Current:Home > NewsHead of Radio New Zealand public radio network apologizes for "pro-Kremlin garbage"-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
Head of Radio New Zealand public radio network apologizes for "pro-Kremlin garbage"
lotradecoin peer-to-peer trading features View Date:2024-12-26 05:17:58
Wellington, New Zealand — The head of New Zealand's public radio station apologized Monday for publishing "pro-Kremlin garbage" on its website after more than a dozen wire stories on the Ukraine war were found to have been altered.
Most of the stories, which date back more than a year, were written by the Reuters news agency and were changed at Radio New Zealand to include Russian propaganda. A digital journalist from RNZ has been placed on leave pending the result of an employment investigation.
Paul Thompson, the chief executive of taxpayer-funded RNZ, said it had found issues in 16 stories and was republishing them on its website with corrections and editor's notes. He said he was commissioning an external review of the organization's editing processes.
"It is so disappointing. I'm gutted. It's painful. It's shocking," Thompson said on RNZ's Nine to Noon show. "We have to get to the bottom of how it happened."
Thompson said it had forensically reviewed about 250 stories since first being alerted to the issue Friday and would be reviewing thousands more.
Some of the changes were just a few words and would have been hard to spot by casual readers. Changes included the addition of pro-Kremlin narratives such as "Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum" and that "neo-Nazis had created a threat" to Russia's borders.
The referendum, which was held after Russia seized control of Crimea, was considered a sham and wasn't recognized internationally. Russia for years has also tried to link Ukraine to Nazism, particularly those who have led the government in Kyiv since a pro-Russian leadership was toppled in 2014. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, angrily dismisses those claims.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark tweeted that she expected better from the public broadcaster.
"Extraordinary that there is so little editorial oversight at Radio New Zealand that someone employed by/contracted to them was able to rewrite online content to reflect pro-Russia stance without senior staff noticing," she wrote. "Accountability?"
Thompson told the Nine to Noon program that typically only one person at RNZ had been required to edit wire service stories because those stories had already been subject to robust editing. But he said RNZ was now adding another layer of editing to such stories.
He said he wanted to apologize to listeners, readers, staff and the Ukrainian community.
"It's so disappointing that this pro-Kremlin garbage has ended up in our stories," Thompson told Nine to Noon. "It's inexcusable."
RNZ began as a radio broadcaster but these days is a multimedia organization and its website ranks among the nation's most viewed news sites.
Reuters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- In:
- War
- Misinformation
- Ukraine
- New Zealand
- Russia
- Propaganda
- Vladimir Putin
- Kremlin
veryGood! (76)
Related
- 2025 COLA estimate dips with inflation, but high daily expenses still burn seniors
- Maury Povich receives lifetime achievement award from wife Connie Chung at Daytime Emmys
- The leaders of Italy, the UK and Albania meet in Rome to hold talks on migration
- Lions on brink of first playoff appearance since 2016 after blasting Broncos
- Rob Schneider Responds to Daughter Elle King Calling Out His Parenting
- Israel is using an AI system to find targets in Gaza. Experts say it's just the start
- Indiana parents asking U.S. Supreme Court to take case involving custody of trans teen
- Who plays William, Kate, Diana and the queen in 'The Crown'? See Season 6, Part 2 cast
- Pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked road near Sea-Tac Airport to have charges dropped
- Loyer, Smith lead No. 3 Purdue past No. 1 Arizona 92-84 in NCAA showdown
Ranking
- Collin Gosselin claims he was discharged from Marines due to institutionalization by mom Kate
- Prosecutors say Washington state man charged in 4 murders lured victims with promise of buried gold
- Body of 28-year-old hostage recovered in Gaza, Israel says
- The FDA is investigating whether lead in applesauce pouches was deliberately added
- New York county signs controversial mask ban meant to hide people's identities in public
- Watch as Rob Gronkowski sings the national anthem at the start of the LA Bowl
- Steelers' Damontae Kazee ejected for hit that gives Colts WR Michael Pittman concussion
- Russia’s ruling party backs Putin’s reelection bid while a pro-peace candidate clears first hurdle
Recommendation
-
Gena Rowlands, acting powerhouse and star of movies by her director-husband, John Cassavetes, dies
-
Yes, that’s Martha Stewart at 14. Why holiday nostalgia is healthy.
-
Teddy Bridgewater to retire after the season, still impacting lives as 'neighborhood hero'
-
Inflation has cooled a lot. So why do things still feel so expensive?
-
Walmart boosts its outlook for 2024 with bargains proving a powerful lure for the inflation weary
-
Demi Lovato and Jutes Are Engaged: See Her Ring
-
Jake Browning shines again for Bengals, rallying them to 27-24 overtime win over Vikings
-
'Friends' star Matthew Perry's cause of death revealed in autopsy report