Government broadcaster publishes 7 (in words: seven) paragraphs about Navalny’s death

Malta’s government broadcaster PBS has ‘reported’ the sudden death of Putin-critic Alexei Navalny in a seven-paragraph online article

While most European public broadcasters have extended their news programs or scheduled special reports throughout the day, accompanied by extensive online coverage, Malta’s PBS has yet to report today’s top story in a manner that can be expected of a station its size.

TVMnews.mt reported the world’s current top story in an article consisting of seven paragraphs, and added screenshots of the reactions of Prime Minister Robert Abela, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech and Foreign Minister Ian Borg in the Maltese version of the ‘article’.

While Abela and Grech avoided any mention of the questionable circumstances surrounding the death of Putin’s biggest critic, Borg called on Russia to “provide clarity regarding the circumstances of his death”.

Neither EP President Roberta Metsola’s reaction nor MEP David Casa’s clear words “Putin has finally rid himself of Alexi Navalny, a stubborn thorn in the thigh of a dictator” were quoted by PBS, not to mention further notable local and international reactions to the news.

This is not the first time that Malta’s government broadcaster has failed to adequately report about the world’s top stories.

Even during the first days of Putin’s war against Ukraine, random company visits of local ministers were given more importance in TVM’s main news program at 8pm.

Russian news agencies reported earlier on Friday that Alexei Navalny (47) had died in one of Russia’s toughest prisons within the Arctic Circle. While no further details were given about Navalny’s death, Russian prison authorities said that he “felt unwell” after a walk.

In 2020 Navalny received treatment in Germany for poisoning after he had fallen ill during a political activity in Siberia and was arrested in 2021 after returning to Russia. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison in what was understood to be a show trial against the former opposition leader.

Update 19:40 | Shortly after this article was published, PBS added a video to its report and brought it to the top section of its home page.