MINSK, 12 July (BelTA) – Political aspects in news reporting are becoming more and more pronounced these days, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko noted during the opening of the plenary session at the 19th World Congress of Russian Press in Minsk on 12 July, BelTA has learned.
“Everyone wants to be the first. Under this pressure, they make mistakes and often turn things upside down,” the president noted.
Alexander Lukashenko said that the speed of information transmission and its impact on people's minds are the topics of particular importance today. The head of state pointed out that people want to learn about literally everything as soon as possible.
“The information reported in newspapers, on TV or on the internet and then picked up by social media more and more often fails to reflect the reality. Moreover, this information becomes a weapon that can provoke strife and armed conflicts,” Alexander Lukashenko underlined. “It fuels hostility and hate. It does not provide any opportunity for constructive discussions of different opinions, political and social approaches to life. High ratings cannot be an excuse here,” the Belarusian leader added.
He emphasized the problem of the so-called hybrid wars in cyber domain, economics, and politics. “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,” Alexander Lukashenko underlined.
“It goes without saying that life is very fast these days. We need to run, not walk in order to keep up with the progress and global development. However, this is not about sensationalism. Peace and stability pretty much depend on you! Let us not forget about this,” the president emphasized.
