RNZ’s Russia-friendly edits: Full list of stories in broadcaster’s probe released

Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·

11 Jun, 2023 05:44 AM4 mins to read

Radio New Zealand chief executive Paul Thompson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The discovery of pro-Russian edits being made to at least 15 stories published by RNZ about the Ukraine war is “challenging and disappointing”, the broadcaster’s boss has told staff today.

RNZ today released a list of stories discovered in its probe so far after an employee was placed on leave on Thursday when it emerged a story by international wire agency Reuters had been republished on RNZ.co.nz with Kremlin-friendly language.

And the broadcaster reportedly received a complaint about Russian “propaganda” in one of those stories in October last year, co-signed by more than 20 members of the Ukranian community in New Zealand.

RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson has told staff tonight the issue has been “challenging and disappointing”.

“My thanks to those who have worked across the weekend working through various issues arising from the breach of our editorial standards. It is a big, ongoing effort,” he said in an all-staff email.

He said the audit was progressing.

“Today we have not identified any further problems relating to copy.

“We have, however, added an editor’s note to an RNZ article published last May about the Ukrainian war.

“You can find out more about that here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/news-extras/story/2018893905/rnz-editorial-audit

“This is a page on the website on which we will publish a list of the articles we have identified in the audit. The aim is to make it easy for kaimahi and the audience to find that information.

“We are making good progress on appointing the independent experts who will undertake the review of processes around the editing of online stories. I will update you fully on this including the terms of reference ASAP.

“Finally, I want to acknowledge again how challenging and disappointing this is for all of us. Please do support your colleagues through this tough time.

“We need to get to the bottom of the problems, be open and transparent about what happened and take steps to put things right.”

TVNZ reported tonight that Ukrainian New Zealander Michael Lidski complained about “carbon copy of the enemy propaganda” in an RNZ article in October 2022. His complaint was co-signed by more than 20 others and also sent to Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson.

RNZ’s probe and review

After the editing of the Reuters story was discovered on Thursday, at least 14 other articles were placed under the microscope and found to have been similarly reworked.

Thompson has announced an external assessment of RNZ’s practices for the editing of web stories to make sure they are reliable and has launched an immediate investigation.

A statement on RNZ’s website confirmed that the review’s conclusion would be made public.

As soon as possible, the scope of the review and the outside experts will be confirmed, the statement said.

The first story that was found to have been altered was by Reuters Moscow bureau chief Guy Faulconbridge. The original story said:

“The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine’s armed forces.”

But when republished on RNZ.co.nz, that passage adopted a more Kremlin-friendly framing.

“The conflict in Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian elected government was toppled during Ukraine’s violent Maidan colour revolution. Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum, as the new pro-Western government suppressed ethnic Russians in eastern and southern Ukraine, sending in its armed forces to the Donbas.”

The full list of the stories that have been found to be subject to “inappropriate editing” are listed below: