State Dept Blog: Russia Today’s Disinformation Campaign

[The Straight Story]

Moscow is subjecting Ukrainians, Russians and the rest of the world to an intense campaign of disinformation that tries to paint a dangerous and false picture of Ukraine’s legitimate government. Russia Today, the Moscow-based TV network financed by the government, is a key player in this campaign of distortion. Along with its Russian operation, RT operates an English-language broadcast out of Washington.

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry referred to RT as a "propaganda bullhorn," which was promoting Russian President Vladimir Putin's "fantasy." The result was a predictable howl of protest from RT's editor, who claimed the State Department knows little about what is really happening in Ukraine today and had the audacity to request an apology.

I spent seven years as the managing editor of TIME magazine before joining the State Department. I understand the difference between news, propaganda and opinion. Propaganda is the deliberate dissemination of information that you know to be false or misleading in order to influence an audience.

From assertions that peaceful protesters hired snipers to repeated allegations that Kiev is beset by violence, fascism and anti-Semitism, these are lies falsely presented as news. An opinion is subjective and not a statement of fact. Opinions, however odious, are defensible speech in a way that false claims are not. RT is a distortion machine, not a news organization.
- See more at: http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2014/04/29/russia-today-s-disinformation-campaign#sthash.kbk1vi6X.dpuf

http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2014/04/29/russia-today-s-disinformation-campaign

[OKNancy]

1. This was posted yesterday - how Russia using "Nazi" to push propaganda

snip:

The propaganda assault began during the months long pro-Western protests that ousted Ukraine's pro-Russian president in February. Russian state news media were quick to dismiss the protests as the work of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, a particularly loaded accusation because Ukrainian nationalists collaborating with the Nazis are blamed for horrific reprisal attacks during World War II. The Maidan movement did contain an ultranationalist element, known as the Right Sector, but its influence appears greatly amplified by the Russian media.

Putin has set the national tone by eagerly using the word "Nazis" to refer to the protesters in Ukraine. Speaking at his annual April call-in show, Putin warned that "neo-Nazism is on the rise" in Ukraine.

By invoking World War II imagery, the Kremlin is stirring a cauldron of emotion; millions of Russians were killed in battle or thrown into Nazi camps in a war that left no family unaffected.

"The only thing that truly unites the nation is the mythology of the Second World War and the idea of victory," said political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin. "Putin appeals to that; there's nothing else to rally around."

article here: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/russia-evokes-nazi-horrors-bash-ukraine

[jakeXT]

2. A straw man ? "From assertions that peaceful protesters hired snipers"

German television report indicates Ukrainian opposition responsible for lethal shootings
By Johannes Stern
14 April 2014

Seven weeks after the right-wing coup in Ukraine, evidence is mounting that the Western-backed opposition at the time was responsible for the lethal shootings in Independence Square on February 20. This was suggested by a report on the German public television programme “Monitor” last Thursday evening, and which is available online (in German).

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/04/14/getv-a14.html

Sniper duels on the Maidan
When Fria Tider asked Skillt about rumors that the Ukrainian opposition itself may have been behind the shootings of protestors on the Maidan, he says that he is aware of them, but puts no stock in them. However, he said he has spoken to two people who sniped at the police on the Maidan Square during the riots. “They used Saiga semi-automatic rifles equipped with telescopic sights, and were positioned on the third floor of the Trade Unions Building on Maidan Square,” Skillt said. ”Their mission was to take out Berkut’s snipers,” he added.

He also told us that he recently ran into a man in an American uniform, carrying an American-made rifle. “It was a bit odd, but it turned out he was Ukrainian,” Skillt said. “He had a modified, short-barrel M-16 with a telescopic sight. We said a quick hello.”

http://www.friatider.se/swede-patrols-ukraines-streets-with-right-wing-paramilitaries

[okaawhatever]

3. And 60 Minutes had a report from a guy who wrote a book & was at the Benghazi mission

when it was attacked. See, not all information on TV is factual. BTW, any follow up on that...I mean besides the WSWS which is a joke. I can'[t believe anyone would admit reading that.

[jakeXT]

5. Should I post the report in German ? Besides they admit to sniping themselves (but only in defense )

I wonder if the state department knew about the pictures before they gave them to the NYT.

The NYT also cited the State Dept's Psaki admitting “the assertion that the photograph in the American briefing materials had been taken in Russia was incorrect”. She explained the picture was only part of a draft packet that wasn't used by Kerry at the talks.

[okaawhatever]

4. I read something in a Scottish paper that said Russia budgeted 1.4 Billion in 2010 for advertising

(for lack of a better word) outside the country. Basically the stuff we're seeing here in the US. I'll bet they're doubling that amount by now. A lot of misinformation being put out there about Ukraine, and a lot of people temporarily here at DU for the purpose of misinforming others it seems.