Life Network Foundation, Doctors for Life and I See Life, on behalf of the Inti Tista’ Ssalvani coalition, the leading campaign against the introduction of abortion in Malta, wrote to PBS and the Broadcasting Authority to complain about the censorship carried out by PBS, in the news service that appeared on TVM on 26 January 2023, about what The President of the Republic of Malta said in commemoration of the Holocaust.

The PBS newsroom decided to report everything the President said apart from what he said about abortion. The President said during this engagement that "millions of unborn babies are being killed before they even have the possibility to see the light of day".

This strong statement from the President deserved attention and the fact that PBS decided not to report this, particularly in the present circumstances is an attempt to censor the President.

This is not the first case where the PBS newsroom has chosen to be selective and censor its reporting. This was also done in the case of Ms. Prudente where PBS newsroom completely censored what the doctors said.

All this is in violation of the clear provision of the Constitution of Malta as well as the provisions in the Broadcasting law which extend this obligation directly to the public broadcaster and which impose on it the obligation to ensure that the services of its news are objective and comprehensive. This cannot be done if the public broadcaster, instead of serving as an instrument to provide all the information to which the people have a right, is an instrument of censorship.

For these reasons, we are asking that what His Excellency The President of Malta, Dr. George Vella said, be reported without censorship, the groups said.

A copy of the complaint was sent to the Broadcasting Authority in accordance with the Code for the Investigation and Determination of Complaints (Subsidiary Legislation 350.06).