DISINFO: Meduza is not discriminated against in Russia unlike RT and Sputnik in the EU and US
SUMMARY
Meduza is not discriminated against in Russia. It is considered a mass media like others.
It is different in the EU and the US. In many western countries, there is not only a ban on officials communicating with RT and Sputnik but some people were subjected to real persecution for cooperating with them.
RT and Sputnik are also discriminated against in Europe. Thus, in France, Benjamin Griveaux, former French government spokesperson, declared in October 2018 to refuse to welcome these two media in the press room of the Elysee Palace.
RESPONSE
Manipulative comparison between Independent Russian media Meduza and state Russian media RT and Sputnik abroad.
Set up in 2014 in Latvia by Galina Timchenko, Meduza publishes online news in Russian and English. Timchenko was the chief editor of Russia's most popular news website until her sacking after she fell foul of the authorities. On 23 April 2020 Russia designated the information site as a "foreign agent, it requires Meduza to label itself as such, subjecting it to increased government scrutiny.
The European Union on 24 April 2020 rejected Russia's labelling of independent news site Meduza as a "foreign agent" media organisation, saying its media restrictions contravene its international obligations and human rights commitments:
"We reject the decision by the Russian authorities to include independent media outlet Meduza on the list of 'foreign agents'," a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
"It is extremely concerning that Russian authorities continue to restrict the work of independent media platforms, as well as individual journalists and other media actors. It goes against Russia's international obligations and human rights commitments."
The comparison between Meduza and RT or Sputnik is not relevant since RT and Sputnik are state media financed and managed by the Russian state with limited editorial freedom while Meduza is a private entity composed of Russian journalists.
The fact that the EU spoke out to defend the reputation of this information site doesn't change its independence.
It is true that the French president did not appreciate the role of Russian media in the presidential campaign and prefers not to speak to its journalists. But no obligatory label is put on them that can be compared to the Russian "foreign agent" designation. LREM majority Members of Parliament are present occasionally in RT and Sputnik studios.
In 2019 a Meduza investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was incarcerated after the police fabricated a drug trafficking case against him to stop one of his investigations. Vladimir Putin even denounced the arbitrary arrest of the journalist after a wide public outcry, especially in the journalistic environment. No such arbitrary arrest has occurred against RT and Sputnik journalists.
Read also related cases: RT is the voice of truth, RT France for the Kremlin is the same as France 24 for the Elysee, Russia Segodnya and RT are different entities.