Disinformation: ‘Pravda’ May Be Gone, but Now There’s ‘Russia Today’

[uhnope]

A really good read http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/90971/disinformation

Anyone who has watched Russia’s English-language propaganda channel RT over the past 10 months would have learned that in Syria, foreign-funded terrorists, Israeli operatives, and American intelligence agents are attempting to destabilize a benevolent, popular autocrat. Take, for example, the ongoing siege of Homs, in which more than 400 people have been slaughtered by Bashar al-Assad’s regime over the past week and a half. Rockets and mortar have rained down on apartment buildings, and, according to a report from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, entire families have been executed inside their homes. Here’s how RT summed up news of the massacre: “Disinformation makes it difficult to establish Homs reality.”

While it’s unsurprising that the network’s coverage of the Syrian uprising would track closely with positions staked out by the Kremlin—for example, when Russia vetoed the U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the regime, an RT correspondent stressed that the resolution “could have sent an unbalanced signal to all sides of the conflict”—RT hasn’t simply promoted an anti-interventionist or anti-NATO viewpoint. Instead, it has frequently parroted Assad’s narrative by providing a platform for paranoiacs and conspiracy theorists to dispute that civilians are being killed by the regime, accuse America and Israel of being behind the deaths of Syrian civilians, and argue that the government in Damascus is a beacon of tolerance in the region.

It’s tempting to dismiss the channel as a well-funded playground for unsophisticated cranks and Vladimir Posner impersonators. But RT, previously known as Russia Today, has become an online media phenomenon. Its YouTube videos have been viewed 675 million times, and the network claims that its television signal reaches “over 430 million people, or 22 percent of all cable subscribers worldwide.” (By comparison, CNN and CNN International have a combined 32 million video views on YouTube.) In 2010 RT was nominated for an International Emmy for its coverage of Barack Obama’s state visit to Russia.

The channel’s large and fervent online fan club sees the network as a brilliantly subversive corrective to America’s corporate media. Indeed, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, that scourge of government secrecy and authoritarianism, recently announced that he would host an interview show on RT, apparently unbothered by the secrecy and authoritarianism of the channel’s patron in Moscow: the Kremlin.

[NightWatcher]

1. There's no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia

How things have (not) changed. The news is only as good as the people who give you the news.

So we've now got to process a half dozen outlets and see what washes out as shit and what stays true. Being informed is hard work.

[MNBrewer]

43. However, there is still some truth in RT...

but the propaganda tarnishes it. Which is sad.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. Cold war ended 20 years ago.

RT is at least as accurate as Fox or CNN. Our broadcast media is controlled and governed by its corporate masters, the same corporate masters who effectively control the federal government.

At least we aren't an authoritarian state handing out draconian punishments, assassinations, stifling dissent, and spying on its citizens. At least we don't have militarized police forces terrorizing entire communities, brutalizing people on a whim, and incarcerating huge numbers of people. At least our representative democracy is not a farce.

[HereSince1628]

38. Yes, but the logic of "the friend of my enemy is my enemy"

doesn't seem to have changed a bit.

[Dash87]

55. "RT is at least as accurate as Fox or CNN."

Sadly, you're probably right. That just shows how terrible US media has become. Both are idiotic talking point spewers that spout pointless / baseless conspiracy theories, and are host to commentary by the dumbest people on the planet.

[DevonRex]

3. RT is a subsidiary of state-owned RIA Novosti,

which was itself founded in 1941.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIA_Novosti
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. Kind of like the US corporate-owned mainstream media back the US government's love of Israel

and their schemes and actions to perform genocide upon the Palestinian people.

[DevonRex]

24. In another thread you called Israel the Zion death cult. Here

you're tying yourself in knots to excuse Russia's governments owned media's pro-Assad lies about the United States and Israel.

Somehow or another, in your freaky world, the corporate U.S. media is a government lackey just pushing for the pro-Israel stance of the government. And I assume you believe RT's reports that civilian deaths in Syria are the result of US/Israeli covert actions, including the chemical weapons attacks.

You did defend RT and Russia, and Syria by extension. And you did disparage our media and government blatantly. That's how you always decent Russia and her allies - by saying we're just as bad or worse. It makes me wonder about you because there is absolutely no case in which we are just as bad as Russia.

I often see people quoting numbers of prisoners as an example of the US being as bad or worse. There's a show on National Geographic they should watch about the worst prisons in Russia. Those are only the worst ones they will show to the world. But the treatment there is horrific even with the guards being on their best behavior.

FWWM, the thing is I know you know all this. So why do you always disparage the United States when Russia is the issue? Or when Russian media is questioned? Why did you call Israel the Zion death cult? Why are you hinting slyly here at Jewish control of our media and government?

[agent46]

28. I'm spit-balling here

Last edited Sun Aug 25, 2013, 06:31 PM - Edit history (1)

FWWM often uses grandiose and inflated rhetoric. I figure it's the poet in him but I've also long suspected he's a Benjamin Fulford fan and believes he has the inside scoop on everything. That includes the secret activities of the Zion Elders and the Rothschild's control of the Fed while calling the shots on US foreign policy.

...Just a few clicks on the dial away from alien reptilian overlords (a cognate of the Elders of Zion) vs. the army of new agers who change the destiny of the world every day by closing their eyes and making wishes.

To his credit though, unlike many, FWWM is a dedicated activist who has repeatedly put his money where his mouth is with his commitment to the Occupy movement. He has my respect for that.

[dionysus]

53. !

[DevonRex]

37. I know a couple of those Rothschild CT nuts.

They don't turn to Russian media for their news. Just sayin'.

[dionysus]

51. your sentiments on the "zion death cult" as you like to put it, are very storm front-y

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3529707

[dipsydoodle]

5. Well I like it

and I find posting an early 2012 article odd. You got a thing about RT ?

[uhnope]

9. yes, I have a thing about dictators that get a pass b/c they are not the USA. Similar to Che G.

who was considered no better than Stalin to those I met who who suffered under Communism. Guevara might have started with good intentions but ended up helping tyranny.

The RT is embarrassing propaganda, one-sided as it gets, with a slick packaging to make it less obvious.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

10. Che was no better than Stalin? It's good to know this is how you think.

[uhnope]

13. you might want to reread what I wrote. It was victims of Communism who said Che was no better

than Stalin, to them.

[Comrade Grumpy]

14. Who did you meet? Fleeing Cuban plutocrats?

[LittleBlue]

6. So, no more independent than our media

Run by corporations who also run the government.

[Octafish]

7. So what? We have Corporate McPravda.

Is much worse.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9327337

[HeiressofBickworth]

8. Is this the same RTTV where Thom Hartman

has a show? How does this factor into the Russian-state owned media description? BTW, Hartman is the only program I watch on RT.

[KoKo]

21. DU's Own Steve Leser was on RT on August 2, Debating "Code Pink"

Heads Up: DU'er Steve Leser VS "Code Pink is on Russia Today's "Crosstalk Show" with Peter Lavelle!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023394769
Last edited Fri Aug 2, 2013, 05:52 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)
War on Redacted
http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/

The enemies of the US: who are they? Are Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden champions of democracy or enemies of the state? Has the war on terror accomplished anything besides violating civil liberties? And, if terrorism is the ultimate threat, how do we know when the war is over? CrossTalking with Steven Leser and Tighe Barry.

'CrossTalk' is RT's flagship program. This TV debate experience presents hot-topic discussions on politics, business, newsmakers, global trends, present-day conflicts, and dangers and challenges facing our world. Host Peter Lavelle poses hard, straightforward questions to his guests, and demands concrete answers in response. Peter's guests are politicians, journalists, scientists and decision-makers of all sorts – anyone who influences the decisions changing our world or plays a key role in forming public opinion.

Watch Here:
http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/

[uhnope]

23. I think the debate on cooperating with RT is the same as the one with FOX. Some progressives say

that to even agree to appear on a FOX program is helping them, others say they use the medium to get a different message out.

I'm not overly familiar with Hartman but I know he does good work.

[napoleon_in_rags]

30. Hartmann is an american born commentator, like Larry King.

They're independent shows, hosted on the network. You can hear the Russian perspective in their news sections, but the blanket blasting of the network is frustrating, because I like these shows.

[reformist2]

11. Russia Today is a propaganda outlet that runs counter to most US-based propaganda outlets.

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. I prefer my disinformation home grown, thank you.

[KoKo]

15. Howard Dean was just on last week being interviewed.

He was on Abby Martin's show. Abby has also interviewed former President Jimmy Carter.

General Michael Hayden (Bush Spymaster) was on for a full hour on another show explaining the NSA Surveillance.

Those are just a very few examples of those who appear on RT/America. Are they pushing Russian Propaganda?

[uhnope]

19. RT pushing NSA obsession is a perfect example. It sends a message of false equivalency

concerning government abuses in the US vs those in Russia. RT loves any story that can be inflated and twisted to make it look like the USA is no better in human rights than Russia.

[KoKo]

20. General Haydon was on for a Full Hour..and he spent most of his time

praising the NSA. I'd hardly call that interview "inflated and twisted." Where would he get a full hour with no commercials on US TV? Maybe C-Span...but not the Corporate TV News.

[sagat]

16. Nice to see someone call out RT for what it is. +1.

"b-b-but Fox News!"

[KoKo]

18. Well...there are those who want to ban books in Libraries....

I don't think of them as Democrats...but, then...one never knows these days.

[nikto]

58. Hey, Koko! Here it is 6 months later...

I got to this thread 6 months late,
but I clearly perceive you as the "winner" of the argument here.

You make the others seem closed-minded and in fearful denial of their own obtuseness.

I've been watching RT a lot lately, and as you do (or did last August), I see it as a
viable source of info and opinions that US media (including MSNBC) won't carry or cover.

I sincerely doubt we will ever see Rachel Maddow have Noam Chomsky,
or Chris Hedges on her show, ever, as RT's Abby Martin has had.

But I still consider MSNBC to be a decent source of info, on some stories, even as they avoid other stories,
presumably under Corporate Commandmant (I do not believe Maddow could feature Chomsky even if she wanted to).

Almost all sources are compromised in some way, depending on their funding, management and origin.
The wise viewer gets to know, after a while, who owns what source, and
where (i.e. on which stories) a source's credibility tapers-off.

An informed person needs many sources these days to get a clearer picture of current events.

Is RT slanted? Hell, yes.
But their slant is clearly visible at all times.

I do not expect to see any critical reporting of the Sochi Olympics on RT.
So what?
If I want Olympic dirt, there are other sources I can go to that will report truthfully.

RT is one good source for certain stories (often involving US Corporatism),
even if not some others (truth about Russian racism, political oppression, etc).

I mean, duh.

It is up to the viewer to be experienced and sophisticated
enough to do their own filtering.

I know I am up to it.

Sounds like you are too.

[arely staircase]

17. and there are people here at DU just lapping up the propaganda

amazing

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. I recommend you watch Voice of America with the same critical eye

you will find that it is just as ugly.

[Junkdrawer]

25. I'm an American. Disinformation is all I've ever known as "news"....

Funny thing: Read enough Disinformation from ALL sides and something like the Truth starts to emerge....

[RC]

27. Yes. "News" can be liken to a puzzle.

Get enough pieces on a happening and something like the real picture emerges.
But to do that, you have to have more than one or two sources. That is one reason why DU and its instance on links to sources is good. Despite the best some here can do to derail and confuse.

[nikto]

59. "Read enough Disinformation from ALL sides and something like the Truth starts to emerge"

I like that.

[David__77]

26. Pravda actually had a lot of good news in it.

In fact, I dare say that if the internet existed like it does now during the Reagan years, lots of DUers would be regular readers of its site. It had good central America and international coverage, and even decent coverage of US labor issues.

[dtom67]

29. Every news source you use...

has an agenda. it is YOUR responsibility to examine and decide what makes sense. Taking ANY news source as gospel is foolish. That is why it makes little sense to me when people demand "proof" through links. I don't want anyone taking MY word for anything; do your own research and form your own opinion.

Chomsky said that if you want to see the truth, you should focus on business news. That is what those that make the real decisions read. The problem is that it requires interpretation. You have to connect your own dots.

It IS funny how most of the Anchors have English accents.Foreign, but friendly.

But I LOVE Max Keiser, even though I disagree with him about the virtues of Capitalism.

And Abby Martin is how I would envision college kids today, if they were not being buried under oppressive debt.

hate "panel" debate shows like crosstalk.

There are truths and lies everywhere; you have to figure out which is which on your own.

[BOG PERSON]

31. bring back Radio Peace and Progress n/t

[KoKo]

32. You mean Voice of America to Propagandize our Own?

That was already taken care of. It was posted here on DU about how we are now allowed to have VOA Propagandize us!

LOL's.... No one here could refute that RT was some Propaganda when faced with seeing WHO in US appears on their Shows.

They are used to Faux Propaganda and MSM....like CNN and the rest who are just Propaganda on their own.!

[KoKo]

33. Are you Okay with the Revisions to the "Smith-Mund Act?"

US Government-Funded Domestic Propaganda Has Officially Hit The Airwaves
Michael Kelley,
Published 6:54 am, Tuesday, July 16, 2013



The U.S. government's mammoth broadcasting arm has begun the "unleashing of thousands of hours per week of government-funded radio and TV programs for domestic U.S. consumption," John Hudson of Foreign Policy reported on Sunday.

The content arrives with the enactment of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R- Texas) and Rep. Adam Smith (D- Wash.), which was inserted into the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The reform effectively nullifies the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, which was amended in 1985 specifically to prohibit U.S. organizations from using information "to influence public opinion in the United States."

The new law enables U.S. government programming such as Voice of America (VoA) — an outlet created in 1942 to promote a positive understanding of the U.S. abroad — t0 broadcast directly to domestic audiences for the first time.

VoA and other programs are now produced by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which shares a "strategic communications budget" with the State Department and has an annual budget of more than $700 million.

Nevertheless, BBG spokeswoman Lynne Weil insisted to FP that the BBG presents "fair and accurate news" and is not a propaganda outlet.

A former U.S. government source explained that the BBG can now reach local radio stations in the U.S., meaning that the programming can target expat communities such as the significant Somali population in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"Those people can get Al-Shabaab, they can get Russia Today, but they couldn't get access to their taxpayer-funded news sources like VoA Somalia," the source told FP. "It was silly."

An alternative function was detailed last year by Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a highly-respected officer who released a critical report regarding the distortion of truth by senior military officials in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Davis stated that the effective repeal of the Smith-Mundt Act is a strategic move in influencing U.S. public perception in regards to the Global War on Terror (GWOT).

He cites Colonel Richard B. Leap, who recommends that lawmakers "specifically address all prior legislation beginning with the Smith-Mundt Act that is limiting the effectiveness of Information organizations in the GWOT environment."

MUCH MORE AT:

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/US-Government-Funded-Domestic-Propaganda-Has-4668001.php

[uhnope]

39. Given that I've never seen or heard VOA when I turn on the TV or radio in the USA

it doesn't really bother me too much. The article says the change in rules is so they can broadcast in the Somali language to Somalis in the USA. It's not really comparable to state-controlled media, and in fact I'm surprised it got by the English-only crowd (which makes it a bit progressive in that way).

[KoKo]

47. You missed the many posts on DU...This one is helpful:

Voice of America" & Propaganda, Public Diplomacy and the Smith-Mundt Act Revision"

Voice of America could air in the US as anti-propaganda law is dropped

By Jacob Kastrenakes on July 16, 2013 07:11 pm Email @jake_k 127Comments

The United States government operates an entire network of broadcasters that distribute news in languages from English to Uzbek, but an "anti-propaganda" law has prevented their news from being aired domestically — until now. Earlier this month a legal change went into effect that many are worried will enable government-run organizations like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe — all arms of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) — to distribute their federally-funded radio and TV shows to the unsuspecting public. But even with the change, major advocacy groups don't think that the government is planning to flood the airwaves with propaganda.


You missed this and the Links to the articles:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3459219

[uhnope]

49. ACLU supports it. Do you think Uzbeks and Somalis are being brainwashed en masse in the USA by VOA?

I am aware that VOA is legally able to broadcast in Uzbek or Somali inside the USA now, but I don't see how that is on par with the powerhouse of RT and its access to international TV. I also don't see an equivalency between VOA and RT, just like I don't see an equivalency in the human rights situation in USA and Russia and think such a claim is ridiculous.

Thank you for the article but I don't see it as hair-raising, and like I said it's progressive in a way because it contradicts the English-only reactionaries in the USA--and the article says the ACLU supports these broadcasts. That doesn't sound like an evil government program to me, if the ACLU thinks it's cool. Don't you agree?

[TBF]

34. Secrecy and authoritarianism?

Are you sure you're talking about the right country?

[KoKo]

36. One does wonder how anyone of these people can Look in the Mirror...

and not see themselves Looking Back for what they have sanctioned..

It's Laughable...how they can't see accusing Russia (as if it's still the Soviet Union Cold War State) for what USA is doing isn't totally laughable.

Weren't we supposed to Enlighten Russia? When we did....there are those who say:

They are still Communists...WE MUST HATE THEM...because REPUGS And CHENEY and PNAC Supporters SAY SO.



Apologize for the rofl....because it's so offensive used against the Dem Left...but in this instance...I just couldn't resist.

[uhnope]

42. the ROFL smilie is fine, don't worry. It suits the level of your argument. nt

[uhnope]

41. If you think the USA is really an authoritarian country equivalent to Russia, then I suggest

you go live in Russia, China, Saudi Arabia or North Korea for a while and find out the difference. Or it might be easier not to travel all the way but just get some basic education on life in those places for gays, dissenters, activists and progressives.

[KoKo]

46. What MSM do you Watch or Read...that you feel is Truthful that we should all be

watching and reading?

Where do you get YOUR INFO...that is Unbiased and Pure?

I'll check out the sites you list..because I love "Freedom of Information" and the more I have access to ....the better I feel I can be informed.

[KoKo]

48. Crickets... Okay....you can't answer...I'm off to watch "Connections"

because you can't even answer what "Mainstream Media" you feel here in the USA gives you the TRUTH...or as close to it as you can tolerate.

[uhnope]

50. I ignored your question because you were missing the point by a Moscow mile

I was reacting to a post that accused the USA of being authoritarian to the same degree and in the same way as Russia. Your question had nothing to do with that.

[TBF]

54. Your red-baiting falls on deaf ears -

it's no longer the 1950s and quite frankly I wouldn't have agreed with you then either.

[uhnope]

56. The USA was as bad as Stalin's Russia? OK, be well. nt

[nikto]

60. Weak, flaccid, LIMP response

In retrospect,
You just lost the argument, sport.

For about the 4th time.

[tabasco]

40. Great channel for those who want to be spoon-fed

bullshit that supports their world view. Just like Fox News for the dittoheads, but for other naive imbeciles.

[KoKo]

45. What is your Media of Choice? If you trash all media equally...

Then where do YOU get your information? Inquiring Minds want to have your sources...so we can be as informed as you are.

Can you give some sources you feel are totally unbiased that you feel inform you so that you can go out and talk about the views expressed there and feel that you are superior in your knowledge?

So...what do you watch or read that YOU FEEL is the TRUTH?

[Douglas Carpenter]

44. this article is written by someone with absolutely no self-insight whatsoever

Give me a break! Yes RT is biased! - VERY biased! But anymore biased than any of the leading mainstream American networks?

You got to be kidding me.

Let's take this phrase from this article - "foreign-funded terrorists, Israeli operatives, and American intelligence agents are attempting to destabilize a benevolent, popular autocrat"

Well a more objective analysis of the situation would have been , "Saudi Arabian-funded terrorists, Israeli operatives, and American intelligence agents are attempting to destabilize an economically faltering totalitarian dictatorship."

American media almost always pulls exactly the same crap as R. T. - Takes a story and slant it heavily in defense of American policy. R.T. does the same.

[quinnox]

52. I always have RT news on when I'm in a mood for news

It is interesting, energetic, sexy, and informative.

[KoKo]

57. Kick for Background from earlier post about RT...

[nikto]

61. That's a knockout

You win, Koko.

IMO, it wasn't close.