The Council for Mass Media in Finland has issued a ruling against Yle, the national public broadcasting company, regarding its online municipal election tool that was launched in March 2025. The ruling highlights significant misleading elements pertaining to how certain candidate groups from the Lahti area were presented. According to the council, users of the election tool may have been given a deceptive impression of the political groups that were actually contesting the elections, labeling this as a serious factual error.

One critical shortcoming identified by the council was the initial grouping of candidates, specifically how the independent candidate associations were bundled together. This setup failed to provide users with an accurate recommendation of suitable political parties and consequently misled them regarding the candidates available from various groups. The council underscored the importance of transparency in such election tools, suggesting that accurately reflecting the diversity of candidates is vital for informed voting.

Panu Pokkinen, the editor-in-chief of Yle News and Current Affairs, responded by stating that all candidates had the opportunity to be involved in the election tool starting on February 21, 2025. However, he also acknowledged that official information about the candidate associations was not available until the Ministry of Justice had verified it, indicating a potential misalignment between the timing of the elections and the information made available to the public. The council's ruling brings to light pressing concerns about electoral fairness and the responsibilities of media bodies in accurately representing electoral candidates.