National Broadcasting Council Could Commence Procedure to Fine TVN for Siła kłamstwa Tomorrow
The National Broadcasting Council has still not taken a position on the procedure initiated by Maciej Świrski to fine TVN for broadcasting Siła kłamstwa (Power of a lie) report. The Council has not continued correspondence with TVN concerning the broadcaster’s motion to discontinue the procedure as groundless. An opportunity to discuss this matter will come up on Wednesday.
At the end of December, the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council Maciej Świrski initiated an ex officio investigation into imposing a fine on TVN for the Siła kłamstwa report.
In the report, its author, Piotr Świerczek, proves that the parliamentary subcommittee led by Antoni Macierewicz of Law and Justice hid evidence that was inconsistent with the theory of the Smolensk attack. As the Council stated in its press release, the purpose of the investigation is to determine if the Siła kłamstwa report infringed upon provisions of the Media Act by promoting untrue information and actions contrary to the Polish raison d’état and threatening public security. The broadcaster is facing a fine of nearly PLN 1 million.
As we reported in mid-January, the investigation took place without the involvement of other members of the National Broadcasting Council, who had not received documents on this matter. The Chairman of the Council, Maciej Świrski, was criticized even by Marzena Paczuska, appointed to the Council by the President of the Republic of Poland.
“When I asked for documents concerning the procedure for fining TVN, it turned out that other members did not have access to such documents either. Now all members have already had the opportunity to become familiar with the documentation,” says Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski, appointed to the National Broadcasting Council with the votes of opposition senators.
As explained by Professor Kowalski, TVN replied to the report that the Chairman of the Council initiated the investigation with a short letter first, announcing a longer answer later. “The second letter was also sent to the National Broadcasting Council. This form of response is understandable because multiple allegations were raised, which could not have been addressed at once,” says Professor Kowalski.
The Professor added that the broadcaster responded to all allegations in its explanations. “The answer was accompanied by the most important arguments from the NIAR report (in English and Polish). I accept these explanations, but I believe that the National Broadcasting Council should not investigate the case at all because it may require a rectification at most, which should be dealt with by the court, not by the Council,” says Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski.
Professor Kowalski stresses that the Council, as a whole, has not yet expressed its opinion on the procedure to fine TVN. “The case may be addressed at the Council meeting on Wednesday,” he noted. “The matter has not been entered on the agenda, but it may be just as well discussed as an item of current affairs,” says Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski.
At the beginning of January, TVN announced that in response to the letter from the National Broadcasting Council, the station requested that the investigation be dismissed as groundless. The station is awaiting further decisions and constantly argues that if the National Broadcasting Council does not discontinue the procedure, it will seek justice in court. “Due to the gravity of unfounded accusations against the broadcaster, the need to oppose the precedent, dangerous for the Polish press and freedom of expression, as to the application of Article 18(1) and 18(3), and taking into account the need to protect the investment of the American investor, which is an entity indirectly controlling the Company in Poland, the Company and the investor will defend their rights before Polish courts and international courts of arbitration,” stressed the broadcaster.
Dozens of editorial offices of Polish newspapers, websites, radio, and television stations participated in a campaign to disseminate Siła kłamstwa report to protest against the investigation by the Chairman of the National Council.