STA, 7 May 2021 - Delo says in Friday's front-page editorial that the systematic tweeting by Prime Minister Janez Janša is part of a carefully devised political and communication plan to keep his constituency mobilised at a rate that will secure a relative win for his Democrats (SDS) in general election at any time.

For Janša, Twitter has become a key multi-functional tool with which he communicates with his constituency and with the public at the same time, while also attacking political opponents and discrediting critical journalists.

On this platform, the prime minister is also waging "war with the media, which now targets public media by financially draining the Slovenian Press Agency, before it is RTV Slovenija's turn".

According to Delo, the objective of Janša's war with the media is to destroy the traditional public space, which has already been undermined, and to solidify a parallel para-party media ecosystem supported by Hungarian capital.

The final objective is to establish Twitter as the key public media, where it is much easier to manipulate with public opinion than in the established media world, where information is checked systematically and passes through several filters.

The newspaper notes that the use of techniques of astroturfing in connection with the media linked with the SDS has helped establish the increasingly negativist political agenda in the country.

"For the SDS's interests to be fully solidified, public media need to be crushed, for which he does not need 46 votes in the National Assembly, only early elections must be prevented," concludes the commentary “A Systematic Plan is Behind the Yelping of Marshal Tweeto”.

STA, 7 May 2021 - Bojan Veselinovič, the director of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), has announced legal action against Prime Minister Janez Janša after he implied on Twitter that Veselinovič had been involved in the "murder" of a former STA editor-in-chief more than a decade ago.

What Janša wrote exceeds all boundaries, Veselinovič told the TV Slovenija current affairs show Tarča Thursday evening.

The decision comes after Janša wrote on Twitter today: "Incredible for 21st century EU that an accomplice in the murder of a journalist still leads the STA and gets EUR 8,500 per month. More than the president of the republic."

Neverjetno za #EU v 21. stoletju, da sodelavec pri umoru novinarja še vedno vodi @STA_novice in zato mesečno pokasira 8.500 €. Več kot predsednik republike. https://t.co/mK85J0lcV2 pic.twitter.com/nm6COZOYCN

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) May 6, 2021

Veselinovič said he would press criminal charges as a private plaintiff and a civil defamation suit.

Responding to Veselinovič's announcement, Janša tweeted today: "Finally. Bullying a journalist who then died must get a closure in court."

Janša added a link to excerpts from a 2009 news conference at which Meško, at the time still STA editor-in-chief, said Veselinovič resorted to all forms of bullying.

Veselinovič meanwhile also sent a cease and desist letter to Uroš Urbanija, Government Communication Office (UKOM) director, who has alleged in several tweets that Veselinovič had taken it out on Meško.

Yesterday, Urbanija tweeted that Veselinovič had sent Meško a termination letter "while he was on his death bed" after "a brutal settling of scores and long-time bullying".

Meško was the editor-in-chief in 2007-2009 and was handed a termination notice on 3 November 2009 due to his failure to draw up strategic plans despite a prior warning. He died in May 2010.

Veselinovič has often come under fire from conservative journalists for firing Meško just before his death, a financial settlement with Meško's family having been used as proof of wrongful termination.

But Veselinovič has insisted he had not known about Meško's illness, a point raised in the cease and desist letter sent to Urbanija yesterday.

The law firm representing Veselinovič said he had not been informed about the illness until May 2010, when he received a letter from Meško's legal representative.

And this letter came with medical documentation that Meško's terminal illness had not been diagnosed until December 2009, a month after he was fired.

This means "it would have been impossible for our client to carry out any of the acts that you allege," said the law firm, which also dismissed all allegations about bullying.

STA, 3 May 2021 - World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on Monday, will be dedicated to the situation at the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) as a fundraising campaign in support of the STA officially kicks off.

The campaign comes after the government suspended financing of the agency. It has been organised by the Association of Slovenian Journalists and the Trade Union of Journalists.

"We are worried about this whole attack on public service that is currently the most evident in the case of the STA, because we can expect RTV Slovenija to be probably next, at least in the sense of control and government attempts at supervising it," says Petra Lesjak Tušek, the head of the association.

Media are always very intertwined with social developments. Being the key institutions of public communication, they are also linked to political life, according to the head of the journalism department at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, Jernej Amon Prodnik.

"The battle for the freedom of speech and communication rights has been long and history teaches us that no fight is ever won for good," he said.

But he thinks "we have to be careful and go beyond the narrow understanding of press freedom which is defined simply as the rights of the media owner to do what ever they want with their property".

Journalists are not subjected only to political pressure. Owners often see media as a tool for achieving their own political and economic interests. "We will have to seriously think about how to preserve journalism as a critical and supervisory institution in our society."

Autocratic aspirations, which can be seen in Slovenia and internationally recently, thus have an expectedly negative impact on the media, Amon Prodnik said.

"An authoritative mind does not acknowledge the right to existence to institutions that do not take orders. In this mindset journalists must be obedient servants or they should be discredited, stopped, destroyed."

Amon Prodnik thinks the Covid-19 pandemic has been all too often used as an excuse for curtailing civil liberties and rights in all fields not just in the media.

A recently published annual report by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that many governments around the globe have used the pandemic to increase repression, and journalism has been blocked in more than 130 countries.

However, journalists have been playing an important part during the epidemic, providing fast, efficient and high-quality information, Lesjak Tušek said. The work has been challenging, and entailed a lot of adjusting and flexibility, she added.

"I think trust in traditional media has increased for a reason, which some trust surveys show. Before it seemed that social networks are gaining ground, undermining the classic media, now it has transpired that media still have substantial power and are extremely important, because credible information needs to be separated from a lot of fake news."

The RSF report also pointed to the "dangerous path for press freedom" in Slovenia, which lost four spots to rank 36th among 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index.

Meanwhile, the Association of Journalists and Commentators (ZNP) believes that Slovenian media landscape has seen little change in recent years. There seems to be media pluralism in Slovenia, which allows for different media to be set up, but in fact the media that favour the left political bloc are dominant, the ZNP said.

According to the association, the left-leaning media outlets are very critical of the right-leaning politicians while they are ready to overlook many things when it comes to left-leaning politicians.

"We believe the government, which does not even have influence on any major media outlets, is not the one who is undermining democracy in this country, it is the fragmented, twisted picture that the mainstream media are communicating to the public," the ZNP said.

STA, 29 April 2021 - The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, EUR 2.5 million granted by Slovenia to the Slovenian Press Agency (Slovenska tiskovna agencija – STA) in compensation to fulfil its public service mission.

"The public funding will contribute to the independent news provision to the Slovenian public without unduly distorting competition in the single market," the Commission said in announcing its decision on Thursday.

"Today's decision will enable the Slovenian Press Agency STA to continue deliver its important public service. Independent news agencies play an essential role in news media," said Margrethe Vestager, the Commission vice-president who is in charge of competition policy.

"The preservation of an independent national press agency in a member state ensures that news media can refer to a news stream which reports on national and international developments, from the perspective of that country," said Vestager, adding this contributed to the plurality of media and information sources throughout the EU.

Vera Jourova, the Commission vice-president for values and transparency, tweeted: "Funding should be unlocked as soon as possible for the agency to continue its public service - and its independence should remain protected."

Important good news: it is confirmed that Slovenia’s funding to Slovenian Press Agency STA is fully in line with state aid rules.
Funding should be unlocked as soon as possible for the agency to continue its public service – and its independence should remain protected. pic.twitter.com/auWK08LCqI

— Věra Jourová (@VeraJourova) April 29, 2021

Considering that Slovenia had notified the Commission of these funds, the Commission considers that Slovenia intends to pay out the funds, competition speaker Arianna Podesta said.

Podesta said the Commission had made the decision because Slovenia did not wish to withdraw the notification even though the Commission made it clear that a decision is not required for Slovenia to pay out the funds.

The Commission took the decision based on Slovenia's notification in late January of its plan to compensate the STA with EUR 2.5 million for carrying out its activities of informing the Slovenian public about national and international news in 2021.

Having examined the measure, the Commission concluded it is in line with EU state aid rules, as it "fosters a service of general public interest and promotes media plurality, without unduly distorting competition".

It found the STA performs a service of general economic interest, which it could not provide for its national market to the desired extent by its own means and revenues.

"The funding is limited to what is needed to perform STA's public service tasks, which it has to offer free of charge. An annual external and independent audit is ensuring the supervision of these conditions," reads the Commission's argument.

The decision has been welcomed by the STA, which has been without state funding as granted by the law for its public service for the 119th day. The agency said the decision "removes yet another obstacle that the government as the agency's sole shareholder has set to undisrupted financing of the STA".

However, Prime Minister Janez Janša said on the sidelines of his visit to France today that the decision referred to the funds that had already been paid out.

"As far as I know it is the money that has been paid out after the bill was passed in the National Assembly. It was, however, necessary to request for the European Commission's consent under the existing rules. The Finance Ministry has done this and as you say the consent arrived today. But this concerns the funds that have already been paid out," Janša told the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

STA director Bojan Veselinovič said this was "pure manipulation and a lie". He noted the government had requested for the Commission's opinion on the financing in line with the seventh stimulus law in January, meaning after it entered into force on 31 December 2020.

"The STA has not received a single euro for this year although the Government Communication Office announced in a press release in January that everything would be paid for when the European Commission makes its final decision, which happened today," Veselinovič said.

Janša responded to this on Twitter saying that the STA had received full payment for last year based on its contract with the Government Communication Office (UKOM) "although the STA did not forward the due documents". "All the rest will be transferred after the STA fulfils its legal obligations, government decisions and when a contract is signed with the UKOM. As is the common practice."

Izplačano je bilo vse za lansko leto na podlagi pogodbe z UKOM, čeprav @STA_novice ni posredovala dolžne dokumentacije. Vse ostalo pa bo nakazano potem, ko bo STA izpolnila zakonske obveznosti, sklepe @vladaRS in bo sklenjena pogodba z UKOM za leto 2021. Kot vedno doslej. https://t.co/PRAoucKKFh

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) April 29, 2021

The Finance Ministry has not responded to the Commission's decision, while the UKOM told the STA it had not yet received the decision and could thus not comment.

In its first reactions to the notification in January, the Commission said European state aid rules could not serve as an excuse to suspend financing of press agencies in the EU and that state funding may be provided to the STA without a prior notification or the Commission's approval.

The Commission's spokesperson for competition Arianna Podesta said today the Commission had made the decision because the Slovenian authorities would not withdraw the notification of STA financing.

Asked whether the Commission could launch a procedure against the Slovenian authorities if they did not grant the state aid, the Commission said the decision on state aid was in the hands of member states. The EU rules on state aid do not obligate member states to grant state aid, it added.

STA, 28 April 2021 - The latest annual report by the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists is critical of what it sees as the Slovenian government's attempts at undermining independent media and stoking harassment of journalists. The platform is particularly alarmed by the situation of RTV Slovenija and the STA.

The 2021 report, which analyses the situation of European media in the past year, was released today. It warns that massive damage was done to media freedom in 2020 and points to increased harassment of journalists as well as a growing number of physical or verbal attacks against them.

The platform reported a record 201 alerts of media freedom violations in 2020, an almost 40% increase on 2019. Only three of those were resolved by the end of 2020. The governments replied to 42% of them, which compares to 50% in 2019.

Slovenia was no exception to this alarming trend, the report says, primarily voicing concerns over the suspension of financing of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and the government's plans to enact legislative changes that would defund the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

"The Slovenian government should cease all efforts to damage the independence and credibility of Slovenian public media," the report says.

Slovenia is listed as one of the countries where online harassment of journalists was often fuelled by politicians in the past year.

"Alerts show a high number of verbal attacks in some member states - North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey - being made by representatives of public authorities, including by ministers and heads of government."

RTV Slovenija reporters were the target of online smears and abuse, not only by members of the public, "but by right-wing media outlets and, on some occasions, prominent politicians".

The report highlights an alert in March 2020 that reported a defamation and hate campaign led by the government against journalist Blaž Zgaga. Another alert was issued in April 2020, focusing on Prime Minister Janez Janša's attacks on RTV Slovenija on social media.

Moreover, the report mentions Janša's insulting tweet describing two RTV female reporters as "washed-up prostitutes".

One of them, Eugenija Carl, was also the target of threats, insults and harassment on social media by Janša's supporters and later received a threatening letter containing white powder. Her case is used as an example of how quickly digital threats could translate into the physical world with potentially grave consequences.

The platform notes that Slovenia was one of the countries who in 2020 suspended deadlines by which public bodies were required to respond to freedom of information requests.

The report also warns about the chilling effect of abusive legal proceedings across Europe, noting that defamation should be decriminalised.

"In Slovenia three journalists from the online outlet Necenzurirano.si are facing 13 criminal defamation suits each over a series of articles reporting on the business dealings and connections of Rok Snežič, a friend and tax policy adviser to Prime Minister Janez Janša."

Ahead of 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić called on EU member states in the report to show more political will to protect journalists and independent journalism and to stop the situation from further deterioration.

A PDF of the full report is here

STA, 16 April 2021 - The head of the supervisory board of the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Mladen Terčelj, has confirmed for the STA he was visited by investigators of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday. He said he had not yet talked to the investigators and stressed he had great confidence in the rule of law and the NBI.

The police told the newspaper Dnevnik the NBI was leading a pretrial procedure based on a reported criminal offence but would not reveal any more detail because of ongoing procedure.

The General Police Administration confirmed for the paper that the investigation was thus not based merely on a government decree adopted in March.

Last month, the government proposed the supervisory board to dismiss STA director Bojan Veselinovič and tasked the Interior Ministry to examine whether the alleged violations contained elements of suspected criminal acts prosecutable ex officio and to act accordingly.

The government also called on the labour inspectorate to examine the agency and review its operations. A few days later inspectors paid a visit to the STA.

Veselinovič told the government on Monday he was granting the government access to all books of account and documents, even though the STA had never received a formal request to that effect. He said the government should say, in writing, who would access the documents on its behalf and in what way.

He noted that on Saturday 100 days had passed since the STA got paid for its public services in 2021.

STA, 12 April 2021 - The European Parliament's democracy monitoring group has addressed almost fifty written questions to the Slovenian government, Prime Minister Janez Janša and Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti, as it is trying to fully assess media freedom in Slovenia.

The follow-up questions were sent out on 31 March after the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Monitoring Group met to discuss the media situation in the country on 26 March.

At the time Janša and Simoniti were expected to present their views virtually, but the group's head Sophie in 't Veld declined to allow Janša to first show a video.

As a result, he declined to take part, accusing the Dutch MEP of censorship, while the group also failed to establish a video link with Simoniti, whose ministry is in charge of media policy.

In 't Veld then announced dialogue would continue, including with the written questionnaire and the group studying the material it had received from Slovenian stakeholders, including Janša's video.

The questions concern a range of topics from media freedom, the judiciary and coronavirus restrictions to NGO funding, and staffing.

The MEPs are particularly interested in the proposed media reform, especially in relation to public outlets RTV Slovenija and STA, and the extent of hate speech.

Some questions concern Janša's attitude towards the media, including his last year's vlog War with the Media and labelling two journalists prostitutes.

The MEPs would also like to know more about Hungarian foundation KESMA's alleged ownership stakes in Janša's SDS party's media outlets, and STA funding suspension.

Some questions are about Slovenia's upcoming EU presidency, with MEPs inquiring how Slovenia would act regarding the "Article 7" procedure against Hungary and Poland.

The questions come from MEPs from the groupings of the S&D, Renew and Greens, while only one questions comes from the EPP, to which Janša's SDS is affiliated.

They are available at https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/231681/DFRMG 31.03.2021 - Follow-up questions to SL authorities.pdf

The group monitoring the media situation in Slovenia is part of the Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE).

It has so far met twice, on 5 and 26 March, to discuss it with several Slovenian stakeholders, who presented their takes on the situation.

Janša said on Twitter today that the group "has no authority to question anyone". "We attended the debate on the matter voluntarily and we expect censor Sophie in 't Veld to translate to members the video we have sent."

He referred to the video about attacks on media and journalists which he insisted should be screened as part of the debate on 26 March, whereas in 't Veld refused to allow that. She did say, however, the video could be shown at the end of the debate. Janša responded by accusing her of censorship.

The prime minister's office later said that Janša and Simoniti would forward responses to the group's questions after the video was screened at a public session of the Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

Other stories on media freedom in Slovenia

STA, 12 April 2021 - Ljubljana, 12 April - Slovenian Press Agency (STA) director Bojan Veselinovič has told the government he is granting it access to all books of account and documents, even though the STA has never received a formal request to that effect. He said the government should say, in writing, who will access the documents on its behalf and in what way.

In an open letter sent on Monday, Veselinovič says he is doing that despite the government having never formally transferred its shareholder rights to any government agency or body, which he has said in the past is a prerequisite under Slovenian corporate law to grant access to anyone except the government as such, including the Government Communication Office (UKOM).

Veselinovič acknowledged that the move may be construed as "legally incorrect" but "I have opted for this step having struggled between consistent respect for a clearly defined legal framework which governs the information rights of shareholders, and a repeal of the vapid excuse by the government side which leads to the financial starvation of the STA and jeopardises the social security of the employees."

He also reiterated that the STA has not received the public service fee for this year, even though that obligation is set down in the seventh anti-corona law, which stipulates that it is entitled to the payment regardless of whether a public service agreement with the government has been concluded or not.

Moreover, he said the government has refused to sign a public service agreement even though it had been urged to do so, and he rejected the recent claim by the prime minister's chief-of-staff, Peter Šuhel, that he had been invited twice to sign a public service agreement but refused to.

Noting that the independent auditor has highlighted risks to liquidity in its report on the STA's financial operations, Veselinovič said that "it is the duty of the government as the representative of the founder to honour its legal obligations and prevent the collapse of the STA."

The government said in a tweet that UKOM had called on Veselinovič to sing a new contract on 24 February and 29 March. It also published the two letters, which call on Veselinovič to "clearly say whether he acknowledges UKOM as a representative of the founder so that we can prepare a new contract and also forward all the documents that had been demanded".

The question whether the government would respond to Veselinovič's latest call was left unanswered. UKOM merely said that Veselinovič had not forwarded the requested documents until today.

The STA's supervisory board called on the government at the end of March to meet its legal obligations to the agency, which had been performing the public service of informing the public under the STA act and had been recording very good business results so far.

The board also said that all documents and data were always available to the government as the only STA shareholder.

The head of the coalition Modern Centre Party (SMC) and deputy prime minister, Zdravko Počivalšek, said on Twitter Veselinovič had made the right move today "albeit a bit late". "The STA is an important state institution, so it is essential that this dispute be solved as soon as possible," he said.

The coalition New Slovenia (NSi) did not respond to Veselinovič's call but pointed to a recent letter by the NSi head and deputy prime minister, Matej Tonin, urging Veselinovič to immediately forward the requested documents to UKOM. Tonin also assessed at the time that the relationship between Veselinovič, the government and UKOM had deteriorated so much in the last months that the STA director should offer his resignation for the benefit of the agency.

STA, 12 April 2021 - The journalists of the newspaper Delo, as well as the paper's editorial board and the Journalists' Association, have condemned threats levelled against Delo's Brussels correspondent Peter Žerjavič by Žan Mahnič, the state secretary for national security.

The journalists believe that the threat tweeted by Mahnič is yet another attempt to put pressure on the newspaper and individual journalists who are doing their job professionally and in line with the highest standards, also enjoying the support of the publisher leadership and editorial board.

Last week, Žerjavič tweeted a link to an article about Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša's criticism of the German public broadcaster ARD following a report by the broadcaster about pressure on the media in Slovenia.

Unfortunately, Mr. @NikNeumaier, you performed a censorship #PRAVDA or #DerStürmer style. Literally. Excluding from your report almost everybody who disagreed with your one sided agenda. It’s a shame for #ARD @ARDstudioWien. #lyingforlivinghttps://t.co/qu9AOYBbYR https://t.co/rA889Wk6vi

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) April 7, 2021

"Lügen für den Brotwerb". Tako so na ARD prevedli hud očitek slovenskega premierja (lying for living) njihovemu novinarju in celi hiši. Primerjanje osrednje nemške javne TV s Stürmerjem ali Pravdo je že tako poniglavost, kakršne na tej ravni še ni bilo. https://t.co/bd6zsFNLoJ

— Peter Žerjavič, Delo (@ZerjavicDelo) April 8, 2021

"Comparing the main German public TV broadcaster with Stürmer or Pravda is hypocrisy never before seen at this level," Žerjavič added in reference to the Nazi and Communist propaganda papers to which Janša likened the ARD and which is also discussed in the article posted on the website of the ARD news show Tagesschau.

In response, Mahnič tweeted "who in the EU cares what some irrelevant ARD thinks. You should be worried how many more Thursday afternoons you will be having fun at Place du Luxembourg if Petrič fails to get annexes for the second rail track."

.@ZerjavicDelo, koga v EU briga, kaj si misli nek brezvezni ARD. Tebe naj raje skrbi, kolikokrat se boš še lahko zabaval na Place du Luxembourg ob četrtkih popoldne, če Petrič ne bo dobil aneksov za #2tir.

— Žan Mahnič (@ZanMahnic) April 8, 2021

Mahnič was referring to Stojan Petrič, a co-owner and the director of the publisher Delo, who remains a prominent figure in the industrial conglomerate Kolektor, the company that recently signed key contracts with the government to build a new railway to the port of Koper.

Apart from current journalists working at Delo, an open letter was also issued by former journalists of the paper, saying Mahnič's tweet was not only a threat but also an attempt at blackmailing Delo.

"He has made these threats openly and without reservations, even though this is criminal blackmail, a brutal attack on the paper's autonomous editorial policy and media freedom in general. A new violent attempt at political subjugation of Delo is taking place via blackmail of the owner."

The letter also mentions alleged withdrawal of a commentary by Janez Markeš critical of the government from a Saturday edition after a part of the copy had already been printed.

"Was the editor under pressure from outside or under political pressure to do this? In any case, the paper has witnessed brutal (self)censorship, inconceivable in autonomous and credible journalism," former Delo journalists said.

They also noted that the pressure Delo had found itself under is not unlike the pressure to which public broadcaster RTV Slovenija and the press agency STA were being subjected.

The covers and editorials from leading weeklies of the Left and Right for the work-week ending Friday, 9 April 2021. All our stories about coronavirus and Slovenia are here

Mladina: Mantra about society being polarised is plain lie

STA, 9 April 2021 - Mladina says in its latest editorial that leading politicians talking about the nation being divided and society being polarised is a "plain lie" and that its purpose is to create a false narrative about the support for the current government coalition.

The left-leaning weekly adds that this is confirmed neither by election results nor public opinion polls conducted since 2008, saying that "Slovenia is not politically divided into two equal parts" as this is a "plain populist lie."

Appearances and statements by governing politicians clearly show how important it is for them to repeat the theory that society is divided and polarised - this way they show that the public support they receive themselves is much higher than the actual support for their parties and policies.

"In all elections since 2004 ... a majority has been won by parties that declared themselves as clear opponents of the Democrats (SDS)," Mladina adds under the headline A Simple, but Big Lie.

The same is being confirmed by public opinion polls: the SDS and its satellites never get more than a third of overall support, and parties that break their promise of not cooperating with the SDS practically always lose public support immediately.

As for government support, the situation is similar - at this point Slovenia is not polarised, but it could be said that it is almost united: a vast majority is against the government led by Janez Janša and his SDS party.

"What polarisation is President Borut Pahor, an open supporter of the SDS, talking about then when he says that society is divided and polarised?" Mladina wonders, adding that by doing that, Pahor is fictitiously inflating public support for Janša and his government.

Of course, Janša is the one who talks the most about society being divided and polarised, but this theory is also repeated by all members of the government and Janša's satellites, as well as analysts who make public appearances as allegedly unbiased observers.

This is simply a lie as the "public has not been as politically unified as today for quite a while - since 2014. It is united in the conviction that it does not support these arrogant and autocratic authorities or government."

Demokracija: Fact checking to defeat media lies

STA, 8 April 2021 - Demokracija says in its latest commentary that opinions about the state of freedom of the press in Slovenia should be based on checkable facts and adds that people are getting aware that what they used to consider as mainstream, credible and influential media are not that anymore.

The right-wing weekly notes that in the State Department report about the media in Slovenia, the "only opinion by the Americans of their own is that the [Janez] Janša government respects media freedom and that there are no political pressures."

It adds that truth is a very practical challenge: it is based on checkable facts, and facts are undoubtedly on the side of the government, with two things being encouraging.

The first is that the government does not want to be likeable to the mainstream media and be apologetic when it is criticised or accused of something. "Naive people who would let the media guide them like controlled idiots no longer sit in the government palace."

Demokracija adds that the illusion that the established (progressive) media have influence on political decision has been lost with the third government of Janez Janša, which is a huge blow for their egos, as they imagined that they would be running the country regardless of who is in power.

"The second thing that is encouraging is that people are getting gradually aware that those what they used to consider as 'mainstream', 'credible' and 'influential' media are not any of that anymore."

They used to power the "motor of the Slovenian version of the lying cultural Marxism" with hatred towards Janša, the weekly says, expressing the hope that such media subversion is ending.

"Facts can now be checked on the internet, and fact-checking is the best way for truth to defeat lies," concludes the commentary headlined What Gender the Martians Are?

All our posts in this series are here