Maurits Vande Reyde wrote that the public broadcaster had mostly given a voice to people in recent weeks who were in favor of a larger government and against cuts. A cut of 1 percent in subsidies was proposed as a national disaster, among others in discussions with trade unions and Paul De Grauwe, whom Vande Reyde said had claimed that the government debt would vanish like snow in the sun. He also stated that the broadcaster was actively looking for protesting students to give legitimacy to the riots. Vande Reyde accused the VRT and other traditional media of ignoring issues that people were concerned about or portraying those with such concerns as foolish. According to him, subsidized activist organizations were given ample space, while guests advocating for a smaller government or who were critical of migration were invariably surrounded by additional commentary and counterarguments. Vande Reyde wondered whether this reporting explained the loss of trust in traditional media. He wrote that media subsequently labeled social media as suspicious and presented themselves as the only reliable source, while according to him they were pursuing more subsidies and advertising revenues. #MediaBias #Overheid #VRT (translated)


