Half of all Russians consider television to be the most reliable source of information for domestic and international news coverage, a recent study of the Russian media environment has shown. The study published Tuesday by independent pollster Levada Center found that 50 percent of Russians — and 65 percent of Muscovites — trust television more than any other news source.
After television, which is largely state-controlled, the most reliable sources of information were considered to be ‘friends, relatives and neighbors,’ followed by news websites, newspapers and radio, according to the Levada Center’s latest findings.
The research also noted that television remains the main source of information for a majority of Russians, ‘regardless of their place of residence, social status and level of education’ and that this has been a stable trend for the past few years, themoscowtimes.com reports.
Being asked whether Russian media outlets are unbiased in covering events in Crimea and Ukraine 22% of respondents answered: ‘Generally they are’ while 48% said that they were mostly unbiased.
In April, a Levada survey of 1,602 people found that 94 % of Russians relied on domestic television networks to follow developments in Ukraine and Crimea, while 50 percent of the population said they thought federal media outlets were ‘generally objective” in their coverage.
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Belsat TV, the first independent Belarusian channel, tries to do its best to stand up against Russia’s propaganda machine which is notorious for its vicious methods. Unfortunately, in addition to providing political indoctrination in Russia, the Kremlin’s propaganda influences the formation of public opinion in Belarus, eastern Ukraine, the Baltic countries.
{movie}Information warfare: Belsat TV sticks up for the facts|right|17078{/movie}
