DISINFO: All countries use doping
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: Pervyi Kanal (archived)*
  • Date of publication: December 09, 2019
  • Outlet language(s): Russian
  • Reported in: Issue 176
  • Countries / regions discussed: Russia
Tags:
WADA Doping

DISINFO: All countries use doping

SUMMARY

All athletes are dirty: we must have the facts that American athletes use it [doping], German athletes use it, French athletes use it. There’s no way one country is doing it and all the others are clean.

RESPONSE

No evidence given. This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the World Anti-Doping Agency and the state-sponsored doping scheme of Russian athletes. The disinformation message is an example of "whataboutism": attempting to discredit an opponent’s position by accusing them of hypocrisy, typically with no evidence. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has banned Russia from participating in major sport events for 4 years. The unanimous decision by WADA's executive committee was made after Russia's Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was declared uncompliant with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) – the document harmonising anti-doping policies in all sports and in all countries. It was not isolated instances of Russian athletes using doping that led to the ban, but rather "the blatant breach by the Russian authorities of RUSADA’s reinstatement conditions", which according to the head of WADA, "demanded a robust response". Read more here.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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