“The investigation aims to verify the journalistic nature of the content on this website and assess compliance with the rules applicable to media activities to ensure the integrity of information presented as journalistic,” stated the ERC Regulatory Council in a press release today.
This page is accessible via a website and its respective social media platforms, positioning itself as a “platform for cyber journalism and alternative media conducting independent investigations and multimedia content.”
On November 26, the ERC decided to open proceedings after a preliminary verification was carried out following a participation, revealing situations such as the platform presenting itself as a journalistic entity, both in terms of graphics and through expressions like “cyber journalism platform,” “media,” or “alternative media.”
The regulator also found that the platform is not registered with the ERC, thereby failing to comply with the mandatory prior registration required of any project presenting itself as an informative or journalistic entity.
Furthermore, “the owning entity, the editorial team, the editor, or the editorial director are not identified, contradicting the transparency obligations applicable to informational or journalistic projects.”
In light of these elements, the ERC considered there might be a “violation of the legal regime applicable to periodicals, suggesting to the public that it is a journalistic entity, accredited and supervised by the ERC, subject to the ethical-legal framework of journalists, when in reality it does not adhere to the principles and legal rules that govern journalistic activities.”
