Tell me more about Ukraine’s western liberal values, please.

In an address to his nation delivered Sunday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced an order “combining all national TV channels, the program content of which consists mainly of information and/or information-analytical programs, [into] a single information platform of strategic communication” to be called “United News.”

The move means the end, at least temporarily, of privately owned Ukrainian media outlets in that country. Zelensky claimed the measure is needed to combat alleged Russian misinformation and “tell the truth about the war.”

Along with the media consolidation, he banned “any activity” by 11 political parties.

The emergency actions were taken under rules for martial law. Zelensky claimed he was trying to institute a “unified information policy.”

Those are all euphemisms for a totalitarian system.

Now, mind you, this kind of thing is standard in much of the world, including Russia, where there’s no meaningful political opposition on the air, and media outlets toe the party line. But the whole argument for Ukraine was that it was supposed to be better than Putin’s Russia.

It’s also hard to see what the point of such a move would be if Ukraine is truly unified. You only need to resort to totalitarian measures when the country isn’t.

Article posted with permission from Daniel Greenfield