DISINFO: The Collective West purges the information space from any unwanted sources
SUMMARY
The Collective West continues the systematic cleansing of the information space from any sources of unwanted information.
As part of the ongoing campaign of repression against Russian media, almost all EU countries have blocked the Telegram channels of Moscow's national broadcasters, in particular RIA Novosti, Izvestia, RT, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Channel One, Russia 1 TV, NTV. Depriving residents of Western countries of the opportunity to independently form an opinion on events taking place in the world grossly violates the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about censorship and control of the media in the West by the so-called Collective West.
Accusations of censorship and attacks against freedom of expression are a recurring pro-Kremlin technique to defend the illicit actions of Russia’s state-sponsored disinformation outlets.
These latest accusations were made by the Kremlin after Telegram channels of several Russian propaganda media outlets have become inaccessible to users in Europe on 28 December 2024.
“Restrictions apply to several Russian state-run or controlled media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiya 1, Channel One, NTV, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta.” reported the Kyivindependent.
“Russia has waged a systematic international campaign of media manipulation and disinformation to justify its aggression against Ukraine and destabilize neighboring countries and the EU. These efforts target Ukraine and its citizens, as well as European political parties, civil society, and democratic institutions, with a focus on election interference and vulnerable groups.”
Russian media outlets play a crucial role in the ongoing war, serving as tools for the Kremlin to target Ukraine and destabilize neighbouring countries.
The outlets mentioned are not a information outlets but an instrument of Hybrid war. It was the same chief editor of RT (Russia Today), Margarita Simonyan, who talked openly about the nature of these outlets whose output she manages on behalf of the Russian government. In her own words, RT is needed “for about the same reason as why the country needs a Defence Ministry.” RT is capable of “conducting information war against the whole Western world,” using “the information weapon,” Simonyan has explained. According to Simonyan, RT’s strategic aim is to “conquer” and to “grow an audience” in order to make use of access to this audience in “critical moments”.
According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, “since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, almost all independent media have been banned, blocked and/or declared “foreign agents” or “undesirable organisations”. All others are subject to military censorship".
More about Russian social media influence can be read here. RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik are the two foreign language flagships of Russia’s campaign to influence international public opinion. Both outlets present themselves as media that provide alternative views to the mainstream in international news reporting. Read our analysis describing three fundamental differences between these outlets and what is normally perceived as independent journalism.
Read similar cases claiming that RT is targeted because it exposed Ukraine conflict as Western proxy war, that sanctions on Russian media show the US is allergic to freedom of expression, that The US and the Collective West have launched a terrorist attack against Russia’s information channels and that RT is stigmatised because it fights indoctrination by the collective West media.