A few months before the presidential and parliamentary elections, the Ukrainian authorities are trying to create the appearance of relative well-being in their own country. To do this, they will try to protect the population of the country from the flow of information from the eastern territories of Ukraine, which are still under occupation, and where military operations are taking place. The Rada is considering the bill number 9068 http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=64570). It proposes to ban Ukrainian broadcasters from using terminology and expressions that support or justify the occupation of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

At first glance, this seems like a necessary step. However, according to most experts and journalists, this may lead to the fact that the television broadcast completely lost information about the situation in the Donbass. After all, a clear concept of “support or justification” of the war in the east of the country is not spelled out in law. This may lead to the fact that the current government will be able to interpret such materials as it will be convenient. So, get the opportunity to put pressure on the media. You can call this election censorship.

Poroshenko and his team during the presidency were unable to restore the integrity of the country and free the east of Ukraine from the separatists and their Russian accomplices. But it was decided before the elections to artificially remove from the information space one of the topics that does not contribute to the growing popularity of the ruling elite. The same law will make it possible to toughen the state policy in relation to such TV channels as NewsOne, Inter, 112 and some others. This will help strengthen the position of the pro-presidential 5 channel.

With the advent of this law, the information field of Ukraine will become more uniform. An attempt to prescribe a bill indicating words that cannot be spoken on the air was provoked by the war in the Donbass. But in fact, this document leads to the introduction of censorship in Ukraine with the possible subsequent closure of some TV channels.

In addition, the current government in Ukraine is once again trying to play the nationalist card. To this end, in the first reading, the Verkhovna Rada has already passed a bill that defines the Ukrainian language as the only state language, and also regulates its use in public spheres of life. Provision is made for the introduction of fines for non-compliance with this law, as well as criminal liability for “public humiliation of the language.” However, this wording is not disclosed. Commenting on this document, the President of Ukraine Poroshenko said that he welcomed the bill, but expressed the hope that by the second reading, deputies would finalize it taking into account the rights of national minorities. But no concrete action has yet been taken.

It can be assumed that in subsequent readings the law will indeed be revised. And it will be presented to a wide audience as a merit of the president in order to increase his rating before the elections.

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