Informer calls for investigation into private media outlet over alleged ties to foreign agents

An individual named Pyotr Bobrov has petitioned the prosecutor’s office to investigate the online media outlet FONAR.TV for alleged Western funding, links to foreign agents, and extremism. This was reported by the outlet’s editor-in-chief, Andrey Maslov, on January 21.

Pyotr Bobrov’s complaint urged an investigation into FONAR.TV, a Belgorod Oblast-based media outlet, over alleged ties to foreign agents, Western funding, and extremism. However, in his letter, Bobrov mistakenly identified Nikita Parmyonov, the author of the anti-war Telegram channel Pepel and a former journalist at FONAR.TV, as the editor-in-chief. The outlet is actually headed by Andrey Maslov.

According to Maslov, Bobrov was displeased with FONAR.TV’s efforts to document the names of civilians killed in Belgorod Oblast and accused the outlet of allegedly disclosing shelling locations "to discredit Russia."

Bobrov’s complaint also referenced Maslov’s interview with Novaya Gazeta, where Maslov discussed life in the border city of Belgorod. In his letter, Bobrov described Novaya Gazeta as "a Western outlet designated as a foreign agent," although the newspaper does not hold this designation.

"I have worked, and continue to work, in the best interests of the audience we’ve built over the past ten years. My team shares this commitment. Even in a world where Elon Musk enthusiastically welcomes the sun, and despite the media landscape shrinking like shagreen leather, there is still room for journalism. We pursue it truthfully, openly, under our own names, here in our country," Maslov wrote.

FONAR.TV remains one of the few regional media outlets highlighting citizens’ struggles and the impact of the war on Belgorod Oblast. In 2022, Maslov faced a legal battle against two bloggers who accused the outlet of "operating in the interests of Nazi Ukraine’s secret services." The court ultimately decided not to punish the bloggers for defamation.

Original