Nokta

Nokta is an independent news website in Gagauzia, an autonomous region in Moldova for the Gagauz people. It was founded by Mihail Sirkeli, who was its manager as of 2024. Headquartered in Comrat, the news website is in Russian; a large proportion of Gagauz do not speak Romanian, Moldova's national language. Nokta was launched on 26 December 2017 by the Piligrim-Demo Association. It aimed to cover the most important events in Gagauzia, but also in the rest of Moldova and in the world. Nokta journalist Veaceslav Crăciun stated that the website would distinguish itself from other media outlets in Gagauzia because the team would be publicly presented and its authors would sign the articles. As of 2024, Nokta was funded primarily by the United States Department of State, the Netherlands and the United States' National Endowment for Democracy. Balkan Insight defined Nokta as an influential independent media outlet in Gagauzia, one of the few independent media outlets in the region, which frequently criticized local authorities and exposed cases of corruption. As of 2024, Nokta was the only explicitly pro-European medium in Gagauzia, according to SWI swissinfo.