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The Tanjug news agency sued Stefan Janjic, editor of the Fake News Tragac portal, which deals with the detection of fake news, because during a guest appearance on H1 television in early July, he stated, among other things, that ” You can’t trust the agency one by one. ” Tanjug, who was closed in 2015 by decision of the Serbian government, claims that Janjic jeopardized his solvency and is requesting that he be sentenced to a suspended prison term. H1 interlocutors say that this is pressure on journalists who verify the data.
The editor of “Fake News Tragaca” and member of the court of the Association of Independent Journalists of Vojvodina, Stefan Janjic, will be tried soon, because he claimed that most of the news from Tanjug is true, but cannot be trusted without reservation. in the agency. He was seriously reprimanded, so there is a possibility that he will be sentenced to one year of probation. Although Tanjug confirmed in the lawsuit itself that it transmitted two of the three fake news that Janjic mentioned, they claim that it damaged their commercial reputation by presenting them as creators of fake news.
“It is, above all, the fact that no one can falsely accuse you, try to jeopardize your professional integrity and harm you. You must be held accountable for that. As prescribed by law. In that way, we would certainly be encouraged. Those for whom the information is true in the first place, and those who abuse their position, are discouraged from what we are witnessing, not just in this case, ”says Tanjug, in response to H1.
On the other hand, says Janjic’s legal representative, the accusations are unfounded and there are no elements of any criminal act, and Tanjug will have to prove that what was said is not true.
The fact that Tanjug did not publish some news itself, but only broadcast it, and some other media or news agencies published before, does not exempt them from the responsibility of verifying the veracity of the information they transmit. Practically, this is abuse, that is. about filing a private lawsuit, initiating criminal proceedings to simply dissuade journalists from doing their job, “believes Veljko Milić, Stefan Janjić’s legal representative.
Vesna Radojevic, the editor of the “Raskrikavanje” portal, has a similar attitude, saying that she herself noticed that Tanjug is an unreliable source, and finds an indication that the target is intimidation in the lawsuit itself. “They say: we ask that Stefan be given a suspended sentence of one year, but we will not ask for the execution of that sentence, if he does not commit the same crime for three years. So if he is silent for three years about Tanjug and his businesses, then he won’t. Dare to say that Tanjug is lying, “says Radojević.
There is no point in targeting those who try to speak publicly about the sea of inaccurate information in the media and are working in the public interest, says Norbert Shinković, president of the Independent Association of Journalists of Vojvodina (NDNV). He analyzes this, among other things, in the context of the announced changes in Tanjug’s position, which was closed by the government in 2015.
“The action plan, which is being prepared together with the Media Strategy, foresees, it is only a draft, that in the next year, in the first quarter of 2021, there will simply be an application to remove Tanjug from the company register and the media registry, “said Norbert Shinković. by NDNV.
It is the state of Tanjug that makes lawyer Veljko Milić think: “How is it possible that something that does not exist can damage the reputation and solvency of the business, but that will probably be one of the facts that will be discussed in this proceeding.”
And the first hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday, in the Third Court of First Instance in Belgrade.
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