Disinfo: On 17 September 1939 USSR began liberating Poland from Nazi occupation

Summary

September 17th [this year] marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the USSR’s assault on Nazi-occupied Poland, which it liberated in the process.

Disproof

This is part of Russian efforts of historical revisionism, applied in order to portray Russia’s role in World War II as a non-aggressive power and Poland as one of the main culprits of the conflict. You can see other examples of disinformation narratives about the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact here, here and here, and about alleged Poland’s blame for the WWII outbreak here, here and here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 165
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22/09/2019
  • Outlet language(s) English
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: USSR, Poland, Germany, Russia
  • Keywords: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Historical revisionism, WWII
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Disinfo: No evidence of Russian meddling in the French and US elections

Numerous Western politicians, US senators and congressmen, as well as French President Emanuel Macron, have accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in the US elections and elections in France, but have never provided evidence for their claims.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative that there is no proof of Russian interference in the elections in Western countries and the US - see examples here and here. In reality, there is evidence linking Russian state actors with interfering in electoral processes. Interference in French elections included personal attacks and mocking of the then presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron. Apart from biased reporting in the pro-Kremlin media, it included a made up story about Macron's offshore accounts (the so-called MacronGate) and an actual hack-and-leak operation. According to the Insider and Mediapart, the hacking was purported by the same GRU unit responsible for the hacking of the Democrats' servers in the US. For more information, see EUvsDisinfo analysis “Tackling disinformation à la française". The fact of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election was underlined by the US intelligence community already in January 2017. These findings were confirmed by the US Special Counsel investigation which found that "[t]he Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in a sweeping and systematic fashion" (p. 1). See additional debunking of the "no interference" narrative here. Read more about election meddling in France and elsewhere here.

Disinfo: The chemical attack on Khan Shaykhun was staged by the White Helmets

It was here [a clip shows a bunker that was used by the opponents of the Syrian regime] where the White Helmets were shooting the fake video of the Syrian army allegedly using chemical weapons against civilians. We are talking about the provocation with a fake chlorine attack on Khan Shaykhun. Then the White Helmets published a video, after which the Americans fired rockets at the Syrian airbase.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narratives aiming to discredit the White Helmets and claiming that the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack was staged by Western actors in order to justify military action against the Assad regime. The OPCW’s Fact Finding Mission confirmed that people in Khan Shaykhun were exposed to sarin, a chemical weapon, on 4 April 2017. “The OPCW FFM has confirmed the use of sarin, a nerve agent, during the 4 April incident in Khan Shaykhun in Syria,” mentioned its Director-General in a report published on June 30, 2017. The UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for the attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018, Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. In June, the OPCW members granted it power to assign blame for chemical attacks. The United Nations Human Rights Council blamed the Syrian government forces for the attack. “Government forces continued to deliberately target civilians, including through the use of chemical weapons against civilians in opposition-held areas. As part of an aerial campaign in northern Hama and southern Idlib, on 4 April the Syrian air force used sarin in Khan Shaykhun, killing over 80 people, most of whom were women and children,” says the report. Syrian government forces and their ally Russia continue to deny these facts. Read more about chemical attacks in Syria here and here.

Disinfo: Western politicians accuse Sputnik and RT of election interference with no evidence

Western politicians, including US senators and congressmen, as well as the French president, have accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in the US and French elections, but they have not provided any evidence.

Disproof

The attempts of RT and Sputnik of attempting to influence the US and French elections by spreading disinformation are well documented. As clearly stated in Mueller’s report Russian media companies, including primarily RT and Sputnik, sought to influence American voter attitudes. Russian media attempts to influence French elections are also well documented. For example, in 2017 Sputnik published a report about “gay lobby” behind Emmanuel Macron, then candidate in the French presidential elections , without providing any evidence. According to the same Sputnik report, “ex-French Economy Minister Macron could be ‘US Agent’ lobbying Banks' Interest”. No evidence was given. In November 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution affirming the need to counteract hostile propaganda against the EU and the Western world, often tailored to match EU Member States’profiles, with the goal of distorting truths, provoking doubt, dividing Member States, engineering a strategic split between the European Union and its North American partners and paralysing the decision-making process, discrediting the EU institutions and transatlantic partnerships, EU . For a similar case see here