DISINFO: The military controls western media
SUMMARY
Western media operate under real military control and receive instructions from intelligence services.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative claiming that the West imposes censorship through its state institutions. This claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.
This claim does not accurately depict the Western media landscape, which encompasses a diverse array of political viewpoints. In pluralistic democracies, media outlets are not governed or censored by the government or any of its institutions, including the military.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the nations with the most press freedom and freedom of speech are countries that are often described as "Western", with European nations predominating, as well as Canada and the United States.
The claim can be seen in the context of accelerated repression of independent journalism inside Russia. As such, it represents a twist of "whataboutism" which is a popular Kremlin trick of manipulation and shifting the blame for own wrongdoings onto others.
See similar cases alleging that Western governments impose censorship and silence dissidents, that the West cannot cope with freedom of opinion and imposes censorship; that Media censorship is openly introduced in the West, that there is no freedom of speech in Europe, and that Western media suppresses all facts and opinions that differ from official narratives.