Lukashenko: It is ludicrous to reproach Belarus for lack of free speech in Internet age

It is ludicrous to reproach Belarus for the lack of free speech in the Internet age, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said when speaking at a plenary session of the World Congress of the Russian Press.

“Belarus is often accused of lacking freedom of speech. It is ludicrous to accuse anyone of this in the Internet era. Usually these are hypocritical people. They understand perfectly well that there is no absolute freedom in the world. He who does not depend on the government, is dependent on the owner of the newspaper, advertisers, vagaries of the public, and after all, on mistakes, emotions and delusions of journalists,” the head of state said.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that there is no universal formula to ensure the objectivity of the press. “And even the countries which pride themselves on centuries-old traditions of freedom of speech often have to deal with the scandals exposing the underside of many modern media outlets. We have heard many stories of information manipulation, illegal wiretapping, paid-for publications, public opinion manipulation on the part of global media corporations,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

According to the head of state, the new electronic era has exacerbated these problems even further.