Decision
The Commission on Journalistic Ethics regularly receives complaints regarding the actions of journalists on social media. This involves not only their publications — complainants may contest the removal of comments or a journalist “banning” a user on their page.
On May 3, 2024, the Commission received almost simultaneously two complaints — from Liudmyla Polishchuk and Yuliia Hudzenko — regarding the discussion on the page under the posts of the editor-in-chief of Istorychna Pravda, and now a military servant, Vakhtang Kipiani, regarding the construction of the National Military Memorial Cemetery. The complainants claim that “in his Facebook posts, Vakhtang Kipiani uses deceptive, twisted information,” incites hatred, failed to look into the problem profoundly and rejects alternative viewpoints regarding the negative consequences for the environment if a cemetery is constructed.
The Commission believes that topics such as the memorialization of those who perished in the Russia-Ukraine war should be subject to a broad public discussion. At the same time, being easily manipulated, this discussion should involve increased sensitivity of the parties to one another and tolerance for opposing views. It should also be kept in mind what the roles of the parties are.
Journalists must understand that even on social media pages, they may be perceived as journalists. Conversely, the audience should also understand that every media person has the right to freedom of thought in their personal space, i.e., on the personal page on a certain social media platform.
In connection with this, the Commission points out to journalists that it is important to clearly delineate their “private” and “personal/professional” pages, where different requirements regarding statements and public or professional criticism may apply. After all, journalists’ pages that are “personal and professional” at once have tens or hundreds of thousands of followers, and their reach and impact on the audience is akin to that of traditional media.
While there are no hard criteria for delineation between “private” and “personal/professional” pages, the Commission believes the following guidelines can be used:
“a private page”:
- is locked or restricted (e.g., only accessible to friends);
- does not have a specified place of work or profession;
- is not used to promote the journalist’s own publications or the media where the journalist works.
“a personal/professional page”:
- has an open profile and a wide circle of followers or friends;
- has the journalist’s place of work, experience, and other professional characteristics indicated;
- includes the journalist’s professional publications, promotes the media outlet where they work, broadly discusses professional or social and political issues.
Undoubtedly, even in the private capacity, a journalist has the right to discuss socially significant subjects. Discussion of matters of public interest is subject to additional protection within the framework of freedom of expression. At the same time, the journalist can express their own evaluative judgments and adhere to their personal position. The audience may like this position or not, but as part of personal communication, a journalist is not obliged to provide balanced opinions. In addition, the owner of a page / profile on social media is responsible for the content therein, and thus has the right to moderate the discussion at their own discretion. However, the limit — legal rather than ethical — is refraining from hate speech and personal insults.
The Commission has already pointed out that since the subject of its consideration is materials in the media, not publications on personal pages on social networks, such complaints will not be considered, and decision in such cases will not be issued.
However, this situation prompts the Commission to reiterate its position regarding the private and personal/professional communication in the public discourse by media representatives.
Conclusion and recommendations
In view of the above, the Commission rejects the consideration of both complaints.
The Commission recommends that media representatives who are active on online platforms:
- differentiate between private and personal/professional pages on social media;
- avoid sharing posts on their pages that incite hate, since such posts can be perceived by the audience as the journalist’s own position;
- while moderating discussions under their publications, refrain from insults and maintain a professional tone.