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Rada's new freedom of speech chief criticizes TV marathon

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Rada's new freedom of speech chief criticizes TV marathon
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn photographed on Facebook. (Open Source)

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the newly appointed head of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Freedom of Speech, questioned the effectiveness of Ukraine's TV marathon introduced after Russia's full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022, Interfax reported on Dec. 9.

"My position regarding the marathon: its efficiency is questionable. If its efficiency is in question, then it is necessary to reassess," Yurchyshyn said.

Ukraine's TV marathon is a united news program produced by the country's biggest media outlets that broadcasts 24/7 on all major Ukrainian TV channels.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has championed the effort which is aimed at protecting Ukraine's information space against a pervasive onslaught of Russian disinformation.

"Telemarathon is a weapon. It's a united information space. It works for Ukraine and against Russia," Zelensky said in January, 11 months after it was introduced.

Lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, freshly appointed to the Freedom of Speech Committee on Dec. 9, is a member of the Holos political party and considered to be a member of the liberal opposition.

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Lance Luo

Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.

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