It is surprising that Finland’s national broadcaster, Yle, spreads xenophobia and suspicion of asylum seekers via its news reporting. Yle, never calls people attempting to enter Finland via the Finnish-Russian border asylum seekers but people who are attempting to enter the country illegally.
The narrative spread by Yle reporters is a toothless stenographic copy of the government’s harsh stance against such people. The arguments are the same ones as the government’s:
- These people aren’t “real” asylum seekers because Russia is using them as pawns. This may be the case, but does it allow a country to deny a person’s human right right to asylum?
- These people, who are also women and children, cannot be considered real asylum seekers because they live in a safe country like Russia.
- They point to the violent pushbacks of Poland but forget to mention that the country was back then run by a xenophobic PiS government.
“From the region of Vyborg have come more seekers to the Finnish border.
The people seeking to enter Finland illegally are from Africa and the Middle East.”
Apart from practicing stenography journalism, Yle‘s reporting of the issue is one-sided and opinionated. Instead of hearing human rights organizations, Yle offers only a simple view where the main sources are – surprise, surpsie – the national boarder guard and the government.
The reporting by Yle is one-sided promoting hatred of brown asylum seekers.