Moldova to temporarily ban six TV channels over broadcasts about war

The small ex-Soviet state of Moldova will temporarily ban six television channels for airing “incorrect information” about the country and Russia’s war in Ukraine, authorities said on Friday.
The channels – some of which broadcast in Moldovan and some in Russian – are closely tied to politician and businessman Ilan Shor, who fled in 2019 after the election of pro-Western President Maia Sandu. Shor, in exile in Israel, has backed protests in Chisinau demanding that Sandu’s government resign.
The ban will start on Dec 19 and last for the duration of a state of emergency that Moldova declared after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24.
The channels will lose their licences “for disseminating incorrect information when covering events in Moldova and the war in Ukraine”, a special commission overseeing the state of emergency said in a statement. It did not give details.
The six channels include some of the most popular in Moldova. Shor owns three of them; another two belong to his close associates while the sixth sympathises with him.