Disinfo: Bloomberg started information war against Russia and works against Belarus-Russia relations

Summary

Bloomberg wrote about Vladimir Putin’s insidious plot concerning Belarus and referred to an anonymous source close to the Kremlin. The anonymous source is a trick, as in reality it does not exist. Anything can be published based on references to the “sources close to the Kremlin”. Bloomberg does its best to turn Belarus and Russia against each other to prevent the establishment of the Union State between the two countries. Bloomberg will continue writing about political and economic disagreements between Belarus and Russia, and its future allegations will be based on the “sources close to the Kremlin”. It was indeed Bloomberg who started an information war against Russia, and it was Bloomberg who was at the head of all international conflicts.

Disproof

This message is conspiracy which is consistent with repetitive pro-Kremlin narratives about the West staging an anti-Russia information war, West's attempts to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations, and about Western media outlets as subservient to Western political elites. On 24 April 2019 Bloomberg published an article, titled Putin’s Term Limit Stirs Fears of a Takeover in Belarus. It says that Russia's recent slash of economic subsidies to Belarus fuels fears in Minsk that the Kremlin may look for Belarus' possible absorption. According to the article, three people close to the Kremlin said to Bloomberg that "Putin may lay plans to head a unified state with neighboring Belarus to sidestep a constitutional ban on remaining president after 2024." The use of unnamed sources does not violate journalist ethics under certain conditions. It is justified when information from source is important to the story, could not be obtained any other way and the source is credible, the International Journalists' Network explainer says. After an increase in tensions between Belarus and Russia in December 2018, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko himself publicly spoke about Moscow's interest to incorporate Belarus under the cover of 'deep integration'. Belarusian and Russian state-owned and state-controlled media regularly report about political and economic disagreements between the two countries. Episodic Bloomberg publications about Belarus-Russia relations do not stand out in this respect. See a similar recent disinformation case alleging that Russian company Rosneft is an object of defamatory campaign by Reuters and other western media.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 150
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11/05/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus, Russia
  • Keywords: West, Anti-Russian, Media, Conspiracy theory, Information war
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Not a single air defence system of the Russian armed forces has ever crossed the Ukrainian-[Russian] border.

Disproof

One of the multiple pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the downing of the MH17 flight.

The JIT has been able to identify a large part of the route concerning the arrival and the departure of the BUK-TELAR. This was the result of intercepted telephone conversations, witness statements, photographs and videos that had been posted on social media, and a video never shown before which was obtained from a witness. The system was transported from Russian territory into eastern Ukraine and was later transported on a white Volvo truck with a low-boy trailer. The truck was escorted by several other vehicles and by armed men in uniform.

Disinfo: The Netherlands tried to hide important evidence of the MH17 disaster

The Netherlands tried to hide important evidence of the MH17 disaster. Amsterdam wants to protect the Ukrainian authorities at all costs and blame Russia for the shooting down of the plane.

Disproof

Recurring MH17-related disinformation. According to the Dutch Council of State, it is necessary that the information remains confidential, as it is likely that disclosure thereof could jeopardise the proper functioning of the committee. The Council found this more important than the interest of disclosure. "The interest of disclosure does not outweigh the interest protected by the refusal, such as the relations of the Netherlands with other states and international organisations, respect for the privacy of the parties involved and the protection of personal policy views", the Council ruled.

The information that the Dutch militants are looking into how to use a BUK-missile to hit other military aircraft is pure conspiracy.

Disinfo: Western elites behind ongoing genocide of Christians

A thousand French churches were vandalised in 2018, amid total media silence. European elites are not just indifferent to the ongoing genocide of Christians, but outright complicit in it. Western politicians want to get rid of Christians to implement a new world order, and are using Muslims to do their dirty job.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin conspiracy narrative portraying Christians, who account for three quarters of Europe's total population, as an oppressed minority. A February 2019 Interior Ministry communique records 1,063 "anti-Christian acts" committed throughout 2018, without further differentiation between the type, gravity, or target of these acts. The figures have been reported in all of France's widest-read newspapers. On the other hand, a detailed report for 2017 records 878 acts of vandalism perpetrated against all types of "Christian sites," which aside from churches include cemeteries, chapels, calvaries, statues, and tombs (p. 14-15). Commenting on the data, even French bishops described the incidents as "less pressing" than those targeting religious minorities, adding that the Christian clergy in France" do not want it thought that they feel persecuted." The remainder of the segment is dedicated to advancing pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories and long-debunked disinformation narratives concerning the "New World Order," the global elites, and the creeping Islamisation of Europe.