30.06.2017, USA.
On June 29, the RIA Novosti News Agency reported that US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in its report called Russia Today TV-Channel and the Sputnik Agency tools for influencing the Western public.
The DIA report says, that Russian propaganda aims to intimidate and demoralize, it also includes “bots and trolls on social media, search engine optimization, and paid journalists in Western and other foreign media”, the news agency quotes the report.
In June 2017, a bill against Russia Today‘s activity was introduced in the US Congress. Vladimir Dzhabarov, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Federation Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation called the bill a “continuation of the witch hunts.” The senator noted that the US itself conducts information campaigns against Russia, in which they blame Russia. Vladimir Dzhabarov says, “Meanwhile, the Voice of America and other unfriendly organizations conduct anti-Russian propaganda, and they have been working freely in the Russian Federation for decades.”
In June 2016, the US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland spoke in the Senate about America’s purposeful training of journalists to influence Russian viewers. Victoria Nuland stated that the USA had workshops in Europe for journalists who had fled their country and those, who then want to return to their homeland. She also added that the US has supported a number of Russian-speaking news organization in the Baltic States and other countries sharing borders with Russia. These media target the Russian-speaking population of their respective countries and counter “Russian propaganda”. Moreover, the US supports Russian-language broadcasting in Ukraine, which is said to have some effect in Russia.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
