Journos main contributors to hybrid wars - Lukashenka at Russian Press World Congress in Minsk

Photo by Sputnik

The responsibility of journalists has significantly grown, president Alyaksandr Lukashenka said at the opening of the plenary session of the 19th World Congress of Russian Press in Minsk on Wednesday.

According to him, journalist have contributed much to hybrid wars which are being waged in cyberspace, economics, politics and so on.

“I think the wars in social media are the most important and, probably, the first stage of these modern wars. Today, wars against states or groups of states are preceded by media campaigns, rather than artillery trainings. You have become the main element of hybrid wars,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Lukashenka as saying.

In his opinion, Internet and social media should be based on morals and spirituality,

“In the name of morality and protection of the rights of citizens to reliable information, the state has the right to apply the norms and force of law. Reliable barriers should be built to block the information harmful to people,” the Belarusian leader said.

In his view, a battle for news has gained a political complection.

“Everyone wants to be the first. Under this pressure, they make mistakes and often turn things upside down,” Lukashenka added.

This year, the 19th World Congress of Russian Press has brought together over 200 members of the Russian-language media and guests from 52 countries. Belarus is hosting the congress for the second time.

belsat.eu