By: I. K. (nova24tv.si)
Yesterday, you could read that the political attacks by the Oštro portal and their Razkrinkavanje project on our media house have also begun to resonate internationally, as the well-known portal Brusselsignal.eu has started writing about them. You can read more about it on this link. On the same day as the publication, their journalist Petra Jerič criticised Nova24TV for manipulation because we reported on government transfers to non-governmental organisations during the floods.
The previous attacks were not enough. Oštro is relentless. Why would they stop when they know that Facebook will believe their versions of the story regardless of how the other side defends itself? This time, they were disturbed by our article in which we reported that the Ministry of Public Administration had transferred 34,000 euros to the Institute Today is a New Day in August.
Journalist Petra Jerič states that the Ministry of Public Administration explained that it had entered into a contract with the institute in 2021 based on a public tender for the digital transformation of non-governmental and volunteer organisations and the increased inclusion of their users in the information society from 2021 to 2023. The ministry explained that, in accordance with the contract, it co-finances the project “Open accounts: With transparent use of funds to greater trust and public involvement”. The total amount of public funds allocated for the project in 2022 and 2023 is 193,930.57 euros, of which the ministry has so far transferred 122,326.47 euros.
Journalist Jerič concluded that the claim that the Ministry transferred public funds to the Institute Today is a New Day while the residents of Slovenia were facing floods is manipulative. They are asking us for clarification!
Boris Tomašič, the director of Nova Hiša Ltd. publishing company, responded to her. We are publishing his response in full:
“Dear Ms. Jerič,
You perform your work in a very unprofessional and biased manner. In your question, you asserted that our claim is manipulative. Therefore, you are not verifying but rather asking formally because you have already made up your mind. The stated claim is not manipulative. The fact is that the ministry was transferring public funds at a time when the residents of Slovenia were facing floods.
I ask you, which of the following is untrue?
Have you obtained documentation?
Do you believe the ministry only based on their word?
Was the project carried out? Have you seen the report? Have you seen the contract?
Based on which facts do you assert that our claim is manipulative?
I look forward to your responses.”
The modus operandi of fact-checkers
As we reported earlier, it is not clear why the article would be considered manipulative just because the contract with the institute dates back to 2021 for €193,000. No one claimed that the cause of the contract was established shortly after the floods, only that the PAYMENT was made during or after the floods when the government had already announced that, in the name of recovery, it would dig into the pockets of all taxpayers. The article was a response to the fact that many citizens, as well as the opposition, called on the government to reconsider the wisdom of unnecessary projects by non-governmental organisations, which we do not really need during an exceptional, historic crisis if the crisis is indeed so severe that every citizen will have to give up part of their salary. It seems as if the journalist wants to attribute claims to our media that we did not make: as if we were claiming that the floods triggered the payment. Of course, we did not claim that. We only claimed that the ministry made the payment to the institute the day after the floods, which is at the very least cynical.
We will continue to report on all attempts at censorship by Oštro and their project Razkrinkavanje in the future as well. Now that the Slovenian censorship machine has garnered attention abroad, perhaps Facebook will finally listen. After all, this is about violating the right of Slovenian citizens to information.