Ministry of Information Policy (Ukraine)

The Ministry of Information Policy (Ukrainian: Міністерство інформаційної політики) or MIP was a government ministry in Ukraine established on 2 December 2014.[2][3] The Honcharuk Government (on 29 August 2019) abolished the Ministerial post.[1] The government institution was revived in March 2020 as part of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.[4]

Ministry of Information Policy
Міністерство інфорполітики
Top: Official coat of arms of the Ministry
Bottom: Official flag of the Ministry
Agency overview
Formed2 December 2014
Dissolved29 August 2019[1]
JurisdictionGovernment of Ukraine
Headquarters2, Prorizna St, Kyiv
Websitemip.gov.ua/en

History

The ministry was created concurrently with the formation of the Second Yatsenyuk Government, after the October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election. The ministry's task was to oversee information policy in Ukraine. According to the first Minister of Information, Yuriy Stets, one of the goals of its formation was to counteract "Russian information aggression" amidst pro-Russian unrest across Ukraine, and the ongoing Russian military intervention of 2014.[3][5] Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko mentioned that the main function of the ministry was to stop "the spreading of biased information about Ukraine".[6]

A proposal to establish an information ministry for Ukraine was first put forth on 30 November 2014 by Internal Affairs Ministry advisor Anton Herashchenko.[7] He said that ministry could protect "Ukraine's information space from Russian propaganda and counter propaganda in Russia, in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and eastern Ukraine".[7] The proposal was made amidst ongoing efforts to form a government, following the October 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election.[7] Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko advocated for the establishment of such a ministry through the night on 1–2 December.[7] It was quickly pushed through parliament with little fanfare. The formation of the Second Yatsenyuk Government was announced on 2 December, with Poroshenko ally Yuriy Stets confirmed as the first Minister for Information Policy.[3][7] One day after his appointment, Stets published the ministry's regulations, which were based on a draft he wrote in 2007–09.[8] According to these regulations, the ministry is meant to "develop and implement professional standards in the media sphere", "ensure freedom of speech", and prevent the spread of "incomplete, outdated, or unreal information.[8]

Prior to its establishment, many Ukrainian journalists protested the creation of the ministry.[7][9] They cited concerns that the ministry would "open the way to grave excesses" in restricting free speech, and that the ministry would inhibit journalists' work. Journalists demonstrating outside the parliament building said that the creation of the ministry was equivalent to "a step back to the USSR".[7][nb 1] The ministry was given the satirical appellation "Ministry of Truth" (Ukrainian: мінправди), a reference to George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.[11][12][13] Reporters without Borders strongly opposed the creation of the ministry, and said that it was a "retrograde step".[14] Petro Poroshenko Bloc politician Serhiy Leshchenko called for the ministry's immediate dissolution, whilst Poroshenko Bloc politician Svitlana Zalishchuk said that ministry's implementation should be put on hold, and that its regulations should be redrafted.[8]

Newly appointed Minister for Information Policy Yuriy Stets said that one of the primary goals of the ministry was to counteract "Russian information aggression"[nb 2] amidst the prolonged ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War in the Donbass region.[3][5] According to Stets, no other Ukrainian government institution was capable of handling this task.[7] He stated that "different states with different historical and cultural experiences in times of crisis came to need to create a body of executive power that would control and manage the information security of the country".[7] Stets also said that the ministry "will in no way try to impose censorship or restrict freedom of speech".[8] President Poroshenko told journalists on 7 December 2014 that the main purpose of the ministry is to stop external "information attacks on Ukraine" by promoting the "truth about Ukraine" across the world.[6] Poroshenko added that it was "foolish" to think that the ministry would become an organ of censorship.[6]

The ministry was officially established by a resolution of the Ukrainian government on 14 January 2015.[16][17] The resolution contained the duties and regulations of the ministry. According to the resolution, the primary objectives of the MIP are to "protect the information sovereignty of Ukraine", and to "implement media reforms to spread socially important information".[16]

A statement released by the ministry on 19 February 2015 announced the creation of an "information force" to counter misinformation on social media and across the internet.[18] The force is targeted at Russia, which has been said to employ an "army of trolls" to spread false information and propaganda during the Russo-Ukrainian War.[19]

Yuriy Stets resigned from his post of Minister of Information Policy on 8 December 2015.[20] He withdrew his letter of resignation on 4 February 2016, and continued in the post.[21]

United States Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt stated late January 2016 "It's a huge mistake to create a 'Ministry of Truth' that tries to generate alternative stories. That is not the way to defeat this information warfare".[22]

On 29 August 2019 the (then) new Honcharuk Government abolished the Ministry.[1]

The Ministry was revived and merged on 26 March 2020 as part of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.[4]

Staff of the Ministry of Information Policy

The approved staff of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine for 2015 includes 29 employees. Given the Ukrainian practice, the figure seems to be very small. However, the experience of many countries and contemporary understanding of management prove that these are the public institutions with a small staff working based on delegation principles, which are much more capable to implement global state tasks.

Despite strict requirements of Ukrainian legislation, the Ministry of Information Policy is able to successfully perform all assigned tasks with minimum resources." to "The approved staff of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine for 2015 includes 29 employees, so we are a "lean and mean" department. Contemporary management strategies suggest that public institutions with a small staff working on delegated principles, can be highly effective to performing government tasks.

Ministry building in Kyiv

The Ministry of Information Policy aim is to successfully perform all assigned tasks with minimum resources, and within the strict requirements of Ukrainian legislation.

Structure of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine
  • Minister – Yuriy Stets[21]
  • First Deputy Minister – Emine Dzhaparova
  • Deputy Minister – Dmytro Zolotukhin
  • State Secretary – Artem Bidenko
  • Executive Support Service of the Minister
  • Legal Sector
  • Sector for Human Resources Management
  • Financial and Economic Sector
  • Sector for Accountancy and Accounting Control
  • Sector for Administrative Services
  • Sector for Strategic Communications
  • Sector for Information Reintegration of Crimea and Donbas
  • Sector for Implementation of the Doctrine of Information Security
  • Sector for International Cooperation in the Field of Information Security
  • Sector for Promotion of Ukraine in the World
  • Sector for European Integration
  • Sector for Reforming the Information Field and Public Relations
  • Chief Specialist on Internal Audit
  • Chief Specialist on Sensitive and Classified Activities
  • Chief Specialist on Prevention and Exposure of Corruption

Main ministry projects

Social advertising

According to Ukrainian legislation, social advertising – information of any kind, common in any form, which aims to achieve social goals, promotion of human values and the distribution of which is not intended to make a profit.

MIP launched such social campaigns:[23]

  • Social advertising "Army – pride".
  • Social campaign to mark the anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity.
  • Social campaign by individually selected key program on Information Policy Crimea.
  • Social campaign on mobilization "Dignity, Freedom and Victory".
  • Social campaign "Two Flags – One Country" timed to the Day of Crimean Tatar Flag.
  • Social campaign aimed at countering manifestations of separatism.
  • Social campaign in support of internally displaced persons "The life of each person can change momentarily".
  • Social campaign about supporting of internally displaced persons by World Food Programme of the United Nations (WFP UN)
  • Social campaign to support the decentralization reform in Ukraine.
  • Social campaign "Honour Your Heroes!"

Proofs for Hague

The Ministry has video and photo materials that it claims prove Russian military presence on the territory of Ukrainian Donbass.[24]

Information army

On 23 February 2014 MIP created the Internet platform "Information armies Ukraine".[25] Today the site pages and relevant social networks are used by more than 10,000 users. Monthly dozens of anti-Ukrainian users are blocked. Information attack of FSB security services is blocked, monthly almost 80,000 users get information on the fake of Russian propaganda. On each post there are dozens of false answers, which provided facts and arguments, so that the effectiveness of anti-Ukrainian propaganda in social networks plummeted.

Embedded journalism

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine jointly with the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine continue to take the application process for project «Embedded journalists» – attaching media to military units in the ATO area and journalists are invited to participate.[26] The journalist is not involved in the fighting, but he is subject to the relevant officer and lives in the same conditions as the rest of the soldiers. Today, Ukrainian and foreign journalists are working successfully with the military in the area ATO within the project Embedded journalism. Journalists from BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, Evening Standard, The Independent, Newsweek, Agence France-Presse, Polsat, The Daily Signal, Hanslucas, Tsenzor.NET, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inter, Business Ukraine, New time have already participated. Results for the three months of the work: 18 video, 15 articles and three films in the foreign media.

List of ministers
Yuriy Stets
Name of Ministry Name of minister Term of office
Start End
Ministry of Information Policy Yuriy Stets 2 December 2014[3] 29 August 2019

See also

Notes
  1. Ukraine was part of the USSR from 1920 until Ukraine declared its independence from the USSR on 24 August 1991.[10]
  2. Russian state media routinely casts the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine as a conflict between an extremist nationalist Ukrainian Government and a minority of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine fighting for its rights and traditions.[15]

References
  1. New Cabinet formed in Ukraine The Rada appointed the new Cabinet: Avakov and Markarova remained (РАДА ПРИЗНАЧИЛА НОВИЙ КАБМІН: АВАКОВ І МАРКАРОВА ЛИШИЛИСЬ), Ukrayinska Pravda (29 August 2019)
  2. "Міністр інформаційної політики України" (Press release). Supreme Council of Ukraine. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  3. Rada supports coalition-proposed government lineup, Interfax-Ukraine (2 December 2014)
    Rada approves new Cabinet with three foreigners, Kyiv Post (2 December 2014)
    (in Ukrainian) Rada voted the new Cabinet, Ukrayinska Pravda (2 December 2014)
  4. Cabinet renames Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports into Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, Interfax-Ukraine (26 March 2020)
  5. Ukraine must establish Information Policy Ministry Archived 2 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, National Radio Company of Ukraine (2 December 2014)
  6. Poroshenko: Information Ministry's main task is to repel information attacks against Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (8 December 2014)
  7. "Ukraine just created its own version of Orwell's 'Ministry of Truth'". Mashable. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  8. Journalists, free speech activists demand abolishing of newly-formed ‘Ministry of Truth’, Kyiv Post (4 December 2014)
  9. Recknagel, Charles (3 December 2014). "'No Big Brother!' Ukrainian Journalists Oppose Kyiv's New Ministry of Information". RFERL.
  10. A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples by Paul Robert Magocsi, University of Toronto Press, 2010, ISBN 1442610212 (page 563/564 & 722/723)
  11. "Self Help" asked to vote on each minister separately, have certain questions to the "Ministry of Truth". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  12. "Social networks ridicule the 'Ministry of Truth' and its minister". Mirror Weekly (in Russian). 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  13. "Ukraine Goes Abroad for Government Ministers". The Wall Street Journal. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  14. "RWB OPPOSES CREATION OF INFORMATION MINISTRY" (Press release). Reporters without Borders. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  15. Ukraine parliament approves new government, Associated Press (2 December 2014)
  16. "On the Question of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine" (Press release). Government of Ukraine. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  17. "Ministry of Information Policy Set Up". National Radio Company of Ukraine. 14 January 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  18. "Ministry of Information Policy Initiates the Creation of Information Forces" (Press release). Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  19. "Ukraine to Establish 'Internet Army' to Fight Online Russian Propaganda". The Moscow Times. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  20. "Ukraine's unpopular minister of information policy resigns". Ukraine Today. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  21. Agriculture, health, information ministers change their mind about resigning, UNIAN (4 February 2016)
  22. U.S. ambassador calls formation of 'Ministry of Truth' serious mistake, urges Ukraine to focus on progress and development, Interfax-Ukraine (1 February 2016)
  23. "Social campaign".
  24. "Proofs for Hague – Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine". Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  25. "Ukraine Information Army". 2.i-army.org. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  26. ""Embedded journalism" project – Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine". Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
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