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Disinfo: Western media have a list of individuals and organisations to target with defamatory campaigns

Summary

The Western media have a list of individuals and organisations against whom they run defamatory campaigns, disregarding basic rules and standards of journalist ethics. The list includes Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Bashar al-Assad, Victor Orban, the Alternative for Germany, Rosneft, and others.

Disproof

This conspiracy is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Western media outlets as subservient to Western political elites.

Reputable western media do not run coordinated campaigns against specific individuals or organisations on someone's orders. A high degree of media freedom in Western countries is reflected in the top ranks these countries occupy in respective world rankings including the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders.

See an earlier case alleging that The Guardian is controlled by MI6.

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  • Reported in: Issue 148
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 29/04/2019
  • Language/target audience: Belarus
  • Keywords: Viktor Orban, Mainstream media, West, Donald Trump, Media, Vladimir Putin, Conspiracy, Bashar al-Assad
  • Outlet: Sputnik Belarus
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Ukraine’s new language law violates country’s constitution

On April 25 the Ukrainian Parliament passed a new language law, that is a violation of Ukraine’s Constitution, Russian speakers will be discriminated against and their rights will be violated. The new law violates scores of international agreements and treaties that Ukraine was party to. The law for obligatory use of Ukrainian language in the state sector is the cherry on the “Russophobic” cake that Ukraine has been baking for 5 years.

May 05, 2019
Disproof

The new language law simply makes use of Ukrainian mandatory in all official government and administration business. Suggesting the new law violates the special status of the Russian language supposedly enshrined in the Constitution is a fake; Russian has never had special status in Ukraine.

Furthermore, article 10 of the Ukrainian Constitution grants special status to the Ukrainian language as the official state language. Article 11 of the Constitution meanwhile, guarantees the development and free functioning of indigenous and minority languages, be they Greek, Bulgarian or Russian.

Russian company Rosneft is an object of western defamatory campaign for its successes

On 23 April 2019 Reuters introduced amendments into its article that was published a few days earlier. It initially stated that Venezuela bypasses US sanctions on oil exports thanks cooperation with the Russian oil company Rosneft. The amendments followed a very critical Rosneft reaction to Reuters’ article. Nobody was surprised by this Rosneft-related defamatory publication because Reuters is regularly exposed on reporting fakes. In the last years even the most authoritative western media and political forces lost their respectability and reputation.

When it comes to Russian gas giant Gazprom, it has built on Soviet successes in the gas sector. The company is a well-known devil for the West. Rosneft is a different story because a series of big Russian successes in the oil sector is a recent phenomenon. A few years ago Moscow began taking control over the world oil market from the west. It hijacked OPEC from Washington by reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia behind the US’s back. Therefore Rosneft is manifestation of a new Russia, which is cunning, sneaky and developing tricky schemes with the so called ‘pariah’ states (Iran, Venezuela, Syria) to the detriment of Western economic and political interests.

Western hatred towards Rosneft translates into creation of an infernal image of Rosneft and blaming the company for any sins or crimes, and Reuters’ publication perfectly fits into this trend.

May 05, 2019
Disproof

This message is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Western anti-Russian activities, in this case activities by Western media directed against Russian oil giant Rosneft.

The mentioned Reuters publication was indeed corrected and an editorial note said Reuters "could not determine payments were made under the proposed arrangement.” It also removed a reference to Evrofinance Mosnarbank and clarified that “experts see no violation of sanctions.”

American curators of Zelensky demand Ukraine support US anti-Russian course

The US Congress gave new instructions for the work of the new president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.  American curators demand that Ukraine support the country’s anti-Russian course and declare that they will help Volodymyr Zelenskyi in this matter.

May 05, 2019
Disproof

The statement that Ukraine is controlled by "American curators" is one of the most common narratives of Russian propaganda.

The US Congress did not make such statements and did not give any instructions to Ukraine regarding the country's domestic or foreign policy.  The Russian media manipulated information that the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the US Congress held open hearings on the topic of countering Russian aggression.

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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.