September 03, 2022

Russian News Has Gotten Wacky


Russian News Has Gotten Wacky
Fair and balanced? The Russian Life files.

Russia's press is in a bit of a crisis. Anyone caught spreading "misinformation" (regardless of how true that "misinformation" is) can face up to fifteen years in prison. Dissent is being quashed. And, in response, the established media, those that are well-known and run by the state, are filling the void.

Take, for instance, a smattering of articles encountered while on a recent research foray. It is news that's not generally fit to print here at Russian Life, but which is being churned out by daily for RIA Novosti, one of Russia's main media outlets, akin to CNN or BBC.

Back in the day, Russian ideology was obsessed with the "all-pervasive conspiracy theory of Western hostility." These articles noted above, and hundreds others like them, have taken this obsession to near-ridiculous levels. Every whiff of an argument to support this worldview can be used as ammunition, proof that the West is conniving to attack Russia, but that Russia is, at the same time, undoubtedly superior.

This should also serve as a bit of a warning: "fake news at work." It's so easy for a careless article written on a slow day to be picked up, made hysterical, and rebroadcast by the Kremlin's news machine as evidence for crumbling Western civilization. It's a reminder for readers to check sources and traverse the internet with caution and skepticism.

That's how you live in the age of disinformation. Hopefully more Russian journalists can learn how to.

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