The network repurposed the content of well-known Russian bloggers.
In addition to numerous video clips of questionable authenticity, many articles were published justifying Iran’s attack, as well as various unsubstantiated claims about what Washington allegedly knew in advance.
RT, which the U.S. State Department describes as a key player in the Kremlin’s disinformation and propaganda apparatus, has been blocked in the European Union, Canada, and other countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In May, the bloc suspended four other Russian media outlets from broadcasting.
But Russian media, using bogus news websites, such as those investigated by RFE/RL, have found a backdoor to European audiences, with much of the banned media content uploaded to these sites, Benzoni explains.
“Whether or not it’s collusion doesn’t really matter — they see more viewers of Russian state media content as a net benefit, no matter the vector,” Benzoni adds.
Source link : https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-fake-news-disinformation-balkans/33126528.html
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Publish date : 2024-09-22 07:00:00
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