Undermining Media Credibility, a Threat to National Security
Undermining Media Credibility, a Threat to National Security

Summary/Abstract: In recent years, the Romanian media has been facing a decline in credibility, a situation that has a negative impact not only on media institutions, but on the entire Romanian society. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right for every citizen of the state and, at the same time, an essential principle of democracy. However, to a very large extent, over the last few years the media in Romania has come to the attention of international organizations for excessive politicization, corrupt funding mechanisms and editorial policies subordinated to various interest groups, political parties or foreign entities. Therefore, transformed into a lucrative business and without a rigorous legislation to regulate journalistic activity in Romania, media institutions represent a vulnerability to democracy and state security. International organizations specialized in monitoring human rights have referred in their reports of recent years to serious lapses in media activity in Romania. The present article aims to analyze, on the one hand, the levers that have led to the undermining of the credibility of Romanian media and, on the other hand, how this phenomenon has turned into a threat to national security. The purpose of the article is to identify ways to reduce the exposure of Romanian society to misinformation and manipulation and to reconsider the legislative framework regulating journalistic activity in Romania. The conclusions of the article refer to increasing social responsibility towards the sources of information which are used and the return of the media to its primary role of informing, to the detriment of current manipulative practices

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