Decision
Background
On March 1, 2022, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics received a complaint from Serhii Hordyshev about a news story on TOV Channel 5 aired on March 1, 2022, with a text box “Russian soldier, go f*ck yourself” on the screen.
On the screenshot that the complainant refers to, you can see that the situation is about the story of Channel 5 dedicated to the subject “130 works by Maria Pryimachenko destroyed: occupiers burn a local art museum near Kyiv.” The story is accompanied by a red text box on the screen which says, “Russian soldier, go f*ck yourself.” The applicant believes that in this way, the TV channel has violated ethical and moral standards accepted in Ukrainian society. “In particular, the use of dirty, obscene curse words and expressions characteristic of ‘moscovia’ representatives is unacceptable,” says the complaint.
Given the martial law and the fact that the Ukrainian media are currently in a busy state, covering the Russian military aggression in Ukraine live, the Commission will not address the channel for its own commentary on the aforementioned complaint. We consider it necessary to consider this complaint unilaterally.
Relevant ethical standards
Paragraph 15 of the Code of Ethics for the Ukrainian Journalist states the following: “No one shall be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, language, race, religion, national, regional or social origin or political opinion. Relevant features of a person (group of people) should be indicated only in cases where this information is an essential part of the material. It is necessary to refrain from hints or comments concerning physical defects or diseases of the person, to avoid use of offensive expressions, profanity.”
Regarding violations of the requirements of the Code
The Code of Ethics of Ukrainian Journalists sets out the requirements for the need to refrain from using offensive language and profanity. At the same time, compliance with this standard is necessary primarily in a specific context.
BBC Editorial Guidelines start like this: “In a perfect world the BBC Editorial Guidelines would consist of one sentence: use your own best judgement. No set of rules or guidelines can ever replace the need for producers, editors and managers to use the wisdom that comes from experience, common sense and a clear set of editorial and ethical values when confronted with difficult editorial challenges.”
Similarly, in this particular case, the use of profanity acquires an entirely different meaning than the usual everyday violation of language norms. Here is why.
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine along the entire length of the common border and from the territory of Belarus. Ukraine is fiercely resisting.
On February 24, a Russian warship approached the Ukrainian Snake Island and Ukrainian border guards stationed there. The Russians announced the following to the garrison twice: “I am a Russian warship. I propose that you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”One of the border guards responded: “Russian warship, go f*ck yourself!”
This response of Ukrainian soldiers from Snake Island became one of the symbols of Ukrainian people’s fight against Russian occupiers. Ukrainians admired the brave response of the border guards. The phrase has become a meme that supports the cohesion and unity of Ukrainians during martial law. The event was covered by Reuters, The Guardian, Politico, The Daily Mail and many others.
Those same BBC Editorial Guidelines state the following: “Offensive Language is one of the most frequent causes of complaint. Judgements about its use are difficult because they depend on tone and context. There is no consensus about words that are acceptable, when, and by whom. Different words cause different degrees of offence in different parts of the world.”
In this case, Channel 5, like many other TV channels, radio, newspapers and online publications, chose the response phrase of Ukrainian soldiers from Snake Island as the main topic of their stories and programming. This was done in pursuance of Clause 6 of the Code of Ethics for the Ukrainian Journalist: “Respect for the public’s right to full and objective information about facts and events is the first duty of a journalist,” as opposed to using obscene language for no reason.
Conclusion and recommendations
In view of this, the Commission sees no reason to accuse the TV channel of violating the Code of Ethics for the Ukrainian Journalist and concludes that Channel 5 acted within the framework of freedom of expression. Accordingly, the contested story does not violate the ethical standards of journalism.
At the same time, the Commission generally condemns the use of obscene language in media content and advises the media to:
- Refrain from the use of offensive language, profanity, unless justified by the context, but in this case, avoid frequent use of such language. Be able to justify the use of offensive language. Of course, this also requires clear information about the content.
- In any case, refrain from the use of offensive and obscene expressions in programming or websites aimed at children.
- Be especially vigilant about adhering to the standards of journalism and journalistic ethics during martial law in Ukraine. If necessary, seek the advice of the Commission on Journalistic Ethics.