The turn of the decade is a good time to appreciate the importance of the lessons from history.
Which is why we don’t agree with the opinion we often hear from our critics: That stories looking into the misdeeds of Ukraine’s former leadership are irrelevant today.
This was a popular response to our investigation of ex-President Petro Poroshenko’s administration’s efforts to sway public opinion — allegedly by paying media to run ads masked as news stories and attacking critics on social media via armies of loyal bloggers.
The documents that the Kyiv Post found concern the administration’s media activities in 2015–2016. They allege, for example, that more than $800,000 was spent on hidden political ads on the radio during the two months before the 2015 local elections. For comparison, the campaign’s budget for normal advertising on the same radio stations was almost four times smaller. And nearly all the money was allegedly paid in cash.
Another aspect of the story involves political analysts who were assigned to publish positive comments about the administration while posing as independent observers.
The only member of the former administration who commented for the story, ex-head of its information department Volodymyr Gorkovenko, vehemently denied the authenticity of the documents, which according to a Kyiv Post source were discovered in his former office.
While the story made a storm in the local press, it also drew criticism online — mostly from those supportive of Poroshenko — questioning the need to report on the activities of the administration that isn’t in power anymore.
We are far from the only ones who face this criticism. We noticed that any journalistic report or investigation uncovering something done by Poroshenko or his circle is met with a whirl of: “Let him go! Focus on the new people!”
As any professional media, we strive to report fairly on every administration. Unlike some of the “independent” observers online, we don’t switch allegiances depending on who’s in power.
If we obtain evidence of President Volodymyr Zelensky administration’s wrongdoing, we will not hesitate to investigate it and publish the findings.
The deeds of predecessors contributed to the situation we live in today — that is why we look into them. Those in power need to know that their accountability doesn’t end when their term does.
