A journalist for the Polish state broadcaster has apologized for his channel’s spreading of anti-LGBT sentiment. Host Wojciech Szelag of TVP Info, which was criticized as a mouthpiece of the previous governing Law and Justice (PiS) party, admitted that LGBT people had been targeted for “years” by “hateful words.”
Under the PiS rule between 2015 and 2023, TVP frequently broadcast anti-LGBT stories. The party’s leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, regularly denounced the “madness” of people “declaring” themselves gay or changing gender and blamed Western Europe for exporting alien ideas to Catholic Poland. President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, even referred to LGBT as an “ideology” rather than people.
During the re-election campaign in 2020, President Duda made homophobic comments, contributing to an environment of hostility towards the LGBT community.
The channel’s headquarters were occupied by PiS politicians in protest, but the protest failed and TVP resumed broadcasting on 29 December with a changed editorial line.
The move is described by the new government as intended to “depoliticize” state media, but many, including Polish liberals, have concerns about the way the new government went about recovering editorial control. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said public media required urgent reform but had doubts about the new government’s methods.
The new management of TVP Info has also apologized for attacks on Pawel Adamowicz, the former mayor of Gdansk, who was assassinated in 2019. Mr. Adamowicz was known for his liberal politics, including supporting LGBT rights.
Polish LGBT activists say TVP Info was instrumental in spreading anti-LGBT hate under PiS rule. In 2020, a court ordered the channel to take down an anti-LGBT film, Invasion, from YouTube.
This apology comes as a significant shift in the media landscape in Poland, signaling a potential change in the portrayal of LGBT issues. It reflects a broader trend in Eastern Europe, where countries like Poland and Hungary have faced criticism for their treatment of the LGBT community. The apology and acknowledgment of past misrepresentation are important steps towards fostering a more inclusive society in Poland.