Media and provocateurs

On June 8, 2007, the newspaper Your Day published a short comment by its columnist Alexei Bulatov, "Where to look for a provocateur?", caused by press coverage of the conflict in Stavropol.

A. Bulatov opposes the demonization of one of the parties to the conflict and the interpretation of the crime as ritual (according to Kondopoga's scenario, "there people were raised to rebellion with rumors of cut off ears ," the author recalls). It should be noted that the newspaper "Your Day" even during the Kondopoga events opposed the construction of the "rituality" of what happened in the city during the fight.

Instead of carefully and carefully selecting information, the media broadcast unverified (and subsequently refuted) rumors about the murder of young men: "This information appeared on June 3, somewhere in the afternoon (in reality, even at 11:54 - ed. ). And precisely almost all the media began to circulate it. And even on the second day! And in Moskovsky Komsomolets, information about severed heads appeared on the third day! When it was already refuted. ... It is clear that these are not just rumors. This is a provocation " .

Thus, the press itself encourages the reader to interpret everyday conflicts as "interethnic strife," A. Bulatov believes, and again calls for a responsible approach to the selection of information.

Sources

• Bulatov A. Where to look for a provocateur? // Your day. 2007. June 8.