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1/7 Regarding this cherry-picked hit piece about @EUvsDisinfo that's currently making the rounds - https://reframingrussia.com/2020/04/06/covid-19-disinformation-two-short-reports-on-the-russian-dimension/ - I recommend some further reading from this project...
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@kalenskyj @_JakubJanda @edwardlucas @kolga @ahonen_anneli @john_sipher
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@kalenskyj @_JakubJanda @edwardlucas @kolga @ahonen_anneli @john_sipher
2/7 First, there is this blog post by the same authors - http://blog.policy.manchester.ac.uk/posts/2019/06/is-russia-today-an-attack-on-democracy/ - which whitewashes RT with statements like "uncompromising political critique in the mainstream media is a feature of, not a threat to, democratic systems" ...
3/7 ...and offers the helpful recommendation that "policymakers can undermine RT’s appeal on divisive issues by addressing the social inequalities and institutional mistrust on which RT capitalises, and discussing them robustly in the mainstream."
4/7 This is a familiar and grotesque argument: disinfo only works thanks to our own democratic failures and internal vulnerabilities - i.e., it's *our* fault. Not the fault of a perfidious autocratic regime that openly describes the media as an extension of its armed forces.
5/7 Second, there's this charming unattributed op-ed - https://reframingrussia.com/2020/01/15/healthy-democracy-has-no-reason-to-fear-rt-opinion/ - which I really recommend reading in full. Here's my fav part: "Recent years have seen tragic events such as the downing of the MH17 and the alleged poisoning of the Skripals. ...
6/7 "...Western media and establishments have immediately blamed Russia, or even President Putin personally. Depicting the president of a superpower such as Russia as a terrorist is a very serious matter. ...
7/7 "...Adhering to the standards of professional journalism, RT points to inconsistencies in the official accounts of these events. Apart from helping to establish the truth, this stance shows full respect for the victims of these tragedies."
