US accused of pressuring Russian media as tensions escalate
On Friday, the Kremlin accused the United States of exerting unacceptable pressure on Russian media. This happened after the US Department of Justice accused a Russian television correspondent and his wife of paying American companies to spread Russian propaganda.
Much of the information reported by Russian state media or Kremlin officials is likely not true. Such reports can be part of an information war by the Russian Federation.
On Wednesday, US authorities accused Moscow of attempting to interfere in this year's US elections. The Justice Department seized 32 internet domains used to spread disinformation, two employees of the RT channel (previously Russia Today) were charged, and sanctions were imposed on ten individuals and two organisations.
Attorney General Merrick Garland informed that Russian television employees paid American influencers and commentators to spread Russian propaganda.
The prosecution brought charges against Konstantin Kalashnikov and Yelena Afanasyeva, who - using false names - paid 10 million US dollars to an American company.
The campaign aimed to deepen social divisions and polarise public opinion in the United States, using a variety of topics not necessarily related to Russia. As a result, the US imposed sanctions on ten RT employees and two organisations.
Russia plans to retaliate
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated the US is trying to prevent people from accessing Moscow's views on world affairs.
- Washington continues to try to put pressure on Russia, on Russian citizens, and even on the Russian media, which is engaged in informing both citizens inside our country and world public opinion about what is happening, from our perspective - he commented propagandistically.
- This is nothing other than blatant pressure. We strongly condemn this stance as unacceptable - he stated.
Russia said on Thursday it would take retaliatory measures against U.S. media, Reuters reported. When asked what these measures would be, Peskov said that Moscow had thoroughly assessed the editorial policy of various foreign media and would consider this when making decisions, which—he suggested—would be an individual matter.
