Acting on a complaint for violation of Principle I of the Code of Journalists in the text "Scandinavia is preparing for war: Citizens receive brochures on how to defend themselves and secure supplies", which was published on November 18, 2024 on the Standard portal, the Complaints Commission of the Media Council for Self-Regulation, makes the following decision
The Complaints Commission did not find that the Standard portal failed to do everything to ensure that it was publishing accurate and verified information. The Complaints Commission of the Media Council for Self-Regulation does not have the ability to investigate the accuracy of certain allegations and to conduct independent investigations. In its job description, it is to determine whether the journalist, that is, the media has taken all the actions to be sure that the media is publishing, are accurate and verified information.
In the specific case, the Commission determined that the Standard portal transmitted the text "Scandinavia is preparing for war: Citizens receive brochures on how to defend themselves and provide supplies" from media recognized as respectable and highly professional. The Commission also noted that no one has disputed the information published on the media that was cited as the source of the information.
Due to all of the above, the Commission did not find a violation of any of the principles of the Code of Journalists in the text that was the subject of the complaint.
Explanation
The Media Council for Self-Regulation received a complaint from a reader who signed himself as Adnan regarding a text published on the Standard portal on 18 November, 2024. The text was entitled "Scandinavia is preparing for war: Citizens receive brochures on how to defend themselves and secure supplies."
In the complaint, Adnan, who emphasized that he lives in Sweden, states, among other things, that in the aforementioned text, among other things: "It was stated that brochures were distributed to Swedes, Finns and Norwegians with instructions for acting in a war or crisis. It was especially emphasized that millions of Swedes receive pamphlets with advice on how to prepare and deal with a war or an unexpected crisis. "If a war or a crisis occurs" is an instruction that was last updated by the Swedish Government six years ago, it is also written in the mentioned text. It is also claimed that the population is now receiving new instructions because of the worsening security situation, primarily because of the war in Ukraine. The text also writes about Norway and Finland with similar measures."
The complainant goes on to say: "Since I live in Sweden, I want to draw attention to a number of incorrect information in the published text. Namely, it is not true that anyone in Sweden is preparing for war, nor is any pamphlet published on the occasion. What is true is that there is a special state institution that deals with various crisis situations in society and how to best prepare the population for those situations. This refers to the procurement of commodity reserves, medical supplies and all other materials. They also give instructions on how to organize each household. I also want to point out that this is not a pamphlet, but a brochure that has been recently updated and does not mention any war, nor does this brochure have any political context.
Such intoned texts not only spread incorrect information, but also create a kind of emergency situation that may or may not cause an atmosphere of panic. I think that it is always necessary to check the information that is published", it is said at the end of this complaint.
The Media Council for Self-Regulation turned to the editors of the Standard portal for a statement regarding this complaint. We transmit the entire answer of Jasmina Muminović, the Editor-in-Chief of the Standard portal:
"Regarding the complaint, I consulted my colleagues and we analyzed the content and established the factual situation regarding the publication. It is a content taken from credible regional and world media. The source is also indicated in the text.
We took the text from the N1 portal, the cover photo shows that pamphlet. N1 took it from the BBC. I am sending links and you can see for yourself where the text was taken from:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr4zwj2lgdo
https://n1info.rs/svet/skandinavija-se-sprema-za-rat/
https://www.standard.co.me/svijet/skandinavija-se-sprema-za-rat-gradjanima-stizu-brosure-kako-da-se-odbrane-i-obezbijede-zalihe”
After receiving a statement from the Standard portal, the Complaints Commission analyzed all the texts that were published by different media. Through the analysis, it was established that the original text was created in English on the BBC portal, and that the translated text was later published by the N1 portal. On certain Montenegrin portals, this article was taken from the N1 portal. This was also the case with the Standard portal, which signed N1 as the source for this text.
The Complaints Commission of the Media Council for Self-Regulation does not have the ability to investigate the accuracy of certain allegations and to conduct independent investigations. In its job description, it is to determine whether the journalist, that is, the media has taken all the actions to be sure that he is publishing accurate information. In the specific case, the Commission determined that the Standard portal published the text "Scandinavia is preparing for war: Citizens receive brochures on how to defend themselves and provide supplies" from media recognized as respectable and highly professional. The Commission also noted that no one has disputed the information published on the media that was cited as the source of the information.
Based on all of the above, the Complaints Commission did not establish that the Standard portal failed to do everything to ensure that it publishes accurate and verified information. Due to all of the above, the Commission did not find a violation of any of the Principles of the Code of Journalists in the text "Scandinavia is preparing for war: Citizens receive brochures on how to defend themselves and secure supplies".
Complaints and monitoring commission
Aneta Spaić
Sonja Drobac
Danilo Burzan
Branko Vojičić
Ranko Vujović
