DISINFO: European Parliament demands that Russian children's cartoon feature LGBT characters
SUMMARY
The European Parliament has recently passed a resolution demanding that Masha and the Bear, a popular Russian children's cartoon, feature gay, lesbian, and transgender characters.
Is this the Europe which Russia is supposed to maintain relations with? What next? Will the EU order the pope to rewrite the Bible and specify which apostles are gay or transgender?
RESPONSE
The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative painting Europe as a cesspit of deprivation and moral decay which, according to current Russian legislation, includes social acceptance of sexual minorities.
The statement was originally made by Panorama, a Russian website which publishes humorous stories masquerading as straightforward news items. The satirical element was apparently lost both on the studio guest who relayed the statement, and on the programme's host who accepted the claim at face value.
It should be noted that the TV personality in question not only has a proven track record of spreading pro-Kremlin disinformation, but has been repeatedly caught citing Panorama's "reports" as fact.
This disinformation narrative was originally aired on Rossiya 1 during the Voskresnyi vecher s Vladimirom Solovyovym TV show, but was removed prior uploading the show to YouTube.