What is it?

Together with appearing of Polish version of Delfi portal arise concerns about which version of the Polish-Lithuanian relations, especially relations of Poles in Lithuania and the Lithuanian authorities will be presented there. However, the presentation of information and views on events that surround us is not the only task; it is also a place to create the image of Poles in Lithuania. Is it a thoughtful and deliberate action or perhaps inept marketing strategy?

The fact that there are always different points of view, different references on each event or completely relative concepts on decency or justice should not be surprising, it was so and will be. “Myśl samodzielnie” cautioning against other real Polish portals because they impose “version” for call dependent thinkers. I am not against Delfi. Great that it was created because you can see the difference and every Polish can chooses what is closer to him. Despite text in Polish, there is also a picture and it’s all about it.

You have to spend a lot of time to find less friendly and less unfavorable to Poles portal then Delfi. I do not think that the creation of the Polish version of this portal has fundamentally changed the approach of its journalists in describing and presenting Polish businesses in the negative light. What is more, I do not think that the Polish version of Delfi presented a different point of view of Polish-Lithuanian affairs than the main Lithuanian mainstream does. It is foolish to require that fans (Lithuanian media at large) of government torturers will root for the victims, i.e. national minorities. Anyway, media are fully responsible for the present state of perceiving Poles in Lithuanian society, because they are actively taking part in formatting the false opinion about Poles or screwing the general atmosphere of intolerance, hostility or even hatred.
What strikes the most on Polish Delfi from the beginning of activity is this how is presented the “entrance” on the main page of pl.delfi.lt.

To Russian or Polish version of Delfi you can enter from the level of main page delfi.lt. Length of the Russian bar is three times longer (includes three different texts) than Polish (contains only one text). The Polish minority in Lithuania is the largest. It seemed to be that at least a fifty-fifty ratio will be more logical. Bigger bar will be more noticeable – means more clicks. Isn’t it the point of new project to be successful? But Delfi opted for something simple, read crass.

Under the Polish “entrance” on the main page 99% is nudity in more or less vulgar versions. The text does not have to be associated with the image, but it strongly suggests the content. I would not pay attention to it, but recurrence of this is amazing. Is it in the assumption of originators to attract Poles to enter the Polish version of Delfi by nudity? I understand that now everything and everywhere sells and promotes naked ass, but redundancy, multiplicity and reproducibility of this image on the Delfi appears to be the part of a planned and specified marketing strategy.

In everyday life, thanks to the Lithuanian media reporters and public utterances of politicians Lithuanian society treats Poles as fusty, ignoring the language, simpletons. Now thanks to the constant “support” of Delfi Poles will be also associated with prostitutes, pimps, deviations, lawlessness, prevarications, frauds and other negative connotations. Such action sticks the Poles a patch and perhaps creates a new stereotype.

What is interesting, Russian “entrance” is very rarely or almost never advertised in this way, however, their bar is three times smaller. Once I saw true “equality” – a double bar for Russian and Polish version. But it was probably because of it that Delfi found a beautiful photo of dirty homeless beggar, so they could not resist to not put it under Polish bar and of course, putting next to the bar naked ass. This is no longer simplicity but a kind of marketing simplicity.

But, let’s consider for whom are naked ladies? Aren’t Lithuanians interested in texts at all? I do not think so. Thus, Lithuanian reader of a portal by daily serving him the same image will associate Polish text and so Polishness and Poles with a rather unflattering industry. Is this going on? It is sure that on the Polish version of Delfi enter 95 percent of Poles. The rest nationalities, who can read in Polish, bother only to relieve themselves in the comments, because I did not think so that they want to express support. All who begin to review the main page of a portal (and here I assume that 90% are Lithuanians), know that always under the inscription pl.delfi.lt appears the image of naked lady, breasts or ass of porn star, so for association is not hard. Lithuanians are writing in the comments that they do not know why Poles are so monothematic and suspect that Poles are uploading such pictures.

I suggest that if portal have to, let all the naked asses, undressed women or men breasts bind up with the Lithuanian texts, in which is the whole Delfi main page. If Delfi wants to promote a Polish version of a portal, it will be more reasonable to give only important information from cultural, economic, political and sports life from Vilnius, Lithuania, Poland and the effect will be much better. It will be definitely deemed for concern and care for the Polish minority like always talk about it and reminds us the government. And even if minority problems are associated with surnames, land, education, names, plaques, Polish language abominable the majority of Lithuanians, so Poles until will not be resolved, they will always be the most important and the information about it (even if propaganda is presented) will be much more motivation to click on the text, than the intimate parts of the female body.

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/tresc/co-jest

Tłumaczenie Daria Bergmann w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Daria Bergmann within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.