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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRT, Russia's English-language propaganda outlet, will register as a "foreign agent"
Theyre complying with a World War II era-law that was passed to fight Nazi propaganda.
Updated by Zeeshan Aleem@ZeeshanAleemzeeshan.aleem@vox.com Nov 10, 2017, 2:30pm EST
Russias state-owned media outlet, RT, has announced that it will comply with US government demands to register as a foreign agent of the Russian government, amid controversy over Russias attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Its a move that effectively marks the network, which runs both a website and a cable television channel, as a propaganda outfit for Moscow.
The American Justice Department has left us with no choice, Margarita Simonyan, RTs editor-in-chief, said in a statement on Thursday. Our lawyers say that if we dont register as a foreign agent, the director of our company in America could be arrested, and the accounts of the company could be seized.
RT, which began as Russia Today in 2005, is headquartered in Moscow, with English-language studios in Washington, DC, and Europe. Its critics in the US have long argued that its critical and conspiratorial coverage of the American government is motivated by the Kremlins geopolitical interests.
more
https://www.vox.com/world/2017/11/10/16633586/rt-russia-propaganda-foreign-agent
Sneederbunk
(14,291 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)Every person on Russia's payroll played a small part. Jill Stein whittled a few thousand votes off of Hillary and some of the hard core "Progressives" who refused to vote for Hillary did the same. There were a lot of pawns in Putin's game of chess. Anyone who cashed an RT check played a roll that got us President trump.
I'm sure this will be alerted and removed for bashing Democratic Public Figures (even though I'm 100% correct, and the Public Figure is not a Democrat). I'll continue to speak the truth and I wish those who would alert would instead show me I'm wrong.
Sneederbunk
(14,291 posts)DFW
(54,407 posts)He needs an outlet for his show like anyone else in his line of work, and I'm sure he joined RT without any intention whatsoever of actively working for Putin. What his reaction will be to this, I am interested to hear, but if RT is smart enough to refrain from fiddling with his editorial content, I doubt he will will defer to them in any way that would leave him open to accusations of being their patsy.
I have been listening to him sporadically (difficult from here) since the Air America days, and I have a hard time reconciling what I've heard from him with the words of an active agent of the Russian Federation. Obviously a specific stance from him in his own words would be preferable, but if he gets too harsh and pisses off RT, he might find himself with his only forum being on a soap box in Central Park, and his is too eloquent a voice for that to happen.
PSPS
(13,603 posts)Sound familiar? It's "funny" that "Thom" never seriously discussed russian meddling in the election.
But he seems to still be DU's favorite charlatan. Sad.
DFW
(54,407 posts)It costs nothing, surprises nobody, and insulates them from charges that they deliberately failed to do so.