Belarus Finland’s largest news agency significantly reduces the use of images from the Belarusian state news agency – the authenticity of filming situations has not been verified

News and the STT photo agency will largely stop using Belan images from the Belarusian state news agency in connection with news of the Belarusian-Polish border situation. STT says that it has not been possible to verify the authenticity and independence of the filming situations.

STT has previously obtained Belta’s images from the news agency AFP’s news image service and passed them on to its customers. Among Finnish media, HS, Yle and Ilta-Sanomat, among others, have used Belta’s images, which were still transmitted by AFP and STT’s Lehtikuva brand.

Much of the migratory images are from the same source, as images from the area have been available on a limited basis. According to STT, AFP’s own footage from the Polish side of the border has also begun to be available in the area.

Most of Belta’s pictures have been taken Leonid Štšeglov, a leading magazine photographer in the news agency ‘s photo department.

Editor-in-Chief of BTI Minna Holopainen commented on Twitter.

“Of course, one may ask if we know enough about the images on the other side of the border or from many other crisis areas. You can always talk. But here there is reason to doubt the border crisis as a hybrid operation of an authoritarian country, and then we cannot rely on the state media of the same country as a source of image, ”Holopainen wrote.

Take special care The material from the Belarusian photo agency is largely due to the country’s poor freedom of the press. Belarus was ranked 158th in the International Reporters Without Borders’ list of press freedom last year. There were 180 countries to be evaluated. Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkey, among others, received better marks than Belarus.

International Press Institute took a position on Monday Freedom of the press in Belarus. According to the institute, the country’s administration is trying to eradicate the remaining remnants of an independent press in the country.

For example, on Thursday, November 4, Belarus blocked access to the websites of two NGOs, the journalists’ association BAJ and PEN Belarus. On Monday, November 1, again, two journalists received separate convictions for spreading extremism.

In practice, the media is under state control, and the image and video material distributed to the international press is approved by the administration, which may be based on state interests.

Director of the European Center of Excellence for Combating Hybrid Threats Teija Tiilikainen previously told HS considers Belarus’s activities on the Polish border to be a clear hybrid operation using migrants against the EU and Poland.

In such an operation, the meaning of the images may be to give a certain picture of the situation, which is favorable to Belarus.

Correction 10.11. 2021 at 20.02: The decision to reduce the use of images by the Belarusian State News Agency has been made by the news and image agency STT, not Lehtikuva. The magazine image is a trademark of STT.