The international certificate course “Truthful Reporting: Even When It Hurts” for journalism students is underway, which is being conducted by East Ukrainian National University in partnership with the public organization “Student Journalism Platform”.
On April 18, a lecture on Ukraine, Russian propaganda and the Norwegian media was held. This time, the speaker was Bjørn Johan Berger, a Norwegian blogger, board member of the Norwegian-Ukrainian Friendship Society, and freelance writer for a number of Norwegian newspapers and weeklies.
Bjørn introduced the students to the mood in Norway, characterizing it as “deep historical calm” and “naivety.” At the same time, he noted that the younger generation of Norwegians demonstrates a high level of media literacy.
The lecturer also described the general state of the Norwegian media, which adheres to high ethical and professional standards but does not provide enough information about the war in Ukraine.
Bjørn himself, as a civic activist and author, specializes in exposing Russian propaganda fakes. Therefore, he focused on describing how the apparatus of this propaganda works, as well as individual cases when Russian “journalists” tried to mislead the Norwegian audience.
“Russia is smashing with propaganda as if with a hammer, but we must resist in order not to lose democracy,” the Norwegian summarized. Author of the text: Mulenko Adel-Sophia, STUDMEDIA