Council acquits journalist Matti Kuusela following Aamulehti article controversy in Finland

The Council for Mass Media in Finland (JNS) issued an acquittal for journalist Matti Kuusela on Friday. Earlier this spring, Aamulehti removed around 600 articles written by Kuusela from its online platform, with three articles undergoing edits. This prompted a complaint to the JNS, which ruled that the articles were reinstated with annotations in June. The JNS stated that the chief editor had valid reasons for the temporary removal of the articles.

According to JNS’s decision, the investigative work and the return of the articles improved readers’ ability to access information regarding the problematic aspects of the articles. Aamulehti’s editor-in-chief, Sanna Keskinen, expressed her satisfaction with JNS’s acknowledgment of the complexity of the situation, noting that the decisions made were neither simple nor clear-cut. Following the controversy, the editorial team quickly moved past the initial shock, and Keskinen praised the newsroom’s collaborative spirit in addressing the issue, which has also sparked valuable ethical discussions within the industry.

The controversy arose when Aamulehti removed articles after Kuusela revealed in his memoirs that he had incorporated fabricated dialogue in several of his pieces. One notable instance involved an article on poet Eeva-Liisa Manner, where Kuusela included a fictional dialogue that did not occur. Kuusela defended his creative choices, stating that he employed exaggeration, poetry, sarcasm, and playfulness in his writing, and believes readers could distinguish fiction in his work. He insists that his conscience remains clear regarding his journalistic ethics.

Kuusela, a highly acclaimed journalist from Nokia, has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the State Prize for Information Publication and honors for investigative journalism.