Experts from different countries have different views on Facebook post and about affection of it to the work. Several days ago a journalist, TV broadcaster Armen Dulyan who was working on “Shant” TV quit his job because of a post on his Facebook page. In a talk with experts from different countries in the sphere of freedom of speech, Aravot.am inquired whether it is legitimate to dismiss a person because of a post in the Facebook. Director of “The Center for Freedom of Information” NGO Shushan Doydoyan, in a conversation with Aravot.am, told that we must first find out what the legal formulation was given by the TV company when dismissing its employee, what the basis of the order was, and continued,- “As for protecting the rights of the journalist, there is a classic example of censorship, when a citizen, a person is writing an opinion on his Facebook page, and is prosecuted for it physically and economically. In this case, Dulyan was subjected to economic pressure. Everyone knows that Armen Dulyan dismissal from work was followed by the posts on his Facebook page, which should be condemned”. According to Shushan Doydoyan these phenomena are not new for RA, simply A. Dulyan’s personality, as an established journalist, is known to everyone, that’s why there is a protest.
So Mrs. Doydoyan thinks that this should become a precedent to unite the sphere of media. “Each person is free to think as it wants and to express it in its own neighborhood. Armen Dulyan did not use his broadcast, his professional environment to express his opinion. In this case, the matter refers to the opinion expressed among his personal friends”.
In a talk with us, the initiator of the Information Accessibility Program of Bulgaria Gergena Zhuleva told that such matters in their country are regulated through ethical code and ethical boards. Then she detailed, – “Of course, the problem is related to the freedom of the press. But should we have good mechanisms for regulation, during such cases we will have resolutions in favor of the journalists. But such cases where the leadership of media conditioned by some political views puts pressure on the journalist should be condemned. I think that the freedom of speech and the press is a value for which they must struggle united”.
The coordinator of Freedom of Information Archive of the National Security of George Washington University Neyt Jones assured that the journalist in the U.S. have the right to post on their Facebook page whatever they want. “But there were cases when the journalist was subjected to responsibility for the publication of his Facebook, when he was advocating racism and violence with his posts, or the posts were negatively impacting on the rating of the media. There are no officially adopted ethical code in our country, but there are so-called unwritten rules, which are followed by journalists. I think that the situation in sphere of information is so smooth the U. S. that there is no need for the code”.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
