- Joined
- Apr 18, 2013
- Messages
- 94,341
- Reaction score
- 82,722
- Location
- Barsoom
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
RT’s Military Mission: Assessing Russia Today’s role as an “information weapon”
Extended and detailed description of the Kremlin-owned RT [and Sputnik] role as a foreign propaganda-appendage of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
RT is the most visible and widely distributed/broadcast Russian state propaganda medium and is available in Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, and Arabic.
Atlantic Council
January 8, 2018
Vladimir Putin and Margarita Simonyan, the Editor-in-Chief of both RT News and Sputnik.
Mrs. Simonyan, fluent in English, also sits on the Executive Board of Putin's Reelection Committee.
Since September, the Kremlin has been up in arms over the United States’ decision to register Russian state broadcaster RT (formerly “Russia Today”, motto “Question more”) as a “foreign agent”. Top officials have repeatedly argued that the move violates freedom of speech and journalistic freedom, arguing that RT is simply a news agency producing bona fide journalism, like the BBC or CNN. The protests even reached Russia’s Security Council, in a discussion chaired by President Vladimir Putin and attended by the defense and interior ministers, the heads of domestic and foreign intelligence, and others. However, statements by RT’s editor-in-chief in 2012–13, covering earlier years, indicate that the station’s mission and philosophy are not journalistic but military, and it serves as an “information weapon” parallel to the Ministry of Defense in times of conflict — including at present.
An analysis of RT’s former and current output confirms this view. It has repeatedly subordinated journalistic standards to Russian government narratives, selectively reporting facts and comments to validate the Kremlin’s portrayal of events. A similar selectivity appears to apply to interviewees. Taken together, these factors show that RT should not be viewed as a legitimate journalistic outlet, but rather as a propaganda voice for the Russian government. Those who follow RT, and those who are invited to appear on its shows, should bear this in mind......
article continued @ link above
Extended and detailed description of the Kremlin-owned RT [and Sputnik] role as a foreign propaganda-appendage of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
RT is the most visible and widely distributed/broadcast Russian state propaganda medium and is available in Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, and Arabic.