Council of Media Ethics found 9 Metamorphosis Foundation’s complaints justified

By admin On Apr 7, 2017 0

Yesterday, 6 April 2017, the Council of Media Ethics made 9 decisions on the same number of complaints lodged by Metamorphosis Foundation, and all of them were found to be justified.

The complaints were lodged because the websites kurir.mk, lider.mk, makedonija24.mk, netpress.com.mk, puls24.mk, republika.mk as well as the TV stations Kanal 5, Nova, and Sitel didn’t publish a denial regarding article/TV story published by these media.

The denials that Metamorphosis delivered were regarding the untruths about the work of the Foundation stated at a press conference held by a group dubbed Stop Operation Soros (SOS). It is unclear what or whom this group represents, who is behind such name, having in mind the fact that same three persons always speak on behalf of this unregistered and nonexistent entity. SOS hasn’t even started the registration procedures as the Central Registry of the Republic of Macedonia confirmed,

In the explanation about the decision, CME refers to the Article 3 of the Code of Journalists of Macedonia, saying “the journalist shall strive to provide publication of correction, denial or reply in cases when the information published is found to be incorrect”. Even more important, the Article 16 of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, more precisely Paragraphs 4 and 5, clearly state that the right to reply and to correct untrue statements or facts in the mass media is guaranteed.

In accordance with the Rules of operation of the Council’s Press Complaints Commission, the media are obligated to publish CME’s decision, otherwise this Commission will take additional measures.

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This article was created within the framework of the Project to increase the accountability of the politicians and political parties Truthmeter implemented by Metamorphosis. The article is made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for Democracy(NED) and The Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD), a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an initiative that supports democracy, good governance, and Euroatlantic integration in Southeastern Europe. The content is the responsibility of its author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Metamorphosis, National Endowment for Democracy, the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, or its partners.