The 1+1 media group filed a lawsuit against President Petro Poroshenko
Today, April 16, 2019, Studio 1+1 Television and Radio Company LLC filed a lawsuit in the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv against the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, as well as to Media-DK Publishing House LLC for the protection of business reputation, the obligation to refute false information and compensation for moral damage. In its lawsuit, the media group asks the court to recognize as unreliable and damaging to business reputation a number of information messages that were distributed by Petro Poroshenko on his official Facebook page, as well as voiced at a public meeting, and "Media-DK Publishing House" LLC - on the website https://nv.ua/ , and ensure their refutation within seven days from the date of entry into force of the court decision. Also, the 1+1 media group requests that President Petro Poroshenko be compensated for moral damages in the amount of one million hryvnias. The company will transfer these funds to the "Return Alive" army assistance fund.
In the opinion of the media group, the information spread by Petro Poroshenko in a Facebook post , as well as the news based on the interview of the President of Radio HB at the link creates a false impression among Ukrainians that the information activity of the TV channel is negative, unbiased and biased and, probably, is related to violations of the law, since, according to the president, the media is influenced and pressured by the owner of the TV channel, who "declared war on the state", that is, harms all citizens of Ukraine. This has a negative impact on the business reputation of the 1+1 media group, which has been built up over the years, undermines the authority and trust in information activities, and disgraces the media holding in the eyes of viewers and partners, including international ones.
It is about the following statements of the President of Ukraine: "Whatever the 1+1 employees intimidated by Kolomoisky say about me, it has nothing to do with the truth"; "Unfortunately, 1+1 has become the main tool for spreading lies in recent months." This TV channel turned into a submissive executor of its owner's political orders"; "And this became the cause of the information war, which the owner of the "pluses" unleashed against the state. They are not ashamed to duplicate whole pieces of fakes from Russian channels - simply rewriting and rebroadcasting, except that the only thing they do is translate into Ukrainian. And no matter what the employees of this channel, intimidated by Kolomoisky, say about me, know that it has nothing to do with the truth and nothing to do with anything similar to honest journalism"; "And the activity of this channel has absolutely nothing to do with journalism."
Thus, in the publication and in both videos, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko actually notes that the TV channel "1+1" carries out its activities contrary to the requirements of the law, the editorial policy of the TV channel and the requirements of journalistic ethics, spreading false and unreliable information, and also claims that journalists and employees of the TV channel "1+1" act under the pressure, influence and intimidation of the ultimate beneficial owner.
We would like to point out that the information spread is not true. 1+1 media carries out its activities in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine, as well as being guided by the editorial charter of TRC Studio 1+1 LLC, which stipulates that its owner does not have the right to interfere in creative activities, while Lekanal "1+1" does not has no obligations to political parties and individual politicians. During election campaigns, the TV channel does not give preference to any political force, adhering to the principle of equal opportunities and parity. Employees of the TV channel "1+1" act independently and are not subject to any interference from the end beneficiary, as well as any influence or intimidation.
The 1+1 media group emphasizes that the amount of accusations and false information that has accumulated against the media group , its journalists and employees by the head of state has reached a critical level. Petro Poroshenko did not provide any evidence to confirm his words either during the dissemination of this information or as of the day of filing the lawsuit, nor did the journalists hear an apology. The president did not take advantage of this opportunity when, without invitation, using his status as the head of state, he actually "occupied" the live broadcast of the "Right to Power" program, to the surprise of the editorial team and presenters.
We would like to emphasize that journalists and all employees of 1+1 media each have their own political preferences, no one forces them, does not intimidate them, does not impose their opinion, in their work they are guided by generally accepted standards. After all, the editorial rules of the free world are clear to everyone, and currently they are rather an exception in the Ukrainian media than the rule, and "1+1" remains almost the only TV channel that allows itself objective criticism of the president. We hope that the rights of the TV channel and the dignity of the media group will be protected.
