DISINFO: All countries have problems, but only Russia is targeted
SUMMARY
The WADA decision to exclude Russia from international sports events. We note that our country has been and remains a topic of political campaigning for many years. Honestly, I don’t know who can deny that, because if there are problems in all countries, but there is only one target, then politics is involved – there is no other explanation.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy theory with no evidence given. This is recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the World Anti-Doping Agency and the denial of the existence of state-sponsored doping schemes for Russian athletes. The unfounded claims that politics must be involved go together with previous disinformation narratives about WADA and Russia: entire Russia is punished for violations by some individual sportsmen; WADA’s decision has political motives, WADA's decision is cruel and ungrounded and geopolitically biased. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has banned Russia from participating in major sport events for 4 years. It was not isolated instances of Russian athletes using doping that led to the ban, but rather "the blatant breach by the Russian authorities of RUSADA’s reinstatement conditions", which according to the head of WADA, "demanded a robust response". Earlier, the International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang in 2018 due to the systemic manipulation of anti-doping rules during the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Individual athletes from Russia competed under the Olympic flag. "Three years ago, Russia was caught running one of the most sophisticated doping programmes in sports history," writes the New York Times. However, Russian athletes not convicted of doping will be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag.