A TVN report on the real estate market has sparked a strong reaction online. Viewers accused the station of lacking transparency and manipulating the message after it emerged that one of the people presented as an ordinary attendee of a housing fair was connected to the development industry.
Report on Apartments and a “Young Married Couple”
In the Saturday edition of the program Fakty (TVN), a report on the situation in the real estate market was shown. Reporter Dominika Ziółkowska visited a housing fair in Gdynia and spoke with people searching for their own homes. One of the subjects of the report was a young married couple, who discussed their plans to buy an apartment and the problems associated with high real estate prices.
“You have to look, there’s no other way,” the couple said in the television segment.
“It should be spacious, warm, and pleasant,” the woman emphasized, referring to her expectations for their future apartment.
Her husband pointed out the property prices and the difficulties young people face entering the housing market:
“A person is just starting life, so where are you supposed to suddenly have the savings to buy an apartment for 14,000 zlotys per square meter or more?” he asked in the segment.
After the report aired, information about one of the female subjects began circulating online. Internet users noted that the woman, presented as a person searching for an apartment, works in the real estate development sector as a “sales support specialist.”
The revealed setup triggered a wave of negative comments on social media. Many accused the editorial team of deliberately failing to disclose the subject’s ties to the real estate market. The controversy quickly mobilized viewers to take legal action. Templates for complaints to the National Broadcasting Council began circulating online, according to Wprost.
The author of one complaint highlighted how the interviewees were presented in the report:
“In the material in question, Marta Kolaska and her husband were presented as an example of a young married couple searching for their own apartment. The couple was shown as typical potential clients at a housing fair, expressing interest in purchasing in the context of rising prices and credit availability,” the complaint read.
Another section emphasized that this type of presentation could influence viewers’ perception of the entire report:
“Viewers were led to believe that this was an authentic, independent opinion of ordinary citizens, which was supposed to illustrate a supposed revival in the housing market and encourage viewers to make similar decisions,” it noted.
The complaint also raised concerns about the reliability of the media message:
“The material is unreliable; it lacks objectivity and pluralism of views. Such a presentation misleads viewers, manipulates public opinion, and undermines trust in the media,” it stated.
So far, the station has not publicly responded to the allegations that have emerged following the broadcast. The issue continues to generate strong emotions among viewers and media market observers.