Russia's Ministry of Justice has sent notices to 9 mass media about a possible recognition of them as foreign agents, including the Voice of America, Radio Liberty a.o.
The State Duma has recently adopted amendments to the law, under which outlets funded from abroad, can get the status of foreign agents in our country. Georgy Podgorny is reporting about the US reaction and Washington's double-standard policy.
American freedom of speech turned out not for everyone. The recognition of Russia Today as a foreign agent was followed by another insult, double-standard policy. Apparently, there should be a clear divide in news flows, and an understanding of who's deliberately distorting the reality and who's not, as if obviously the Russian media are no match for the US media. At least that's what Republican Senator John McCain thinks:
"The journalists working for these networks seek the truth, debunk lies, and hold governments accountable. RT’s propagandists debunk the truth, spread lies, and seek to undermine democratic governments in order to further Vladimir Putin’s agenda".
Russian Foreign Ministry says that double standards are already in operation and gives the examples.
Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: "What the Russian media is required has never been required by the American authorities from the American media. Yesterday's example is immaculate. It's BuzzFeed publication on Russian Foreign Ministry allegedly financing American elections. After yesterday's publication, it's appropriate to conduct an examination of this specific article".
The Russian diplomacy is sure that the measures imposed on the Russian media by the Americans are repressive. At the same time, they emphasize that Russia has always sought to maximize the zone of comfortable activity for journalists, without limiting any news resources with a fictitious political framework. Now, Uncle Sam's political hand is choking the journalists, who are listened to.
Margarita Simonyan, RT Editor-in-Chief: "You can't chop wood without making the chips fly. In this case, the wood is chopped on the Capitol Hill, where they can't determine who's the boss, Trump or those who're against him. They're plotting against each other, but the chips hit the journalists, both Russian and foreign".
Russia keeps repeating that retaliatory measures are a forced step. However, there is no task to squeeze out or block the work of such media as CNN. It's rather the issue of objective information provision.
As an example, many are warned in advance of a possible new status. The Council of Federation and the Ministry of Justice sent letters to 9 media outlets to avoid surprises.
Andrei Klimov, deputy chair of FC Foreign Affairs Committee: "We do not ban their content, just sign it right, as people don't know what is the faceless Radio Liberty, but it's another thing if it will be written "foreign agent. By the way, we stand out in these terms. We directly said that this is Russian television, Russia Today, not a strange phrase "Radio Liberty".
The Federation Council will consider the foreign agents bill next Wednesday. If the upper chamber of Parliament adopts this document, the rest will be up to the President. Georgy Podgorny, Yaroslava Butonova for Vesti.
