AD had protested to the Broadcasting Authority about a news item broadcast on Net TV on 8 April. NET TV had misreported a visit made by Dr Harry Vassallo and Prof. Arnold Cassola to Edible Oil Ltd to highlight AD’s support for environmentally-friendly businesses. In fact on this occasion NET TV deleted any reference to Dr Vassallo and Prof. Cassola in its report. Despite the fact that this activity was organised by AD, there was no mention of this in the script or in the footage shown.

The Broadcasting Authority concluded that this news item did not reflect reality and called on NET TV to ensure that its news items do reflect reality.

AD’s General Secretary Stephen Cachia called on the Broadcasting Authority to ensure that AD is not disadvantaged during the electoral campaign due to the systematic discrimination against it on NET TV and Super 1 TV.

“The structural imbalance against AD is suffocating Maltese democracy and this case is a clear example of the manipulation that characterises NET TV”, said Mr Cachia. “This manipulation has reached new levels of absurdity. The fact that AD and its officials were not even mentioned and were systematically deleted from the footage of an activity organised by AD shows the state of panic in NET TV with regard to AD’s ongoing success”.