Mariupol, April 28, 2017. Hanna Murlykina, editor-in-chief of CitySites website network, speaking at a press-briefing at Mariupol Crisis Media Center presented her take on populism that is being spread by media and politicians.
According to Murlykina, editorial boards purposefully resort to populism in their materials, so that their media become popular with readers. However, it is much worse, Hanna said, when politicians are using populism to say what their voters want to hear instead of presenting things the way they are. Populism becomes possible whenever people are not using the opportunity they have to check and analyze information and facts.
The editor-in-chief noted that explaining the reforms is quite difficult in times when the financial state of the majority of people is very tough. In this situation, it is easier to take to populism and criticism instead of figuring out what is actually going on. It is easier to say “we are being robbed” to get popular instead of admitting that we have no other way but make unpopular reforms. According to Murlykina, to get rid of populism it is very important to start discussions on topics that lack understanding, and educate people in such an explanatory way. Civil society seems to be the only actor capable of doing it, as all other institutions in the country are vulnerable to populism.