.8% other as of 1999. Since then, the country has grown in population with Muslim communities and Jewish communities due to their support of education, mosques, and synagogues. The expansion and acceptance of other religions have increased their overall ethnic diversity.
Section 2: Emily Peake
Current news/media issues and problems in these regions, most used news publications
Journalism threats
According to the European parliament that focuses on the media climate and environment in Belarus they explain, “The media environment in Belarus is and has traditionally been hostile to independent journalists.”“ The world press freedom index ranked Belarus in 158th place out of 180 countries due to imminent threats, which are faced continuously by critical journalists, arrests, and censorship of information.”
In the reporters without borders report of the prosecution of journalists and mass media in Belarus, they give many examples of how the government threatens and takes action on the journalists in their country.
According to the Belarusian association of journalists, in 2020 the number of journalist violations was 8 times higher than the last 10 years average. They explain that the cause of this was due to the previous election that year. In this report they give us a preview to a list of repressions against journalists in that year of 2020,
Media censorship
According to the 2021 World press freedom index Belarus was placed on the list of the 10 most censored countries in the world. In a study done by zois that they mention in the european parliament Of the most common media sources, they found that 70.6% of belarusian citizens use social and online media as the primary news source; according to the report only 10% use state media as their main source. This data shows that not many citizens trust the primary information coming from their media and government. According to VPN overview it states that they censor the media to shape the public opinion, limit fake news and more. In 2018, a new bill was drafted that allows authorities to block websites and networks that have spread misinformation. So although they have very restricting media rules they do try to limit the spread of fake news the best they can.
The types of content there restricting is political dissent, websites, search engines and social media, illegal and extremist content. According to VPN overview it states that they censor the media to shape the public opinion, limit fake news and more. In 2018, a new bill was drafted that allows authorities to block websites and networks that have spread misinformation. So although they have very restricting media rules they do try to limit the spread of fake news the best they can.
According to VPN overview it states that they censor the media to shape the public opinion, limit fake news and more. In 2018, a new bill was drafted that allows authorities to block websites and networks that have spread misinformation. So although they have very restricting media rules they do try to limit the spread of fake news the best they can.
When it comes to social media, according to VPN overview Lukashenko has a huge desire to ban all social media platforms. It states that “ He perceives social media to be a tool of dissent that allows for revolution and insurgency.” it also states that there is no way you can do stuff on the internet without their government being aware of it
Current and traditional news
In recent years, the forms of traditional media in Belarus have declined. The radio audience in Belarus has plummeted over the last decade and makes up only 12.8% of the population.https://ridl.io/the-russian-media-in-belarus/ In Belarus radio is seen as a reliable source among citizens mainly over 60. Citizens younger than that often look to online media. Television has been the main media source for Russia which influences the belarusian audience since the 90’s. Only channels owned by Belarus national state broadcasting create media that is independent from Russian media; those stations include Belarus-1, Belarus-2, Belarus-3, Belarus-5. Belarusian authorities are also allowed to cut out programmes they do not like, they normally would do this after facing criticism from Russian media. The ONT channel is the most popular source of television in belarus. ONT uses content of the channel 1 Russia as well as broadcasts Vremya programme for half of its nightly news cast.
Restricting news and access
“Belarus is one of the worst enforcers of media censorship in the world.” VPN overview. Belarus is known as Europe's last dictatorship for having the most restrictive internet access in the world. Up until 2014 Belarusians authorities did not have access to open media without a court order. The types of content there restricting is political dissent, websites, search engines and social media, illegal and extremist content. According to VPN overview it states that they censor the media to shape the public opinion, limit fake news and more.
Section 3: Mena Haas
Verifying news, misinformation problems, well-known and reliable journalists
Misinformation in Belarus
Belarus is known to have crafted and engaged with misinformation and disinformation frequently. Since the country has kept amending its Media Law, most independent media and news have been deemed “extremist” and have been shut down. This law has made state media the main promoted source inside Belarus. According to an IREX report, “state media used to simply present facts out of context or in a way to obscure the truth. Now, the state media completely invents stories.” State actors are used to promote false information as well as Russian actors that disseminate Kremlin propaganda and disinformation.
Following the allegedly rigged 2020 election of Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, state media blamed the west for protests and considered the demonstrations to be part of a ploy to dismantle Belarus and intimidate Russia. According to Freedom House, “This strategy seeks to devalue the protests by denying their internal political focus and demonizing their leaders and participants.”
Any remaining journalists within Belarus are given false or misleading information in order to match the state media or to promote propaganda. Access to quality and truthful information is severely limited for both journalists and Belarusians. There is no effort on the government’s side to address or reduce the misinformation or disinformation being spread. Despite this obstacle, both citizens and journalists still search for the truth. Journalists look for official statements from other countries nearby, some of which moved to. Citizens use VPNs to safely check “extremist” news and media or any other news from abroad sources. Both groups have increased their use of Telegram, a messenger app, as well.
Verifying News in Belarus
Since misinformation is such a problem in Belarus and, according to a report from the European Parliament, Belarus is “on the list of the 10 most censored countries in the world,” it’s important that citizens and people abroad verify their news. If you are not within the country, there is a much better chance of verifying information. The process for this includes checking for the original source, checking who else has the information, and checking what other sources are saying.
Some non-Belarusian-based news sites that credibly cover Belarus are Aljazeera and The Guardian. According to a report from the European Parliament “The EU also helps to fight disinformation through its fact-checker website EUvsDisinfo, a project run by the European External Action Service’s East StratCom Task Force which enables readers to verify information that is available on the internet. Its search engine helps to identify quickly new disinformation on Belarus.”
If you are a Belarusian citizen, verifying news from within the country can be very difficult. According to an IREX report, “there is no normal access. Belarusians who need to find any information must find creative ways to overcome the blocking of websites that are considered extremist or under some other kind of crazy repressions. They have to use VPNs and other censorship circumvention tools.” Another tool used by Belarusians to verify news is Telegram channels. Many journalists who are now exiled and living in a different country still report on Belarus and “go through a lot of training on how to increase our fact checking-skills and we use many different tools,” said Aliaksandra Dynko, a correspondent for Radio Free Europe. “We make fact-checks on our videos and photos via metadata trying to understand whether they are true or not. We also check all the news we collect via social media and networks. We need to confirm the information with several other sources.”
Well-Known and Reliable Journalists
Many independent journalists have been exiled or arrested because of their truthful reporting. According to a Euronews article, “Nexta, a Belarus-based online media has become a key source of information for many…the online organisation, which is not state-run, has an encrypted Telegram channel that has over 1.3 million subscribers.” The co-founder and editor-in-chief of this organisation, Raman Pratasevich, was arrested in 2021 for ‘organizing anti-government protests'.
Numerous Belarusian journalists have been targeted for their truthful reporting, according to a report from Reporters Without Borders (RSF):
- Daria Chultsova and Katsiaryna Andreyeva both worked for the independent television channel Belsat TV. According to a report made by both Reporters Without Borders and BAJ, “they were sentenced to two years in prison for broadcasting live during demonstrations. Andreyeva was later on also charged with treason and faces up to 15 years in prison.”
- Natallia Lubneuskaja is another well-known reporter who worked for the independent Belarusian newspaper, Nasha Niva. She was reporting on the 2020 election protests when she was shot by a rubber bullet even though she had a press vest on. She now lives in Lithuania.
- The well-known independent news site TUT.by was classified by the Belarusian government as extremist, which caused the editor-in-chief, Maryna Zolotova, to be detained in Belarus.
“Belarus is no longer a story about a place but a story about people,” exiled journalist Maria Gritz said in the RSF report. “Belarus is now everywhere because we Belarusians are everywhere.”
Tommy Walker, a VOA Reporter, shines a light on the experiences that independent broadcaster, Belsat TV, has had with Belarus's strict media censorship, disinformation, and jailings of journalists. “From Poland, Belarusian News Outlet informs Audiences Back Home”. voanews.com
Credits:
Created with images by TTstudio - "Minsk, Belarus - Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Spirit viewed at sunset" • Curioso.Photography - "Bas-relief of the Soviet era on old facade building on Nemiga Street in Minsk, Belarus." • Aliaksei - "Minsk, Belarus-August 22, 2020: Peaceful protests in Belarus. People at a protest in Belarus. Strike in Belarus" • Dmytro - "Aerial. People crowd background. Mass gathering of many people in one place. Top view." • iVazoUSky - "MINSK, BELARUS - August 23, 2020: March of New Belarus in Minsk. Flag of Belarus. White red white"