Independent Polish media goes black in protest against ‘politically motivated’ tax

The front page of the liberal newspaper Wyborcza, which reads: "Media without choice"

Credit: Omar Marques /Getty Images Europe 

Some of Poland’s leading newspapers and news portals imposed a news blackout on Wednesday in protest against a proposed tax on advertising revenue they claim will "weaken or even liquidate” local media outlets.  

The move has fuelled fears in Poland that the government intends to crackdown on privately owned media that it regards as being unfairly critical.

Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland’s most famous paper, ran a blacked-out page on its website with only the words "Media without choice".

TVN24, the leading independent television news network in Poland, dropped its normal schedule and instead showed a screen with the same message.

Media outlets say the tax, which is now in parliament and could come into force in July, could force many to go bankrupt.

Poland’s government has justified the proposal by saying it will be used to support the Covid-battered national health service, the preservation of national monuments and a fund to support Polish heritage and culture.

But some believe it is politically motivated.

Leaders of Poland’s governing party, the socially conservative Law and Justice party, have often rounded on the country’s independent media, some of which are foreign owned, claiming that they do not represent the interests of the country.

Onet website also replaced its usual stories with the message "Media without choice"

Credit: KACPER PEMPEL /REUTERS

Onet, one of Poland’s most popular news websites, on Wednesday displayed only a black screen with the words: "Your favourite website should be here. See for yourself what the world will look like without an independent media. Media without choice has started.”

Reacting to the blackout, the government said it was surprised by the protest and argued that similar taxes already existed in other EU countries.

Piotr Muller, the government’s spokesman, said all parties could still “sit down and talk about this project”.

An open letter signed by dozens of media organisations addressed to the “authorities of the Republic of Poland and leaders of political groups” warned that the tax could result in the “weakening or even liquidating of some of the media operating in Poland, and would significantly limit society’s ability to choose the content it wants.”

The letter also claims the tax could widen the financial divide between private media and its state-funded counterparts.

Some sectors of Poland’s public media such as TVP state television have received strong financial support from the government, which sees them as a counter-balance to private media.