34 COMMUNIST PARTY OF RUSSIA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT 119. Furthermore, and most importantly, the Supreme Court’s findings did not support the applicants’ allegation of a manipulation of the media by the government, which was their central proposition. The Supreme Court found that the journalists covering elections or political events had been independent in choosing the events and persons to report on, that it had been their right to inform the public about events involving political figures, and that they had not had the intent of campaigning in favour of the ruling party (see paragraph 35 above). 120. The Court notes that, indeed, the applicants did not adduce any direct proof of abuse by the Government of their dominant position in the capital or management of the TV companies concerned. Unlike in the case of Manole and Others v. Romania (no. 13936/02, §§ 104 et seq., ECHR 2009-... (extracts)), the TV journalists in the present case did not complain of undue pressure by the Government or their superiors during the elections. The Court reiterates that the weight to be given to an item of information “is a matter to be assessed, in principle, by the responsible journalists” (see Jörg Haider v. Austria, no. 25060/94, Commission decision of 18 October 1995, DR 83, p. 66), and that the journalists and news editors enjoyed, under Article 10 of the Convention, a wide discretion on how to comment on political matters. The applicants did not sufficiently explain how it was possible, on the basis of the evidence and information available and in the absence of complaints of undue pressure by the journalists themselves, to distinguish between Government-induced propaganda and genuine political journalism and/or routine reporting on the activities of State officials (see, by contrast, Saliyev v. Russia, no. 35016/03, § 68, 21 October 2010). 121. The other conclusions of the domestic courts do not appear “arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable” either. Thus, although the applicants disagreed with how the Supreme Court had construed the then President Putin’s public statement on the election day (see paragraph 19 above), the Court admits that the reading proposed by the Supreme Court was not irrational, even though, given the then existing political context, Mr Putin’s words could have been interpreted differently. 122. The Court emphasises once again that it has only a subsidiary role in such matters and it is not its task to substitute itself for the domestic courts and conduct a fresh assessment of evidence. The applicants failed to convince the Supreme Court that the opposition was a victim to a political manipulation. Having reviewed the materials submitted by the parties the Court does not have sufficient evidence to discard the Supreme Court’s conclusion in this part. It follows that the applicants’ allegations of abuse by the Government were not sufficiently proven. iii. Alleged failure by the State to comply with its positive obligations 123. The Court’s analysis does not stop here, however. “In the context of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, the primary obligation is not one of