Emir Zulejhić: HDZ discredits news that does not suit them

(Patria) - The Executive Election Staff of HDZ BiH has created a special website "Elections 2018 - Trash News". The party announced that the goal is for readers to get "accurate and objective picture of political and social events in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond".

"The Executive Election Staff of HDZ BiH will select daily, published news in the media and other forms of expression which we believe do not reflect truth and objectivity, concerning the political activities of our party and our candidates. All texts in the media, statements and other forms of communication that do not reflect the principle of truthfulness will be placed in "Elections 2018 - Trash News" and the public will be informed of these decisions", stated HDZ BiH in a written press release.

Emir Zulejhić, editor of the online platform Raskrinkavanje, whose team has been monitoring and pointing out the phenomenon of fake news in BiH media for some time, believes that the HDZ project is a party project, whose goal, as he points out, is to discredit only those news items that are not in the interest of HDZ BiH.

"A superficial review of the news found on this portal is enough to conclude that it was not created with the aim of citizens gaining an "accurate and objective picture of political and social events". Its sole purpose is to discredit news that does not suit HDZ", says Zulejhić in a comment to Patria, adding that the fact that the entire project was launched during the election campaign in BiH speaks volumes.

"Speaking specifically about the "Trash News" page, we encounter several inconsistencies. True, HDZ announced its project in a statement, but there is no information on the website itself about who is behind it. We believe that if someone wants to monitor and evaluate the work of the media, they must state their name. The anonymity of such a portal is a complete contradiction to its existence, even though the articles are signed by the author "HDZ". Finally, what does the "principle of truthfulness" mean? Again, such a project must have a clear and detailed methodology. Which media are monitored and how? Are there defined criteria by which news does not meet the "principle of truthfulness"? "Raskrinkavanje.ba" certainly plans to conduct a detailed analysis of the "Trash News" portal and the content available on it", stated Zelejhić.

Borka Rudić, Secretary General of the Association "BH Journalists", also previously assessed that the website launched by HDZ is extremely problematic and professionally questionable.

She pointed out that Chapter 16 of the Election Law of BiH provides clear provisions on who is responsible for violating professional standards and journalistic ethics, and stated that these are professional media organizations: the Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH and the Press and Online Media Council in BiH.

"In this context, the action of HDZ BiH is an illegal usurpation of the powers of the Press and Online Media Council, political interference in the work of the media, and opening up space for further attacks on media freedoms and journalists' rights, which is why the opening of a special website for "ranking" media and journalists, publishing "trash" according to the criteria of a political party, should be carefully considered by the Central Election Commission", believes Rudić.

HDZ BiH accused Rudić of being bothered by "everything that is Croatian and that is HDZ-related", and of representing an association that is "predominantly composed of Bosniak journalists in BiH".