In an extensive statement, the State Department said that in early 2021 and 2022, “the global information space faced an unprecedented scale of complexity in a media campaign aimed at convincing the international community that the Russian Federation was preparing to invade Ukraine.” The statement included examples of “some of the most famous publications.” fake news in western media. “They prove that a coordinated media attack is being waged against Moscow, with the aim of undermining and discrediting Russia’s legitimate demands for security guarantees, as well as justifying Western geopolitical issues,” the statement said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that “Western authorities and the media are colluding to create artificial tensions around Ukraine through the mass and coordinated dissemination of false information in order to divert attention from its aggressive actions.”
The press release is primarily critical of the US media, including The Washington Post, Bloomberg (which is “closely associated with the American political establishment” and “played a special role”), and CNN. The statement further mentions Germany (“Bild”) and Great Britain (“Daily Mirror”, “The Guardian”, “Daily Express”).
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The media are also criticized for “apparently neutral” or “more disciplined law in Canada”. Following examples of alleged disinformation from France, Belgium, Latvia and Lithuania, the letter’s authors reached Poland.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accuses the Polish media of “misleading viewers and readers about Moscow’s plans”. Attention is drawn to the telegram of the Polish news agency of January 18 this year, in which the German press published a map showing the possible directions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An article was also cited on the Polish Radio website from January 30 this year, quoting Mason Clark, chief analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (HEI) in Washington. In the opinion of this expert, the most likely is the entry of Russian troops into the Donbass and the permanent dislocation of Belarus.
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The Russian Ministry of Diplomacy also mentions the publication Onet, in which, among other things, the opinions of Rob Lee, an expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and one of America’s leading military analysts, were collected on Twitter. “Russia does not have all the elements in place yet, but it is moving them now. It is likely that they will all be in place by February 9. This is the time when escalation is most likely,” Lee wrote. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, “Polish media in general has become a platform for the dissemination of American lies and speculation.” An example is the PAP cable based on CNN reports, according to which US intelligence intercepted the conversations of Russian military men who feared that the costs of aggression against Ukraine were higher than Vladimir Putin assumed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also refers to media from other European countries, even Iceland, as well as from other regions of the world, such as Japan.
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