Latvia moves to restrict distribution of seven RT programs. RT and Sputnik achieve higher social media engagement than reputable media outlets in France and Spain and Germany. Russian revisionism of WWII gets a helping hand from Vladimir Putin.
By NEPLP The National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia (NEPLP) in compliance with sanctions imposed by Council of the European Union (EU) has decided to restrict the distribution of seven RT (formerly known as Russia Today) group programmes in Latvia, which in the opinion of Latvian security authorities are most influential Russian propaganda channels in the West Europe. RT, RT HD, RT Arabic, RT Spanish, RT Documentary HD, RT…
One of the Kremlin’s official mouthpieces RT featured an article earlier this month claiming that the Pentagon’s $250 million security assistance package for Ukraine amounted to “interference in the Donbas conflict which will lead to an increase in the number of victims, including among the civilian population”. This is yet another spin on Moscow’s disinformation narrative about the war in eastern Ukraine being an internal conflict and a civil war…
By EU vs Disinfo Kremlin-controlled media have defended Chinese authorities against criticism, combining disinformation with pro-Beijing reporting. On 20 April, Russian TV lashed out against the US, defending Chinese authorities against criticism for their handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. The broadcast on state-controlled TV Rossiya 1 came after contacts between Moscow and Beijing on the highest level. RT (Russia Today) and the news agency RIA Novosti, both of which are…
By EU vs Disinfo Russian political decision makers continue to prioritise running disinformation campaigns at home and abroad. One of the implementers of this policy, the chief editor of RT, Margarita Simonyan (above), has compared the network she leads to “a ministry of defence”. Obviously, such high ambitions need a sizable budget. However, when the price tag of the propaganda is made public, the Russians themselves – citizens whose taxes will…
By Polygraph RT (Russia Today)Russian state-owned media outlet“John Taylor Holmes, a retired major general who served as a director of special forces, was on a panel of experts which heard testimony from one of the whistleblowers, identified as ‘Alex.’ ”Source: RT Jan. 27, 2020 Misleading Holmes is among directors of a group with ties to the Assad family. On Jan. 27, the Russian state-owned news agency RT (Russia Today) published…
By Polygraph Margarita SimonyanChief Editor, Rossiya Segodnya“Sputnik Belarus in January had 10 million unique visitors, with the country’s population of 9.5 million. That is more than Radio Svoboda, the Polish BelSat and other foreign media in the country have, combined. I am proud!” Source: Twitter, Feb. 5, 2020 Partly False Simonyan exaggerated the actual number of unique visitors by a factor of two. On Feb. 5, Margarita Simonyan, chief editor…
The pro-Russian site Strana.ua which according to a recent independent fact checking study is in the top five least truthful media outlets announced on January 27 that the deadly Chinese coronavirus strain has been identified in Ukraine. Strana’s fake story was immediately picked up by Russian RT. Ukrainian media also raised a panic but after a while most sites rushed to edit their earlier posts, removing phrases such as “deadly…
By EU vs Disinfo Iran’s admission to shooting down Ukrainian International Airlines’ flight 752 has created big problems for the pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets. This is clearly visible in this week’s cases of disinformation. The pro-Kremlin media started its well-oiled disinformation machinery along well-known narratives: profit-hungry Ukrainians used an old, derelict aircraft, ready for scrapping; only the US had the capacity to shoot down the aircraft – and is methodically shooting…
By EU vs Disinfo Pro-Kremlin media have recently started to express sympathy for Fascism. This is not entirely new: The Web Site News Front, based in illegally annexed Crimea, has been praising Hitler and Nazism; pro-Kremlin Russia Insider is not only attempting to whitewash Nazism, but is also openly anti-Semitic. But recently, this passion for Fascism seems to have reached new levels. Here are some quotes from January 2020: “Mussolini…
