The head of France Télévisions Delphine Ernotte Cunci has said she “wouldn’t personally have applied censorship” to Russian news networks.
Speaking at Series Mania, Ernotte Cunci, who is also European Broadcasting Union President, queried how the West can “condone censorship when practising it ourselves” by blocking the likes of RT and Sputnik in Europe.
These channels have been taken off air in the majority of European countries and Google Europe has also pulled them from YouTube.
Ernotte Cunci also argued Russia will find other ways to broadcast its propaganda.
“A broadcasting channel can be a blunt propaganda instrument but there are other forms like social media, fake news and deepfakes,” she said.
European PSBs have used different forms of soft power to counter the Russians, added Ernotte Cunci, flagging the example of more than 300 broadcasting companies airing an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the exclusion of Russia from the Eurovision Song Contest.
“Soft power has found another expression with European PSBs,” she added. “We have given Ukraine equipment and constantly been in touch with them so for me it’s about solidarity, sharing and the circulation of information.”
Series Mania banned Russian TV and film organization Roskino from attending.