Disinfo: France and Germany plan to introduce Western propaganda in Russia

Summary

The governments of Germany and France plan to introduce Western propaganda in Russia, according to a report obtained by the US news agency Bloomberg. “Germany and France want the European Union to drive a wedge between President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people with a propaganda campaign within Russia”, the report says.

Disproof

The claim is a deliberate manipulation of the original Bloomberg article. Although part of this Sputnik story contains accurate reporting on a joint non-paper obtained by Bloomberg and titled “Defending the international order in an age of systemic rivalry: EU-Russia relations”, it includes a crucial distortion in the headline and the initial paragraphs. The original article states: “Germany and France want the European Union to drive a wedge between President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people with a campaign to counter propaganda within Russia”, which is very different from the allegation made by this disinformation story about “a Western propaganda campaign in Russia”. Through this distortion, Sputnik tries to equate Russian disinformation with the efforts to counter it, while promoting other long-term pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Western initiatives to destabilise Russia.

Distorting articles in Western media to make them appear as supporting pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives is a frequent technique of pro-Kremlin outlets. See other examples in our database, such as false claims that Financial Times reported that Ukraine threatened Russia with terrorist attacks, that The New York Times reports that Russia is barely affected by sanctions, that Germany doesn’t trust Zelenskyy according to Der Spiegel, that The National Interest explained why the US should side with Russia in Ukraine; or that Foreign Policy explained why Washington needs a “Russian intervention”.

Go to search

publication/media

sputniknews.lat (Archived)*
  • Reported in: Issue 307
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05/09/2022
  • Article language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, France, Germany
  • Keywords: Propaganda, Destabilising Russia
see more

Disinfo: The EU energy sanctions hit Europe, while Russia is drowning in money

The EU energy sanctions against Russia turned against the Europeans and enriched Russia. Today, we can see that the energy sanctions against Russia are much more painful for the French than for Russia, which is now drowning in money. Let us be honest - these sanctions helped Russia to get rich and they turned against the Europeans.

Sep 04, 2022
Disproof

Old and recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative stating that sanctions would barely hurt or even benefit to Russia while it would dramatically hurt the EU, repurposed to serve in the context of Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The EU adopted so far six sanction packages against Russia due to its illegal aggression and occupation of Ukrainian territories. Not all trade restrictions are yet enforced, as the energy sector needs a longer transition periods - so it is too early to assess the full effect of the sanctions in the long term. However, it is incorrect to state that Russian economy would be barely affected or would even benefit from the sanctions. The Russian leadership is constantly demanding the sanctions be removed.

Disinfo: It was the UK intelligence that planned the assassination of Darya Dugina, while the perpetrators were Ukrainians

Although the perpetrators were Ukrainians, Darya's assassination was not planned by the Security Service of Ukraine or the Main Directorate of Intelligence. This is the classic handwriting of the British secret services. And, since any contract killing requires false leads, Ilya Ponomarev was assigned to deceive and voice the false leads.

Sep 03, 2022
Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation about the UK, Ukraine and secret services.

There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that the UK's intelligence service or Ukraine were behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin.

Disinfo: Ukraine will not be able to hide that it bombed the Zaporizhzhia NPP

The Russian Defense Ministry spoke of two attempts by Ukrainian forces to land in Enerhodar to take over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. However, the calculations of the Ukrainian army did not work, and they could not control the power plant. Now, it will be difficult for them to hide the fact that Ukrainian forces bombed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Although we cannot guarantee the independence of the [IAEA] commission, we still hope that justice will be served.

Sep 03, 2022
Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.

This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.