RT's Margarita Simonyan's interview to 60 minutes

[angelburst29]

Editor-in-Chief of RT broadcaster and Sputnik news agency Margarita Simonyan on Thursday mocked the statement of US Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who expressed confidence that "the KGB farms" are spreading the so-called fake news allegedly produced by the broadcaster.

Simonyan Mocks Accusations of Spreading 'Fake News' With Use of 'KGB Farms'
https://sputniknews.com/world/201802011061256332-simonyan-fake-news-kgb-farms/

On Tuesday, Kinzinger told CNN that there were special "KGB, FSB farms" that used to spread the stories of RT, to which he referred as "fake news," via social media.

"The KGB ghost is still wandering across the US Congress and is boggling the congressmen's impressionable minds," Simonyan was quoted as saying by the channel's press service.

This is not the first time Kinzinger has made the statements on alleged Russian threat in the information sphere. In May 2016, he was a co-author of an initiative to establish a special agency aimed at tackling the so-called propaganda of Russia and China.

A number of Russian media outlets, such as RT and Sputnik, have faced significant pressure in the United States over the past few months, with US lawmakers and intelligence community claiming that they may have been involved in Russia’s alleged attempts to influence US 2016 presidential election. RT and Sputnik, as well as Russian authorities, have repeatedly refuted the allegations as unsubstantiated.

On November 13, RT America registered as a foreign agent in the United States under the FARA upon the request of the US Justice Department. In mid-November, Sputnik Radio's partner Reston Translator, a company that rebroadcasts radio programs, was also forced to register as a foreign agent by the Department of Justice. In December, the Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc. (MRBI) company, broadcasting Sputnik radio programs on AM frequencies, also received a notice from the US Justice Department about the possibility of registering as a foreign agent and was requested to provide additional information for taking a decision.

Responding to this pressure exerted on the Russian media, Moscow worked out a set of measures in response. In particular, Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 25 signed a law allowing the Russian Justice Ministry to recognize media outlets as "foreign agents." The Ministry of Justice in December placed nine media outlets, including the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on its list of foreign agents.

As Russian media outlets are being subjected to pressure by US authorities on the pretext of their alleged involvement in the 2016 presidential election, the Russian president has commented on their work during the final plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

Vladimir Putin Praises ‘Fearless’ Work of Sputnik, RT 19.10.2017
https://sputniknews.com/world/201710191058385483-putin-rt-sputnik-valdai-club-meeting/

They [RT and Sputnik] work brilliantly, really talented people. Sometimes I am even surprised by their courage and ability to present information so vividly, to do it so precisely and fearlessly. I simply take my hat off. This must be the key to the success of RT and Sputnik’s activities," Vladimir Putin noted.

RT broadcaster and Sputnik news agency Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan on Tuesday criticized the US "Kremlin report" as "incompetent, clumsy, stupid," adding that the presence of certain names on the list left her puzzled.

Simonyan Criticizes US 'Kremlin Report' as 'Incompetent, Clumsy, Stupid'
https://sputniknews.com/us/201801301061199992-simonyan-kremlin-report-criticize/

"They clearly took the Forbes list, the schedule of the government and the presidential staff, and here you have the 'Kremlin report.' [The United States] also put [on the list] some [people] loyal to themselves, those who are called a fifth column in Russia, pitched [those on the list] and their environment against themselves [the United States], disappointed [themselves], that is, they hurt themselves… It is terrible, because that is how they [the United States] rule the world. They twisted the globe, poked a finger, wrote a couple of articles in some [kind of] Washington Post themselves, read them themselves, and decided to democratize another Syria. Incompetent, clumsy, stupid. [Made] to their own disadvantage," Simonyan said.

 

[angelburst29]

I wish, they would "drop this ‘foreign agent' status" nonsense and give RT and Sputnik - credit where credit is due! What's wrong with honest reporting and getting the facts right - the first time?

RT and Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan has confirmed that RT’s provider company that broadcasts shows in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area will cease doing so.

RT Being Forced Off Cable Channel in Washington, DC Area 29.03.2018
https://sputniknews.com/us/201803291063045948-rt-forced-off-cable-washington/

"The provider company that aired our broadcast in Washington threw us out of the broadcast network," Simonyan said via Twitter on Thursday. "Yes, because of our ‘foreign agent' status."

Маргарита Симоньян‏Verified account @M_Simonyan

Компания-провайдер, которая транслировала наш эфир в Вашингтоне, выкинула нас из сети вещания.

Из-за нашего статуса ‘иноагента’, да.

Как говаривал экс-спикер Госдепа, «добро пожаловать на упражнения по транспарентности и демократии.»

10:58 AM - 29 Mar 2018

RT was compelled to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) last November. RIA Global LLC, a US company producing content for Sputnik News, was also recently forced to register as a "foreign agent."

"RT will continue broadcasting in Washington on other platforms," Simonyan said. RT's final program in Washington will air March 31.

As Peter van Buren, a former foreign service officer at the US State Department, recently explained to Radio's Sputnik's Loud & Clear, "FARA, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, has been repurposed wrongly [and] nefariously in order to shut down dissenting opinions here in the United States that are promoted by foreign media sources."

"FARA was designed to formally label Nazi agitators as members of the German government so that their actions could be tracked and that their influence on America could be better understood," Van Buren told show host John Kiriakou.

"Fast forward to 2018, the American government is now aggressively using FARA as a way of labeling media that has some sort of state funding … in this case we're talking about Al-Jazeera, but also about RT and others," he added, including Sputnik.

The move comes just days after RT America has been forced to register as a foreign agent in the US after the Justice Department's demand.

Sputnik's Partner Company Registers Under FARA in US - Justice Department 17.11.2017
https://sputniknews.com/us/201711171059203845-sputnik-partner-fara-us/

Sputnik Radio's partner Reston Translator, a company that rebroadcasts radio programs has been registered under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), according to the website of the US Justice Department. The registration document for Reston Translator is dated November 15.

Sputnik, which works with numerous companies around the world, is not registered under FARA and has not received such requests from US authorities.

Russian upper house lawmaker Oleg Morozov, who is a member of the Federation Council's commission on state sovereignty protection, told Sputnik on Friday that Russia will respond in kind to the recognition of Reston Translator as a foreign agent.

"Many American media operate in Russia through affiliated structures, and if US media that are subject to the sanctions have partner structures, we will also involve them in our sanctions," Morozov said, adding that the Russian response would be mirror-like.

RT's Registration Under FARA - The announcement comes just days after RT America has been forced to register as a foreign agent in the US after the Justice Department's demand that had been described by Moscow as an "unfriendly step."

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the restrictions are an "attack on freedom of speech," while Moscow "will have to formulate some kind of response and it will mirror."

Earlier this week, the lower house of the Russian parliament passed amendments to a law that allows classifying media outlets with foreign funding as foreign agents. In order to come into force the bill, that implies that they will have to publish a notice that their materials are provided by a foreign agent, report on their activities, submit information about the composition of their management and provide expense reports, has to be brought to Russia's upper house of parliament for approval and then be signed by the president.

The measure is a response to the pressure on Russian media in the US as RT America was forced to register as a foreign agent in the United States on Monday to comply with the Justice Department's demand, which was called an "unfriendly step" by Moscow.

Commenting on Russia's response measures, the Kremlin spokesman has stated that any violations against Russian journalists "shall not remain unanswered."

 

[Voyageur]

I wish, they would "drop this ‘foreign agent' status" nonsense and give RT and Sputnik - credit where credit is due! What's wrong with honest reporting and getting the facts right - the first time?

John Pilger sums up the state of affairs on journalism recently on RT - lead off was the subject of Julian Assange - it seems doomed, yet one never knows as one at a time journalist's may reassess themselves:

https://youtu.be/t9n5irwWHfI

 

[angelburst29]

Why do I get the impression that the Israeli state is behind this FAFA farse? People in general, especially in the U.S., don't realize how "Israeli influence in Washington" shapes our media content and distribution? Nice "gig" they have going and now, they are aiming for a complete monopoly and lock-down of independent news sources and reporting.

The decision to end the broadcasting of the RT broadcaster in Washington, DC was made in February, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT and Sputnik news agency, said Friday.

Simonyan: Decision on RT's Broadcast End in Washington, DC Grid Made in February 31.03.2018
https://sputniknews.com/us/201803311063091140-usa-rt-washington-broadcast-grid/

Bloomberg has written that our broadcasting will end starting from April 1. We had to make it public despite the fact that we kept silence about it from February, because we had a hope that there would be a possible setback and there were several possibilities to keep our broadcasting in these networks in Washington," Simonyan told the Rossiya 1 channel.

The journalist added that at the moment the last hope had gone.

Commenting on the statement of the WNVT television service provider, in which the company said that apart from RT it would end broadcasting of a number of TV channels, such as TRT World, DW-TV, Arirang, CGTN 1, CGTN 2, CNC, Africa Today TV, France 24, Netviet and Telesur starting from Sunday, Simonyan said that RT had been informed about it two months ago.

"Yesterday, when Bloomberg has written about it, it has become a big story, a big scandal. Against this backdrop, today they have published a statement on their website, saying that they will turn off not only us, but all foreign TV channels starting from April. Maybe it's true. But the fact is that we have turned off two months ago and we have been told the reason behind this," the editor-in-chief said, adding that the registration under the FARA was this reason.

On Thursday, Simonyan said that the broadcaster's television channel was removed from the programming of the television service provider that aired RT programs in Washington, DC, adding that the fact that US authorities had obliged RT to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was behind the decision. The Bloomberg news agency reported that the broadcasting will end overnight into Sunday.

According to Simonyan, after RT has registered under the FARA a campaign aimed at limiting the broadcasting activities of the TV channel has been launched.

RT America had to register as a foreign agent in November, at the request of the US Department of Justice. The broadcaster then promptly lost its Congress accreditation. Simonyan pointed out that the registration as a foreign agent put RT at a disadvantage compared to other foreign media outlets working in the United States.

The Israeli state broadcaster will air the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Arabic and free of charge to its neighbors in the Middle Eastern region, Israel’s Defense and Foreign Ministries said on Wednesday.

Israel Plans to Broadcast 2018 World Cup to Arab States as Gesture of Respect 14.03.2018
https://sputniknews.com/worldcup-2018-archive/201803141062534041-israel-broadcast-fifa-cup-russia/

"The Israeli official broadcaster Kan will air the matches of the world cup in Russia … with the help of the Israeli Arab commentators," the authorities said.

The event will be broadcast via satellite and the Internet alongside the traditional means of broadcasting, according to the statement.

Israel named the decision to broadcast the 2018 World Cup "a historic step," that confirms the status of the Arabic language and the respect that Israel has for it, as Arabs amount to 20 percent of the country's population.

The FIFA World Cup 2018 will be held in Russia from June 14 to July 15. The matches will take place at 12 venues in 11 cities across Russia.

 

[angelburst29]

13.04.2018 - RT Chief Editor says Audience growing Despite Pressure
RT Chief Editor Says Audience Growing Despite Pressure

The audience of the RT international news channel has been on the rise in the past couple of years despite continued pressure from Western governments, its editor-in-chief said in an interview.

"The latest research figures that came in showed our global audience has grown by a third while they… this truth-seeking democracy-loving world was busy fighting us," Margarita Simonyan told a Russian broadcaster, Zvezda.

An Ipsos poll that came out in early April estimated that RT’s weekly audience in the 38 countries that were initially surveyed in 2015 grew from 70 million to 95 million. With nine countries counted in, the total viewership was at 100 million.

Pressure has been growing on the broadcaster in the United States and Europe over propaganda claims. It was forced to register as a "foreign agent" in the United States following the 2016 election and was labeled as a threat in a European Parliament resolution on propaganda.

 

[Voyageur]

"The latest research figures that came in showed our global audience has grown by a third while they… this truth-seeking democracy-loving world was busy fighting us," Margarita Simonyan told a Russian broadcaster, Zvezda.

An Ipsos poll that came out in early April estimated that RT’s weekly audience in the 38 countries that were initially surveyed in 2015 grew from 70 million to 95 million. With nine countries counted in, the total viewership was at 100 million.

That is great, "grown by a third...". Margarita rocks!

Step by step, despite the attacks against them, and I'm guessing that Ipsos is on the low side, too.

 

[angelburst29]

Margarita Simonyan, the Sputnik editor-in-chief has commented on the interview of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who questioned her use of the word "vozhd" ("leader," "chief" or "ruler" in Russian) in reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

05.06.2018 - Sputnik Editor-in-Chief Responds to Poroshenko's Attempt to teach Her Russian
Sputnik Editor-In-Chief Responds to Poroshenko's Attempt to Teach Her Russian

"The Ukrainian president is teaching me the Russian language. I was moved to tears… I have graduated with distinction from a linguistic high school, a cum laude diploma in journalism and I placed sixth in the All-Russian School Competition in Russian Language and Literature in 1997. What about you?" Simonyan said.

Earlier in the day, the Spanish newspaper El Pais released an interview with Poroshenko. A journalist told the Ukrainian president that after the victory of Putin in the March presidential election, Simonyan congratulated the Russian leader, calling him a "vozhd." In response, Poroshenko said: "I also believe that the head of RT knew that the term 'vozhd' in Russian means 'Fuehrer.'"

Poroshenko was commenting on the Russian word "vozhd," which can be used in a negative context and has sometimes been used to refer to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

The Ukrainian President has accused RT and Sputnik news outlets of spreading fake news and misinterpreted Russian President Vladimir Putin's quote on the dissolution of the Soviet Union in an interview published in El Pais.

"Mind you, Putin says that the largest tragedy of the 20th century was not the World War II, not the Holocaust, but the break-up of the USSR," Poroshenko told El Pais newspaper.

However, Putin has never said that he considered other tragic events of the 20th century less significant than the USSR dissolution. In 2005, Putin said the break-up of the USSR was the largest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. He was later asked to give his opinion on the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Putin explained that it was a catastrophe because millions of people suddenly found themselves living in a foreign country, while welfare system and economy were broken.

Poroshenko criticized Russian media in this interview to El Pais, stressing that they should not be trusted and accusing them of spreading the fake news about Ukraine and the rest of the world.

"These are the fake news spread by Russia. It invests hundreds of millions of dollars in RT and Sputnik, Russian tools of influence used in democratic countries… The whole world is trial grounds for Russia's fake news policy. They [fake news] were [spread] during the US election, during the referendum on Brexit in the United Kingdom, during the crisis in Catalonia, and, of course, during Russia's annexation of Crimea," Poroshenko said.

In late May, Kiev introduced sanctions against Rossiya Segodnya Information Agency, which Sputnik belongs to.

 

[angelburst29]

05.07.2018 - Sputnik Latvia's Editor-In-Chief Detained For 12 Hours by Police in Rig
Sputnik Latvia's Editor-In-Chief Detained For 12 Hours By Police in Riga

The Latvian National Council on electronic media previously opposed the use of Sputnik's materials in state-financed news outlets, claiming that the "spending of Latvian taxpayers' money to strengthen Sputnik and popularize its brand is not in the interests of Latvian society."

According to Sputnik Latvia Editor-In-Chief Valentins Rozencovs, he was detained on Wednesday in Riga and 12 hours later released by the police.

"Yesterday, at 22:40 [19:40 GMT] I was detained in Riga for a conversation, as they [the police] called it, upon my arrival from Moscow. They did not file any reports. The security police were interested in my work as senior editor of Sputnik Latvia and the work of the outlet itself in Latvia. I spent all night at the security police headquarters. I was released this morning, in less than 12 hours. This is not considered a formal detention in Latvia," Rozencovs, who is a Latvian citizen, said.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, when addressing the issue, stated it was a part of Latvian policies, aimed against Russian media in the country.

Sputnik Press Service also commented the detention of the journalist, stressing that pressure on the Russian media became a usual thing in the Baltic states.

Earlier this year, Sputnik and other news outlets were forced to register as "foreign agents" under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The move followed a campaign in the US media, which accused the Russian journalists of influencing the Americans and participating in the so-called "Russian meddling" in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Moscow has repeatedly denied these accusations as baseless, stressing that no evidence has been provided to substantiate these claims.

 

[angelburst29]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is hopeful that Sputnik Latvia website’s senior editor Valentins Rozencovs will be able to continue his work in the country without any issues following his detention, Communications Associate Bebe Santa-Wood told Sputnik on Thursday.

05.07.2018 - CPJ Concerned Over Senior Sputnik Journalist's Detention in Latvia
CPJ Concerned Over Senior Sputnik Journalist's Detention in Latvia

"We are very sorry to hear that your colleague had to go through this experience and hope he can continue his work in Latvia without any problems," Santa-Wood said.

She added the Committee to Protect Journalists does not issue statements if a journalist was detained for less than 24 hours and was released without charges.


05.07.2018 - Journo: If Sputnik is Targeted Over Gov't Funding, Why Isn't 'Fake New' BBC?
Journo: If Sputnik is Targeted Over Gov't Funding, Why Isn't 'Fake News' BBC?

In the wake of Sputnik Latvia Editor-In-Chief Valentins Rozencovs' report of a 12-hour detention many of his colleagues from around the world blasted the move, the media-related and generally anti-Russia Baltic policies; some, meanwhile, agreed that this signifies Sputnik's booming popularity abroad.

According to Socrates George Kazolias, a Paris-based American reporter, media consultant and university lecturer, law enforcement naturally has the right to "question a reporter, and a reporter has the right to refuse to answer until and if a judge orders him to do so, and then he is contempt of court." However, he deems it as “unacceptable” to single out a media outlet for harassment “because you disagree with their editorial line."

"If Sputnik is singled out because it is a Russian outlet with government funding, then why isn’t the BBC, which the Trump administration accuses of being fake news?” Kazolias questioned. He cited arrays of media with government funding including AFP and France Televisions, “which spin a narrative which often corresponds to that of the ‘powers-that-be.’”

As an example he cited French coverage of the Syrian War, which is “a good case in point.”

"If we truly believe in the battleground of ideas, then ideas need to compete freely. It was wrong for the EU to ban Iran’s Press TV as part of the sanctions on Tehran while Islamic al-Arabya and Qatar’s al-Jazeera continue to broadcast despite government financing and a clear pro-Palestinian line."

In written comments to Sputnik, he explicitly condemned all harassment of the press “in a bid to frighten newsrooms, stifle their reporting.”

Yuri Kofner, journalist from German printed journal "Compact" has echoed the views of his US colleague, stating that in so-called “open and democratic” Western countries “a very troublesome Orwellian tendency” can be traced, whereby Russian media outlets are being labeled as “Kremlin propaganda.”

He went on to comment that the label is then being used to dismiss Russian news statements and interpretations as “intrinsically false,” “and to obstruct in every possible manner, both lawfully and not, the work of Russian journalists.” He cited the detainment of Sputnik Latvia Editor-In-Chief Valentins Rozencovs as a “prime, but unfortunately not new example.”

He notably stated that the people who make conclusions are essentially not in a position to decide which media are propaganda and which are not.

"The free work of all journalists, if they work for Russian news agencies or not, and the plurality of media is the only guarantee for a free society. It should be the people, the listeners and viewers, who, in the end, decide with their tune-in ratings and social media likes, if they believe this or that media to be good, interesting, trustworthy, or not," Kofner stated, adding that western politicians are keen on lauding their own media as “free and unbiased."

To dismiss the point, Kofner brought up an example from German media, saying half of them are either owned by US transnational corporations, or, alternatively, the editors and key journalists of these media belong to influential high-profile Transatlantic think tanks, “such as the Atlantic Bridge, the George Marshal Fund and the Aspen Institute.”

Sarah Abed, an independent journalist and political commentator, has also strongly condemned the arrest of Sputnik Latvia’s editor-in-chief, saying the instance is “yet another example of implying fear tactics and intimidation” hoping that journalists and other individuals with ties to Russian media “will cave under the pressure and cut ties with them.” The move essentially indicates Sputnik’s importance and popularity "in the media on the global stage, when it comes to reporting about crucial topics that the public is concerned with," she stressed.

She recollected the recent years, when the Russian government and the national media have on more than one occasion been targeted in instances of “unprecedented amount of harassment, demonization, and baseless accusations from western governments and their propaganda spewing press.” Abed has ascertained western nations’ "concerted effort" to silence and intimidate those who expose the role of the United States and their “easily manipulated allies,” namely the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in "destroying sovereign nations under the false pretense of humanitarian intervention."

"Russian government officials and media outlets have also exposed how these nations have provided funding, weapons, training, and other assistance to terrorist factions while claiming to be fighting a "war on terror." Highlighting their hypocrisy on the world stage for all to see has brought on the wrath of censorship," Sarah Abed summed up.

Gunnar Norbert Lindemann, a German MP from the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD), expressed a similar line of thinking regarding the way Sputnik Latvia’s head was treated saying it is “intolerable in a member of the EU.”

It must be guaranteed that a journalist may work in any country of the European Union without being treated by police or state government," Lindemann wrote in comments, adding that press freedom is a top priority right that we "have to defend."


05.07.2018 - RT America Host Ed Schultz Dead at 64
RT America Host Ed Schultz Dead at 64

Talk radio legend and RT America host Ed Schultz passed away at his home in Washington, DC, on July 5, 2018. The former MSNBC host was known across America as a “progressive firebrand” and hosted the nightly news program on RT America since joining the network in January 2016.

"We are devastated by the news of the sudden death of our brilliant anchor, one of the best TV journalists in America, Ed Schultz," RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said in a statement. "The respect which Ed commanded among viewers and among his colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic is impossible to overstate. He was an unconditional patriot of his country, an honest man without compromise.

Schultz began his career in media as a sportscaster in his hometown of Fargo, anchoring nightly shows in 1982. In 1992 he transitioned to political talk radio and quickly began making waves in North Dakota's media landscape. He completely stopped working in sports broadcasting in 2003 to focus on his national radio show, which was carried by more than 100 stations as of 2005.

In 2009, Schultz moved to New York City to host a news program for MSNBC. While at the network, he railed against trade policies in the United States and commented on a number of other progressive issues. According to the newsman, he was eventually pushed out of the company over his support of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.

Schultz went on to host the nightly news on RT America, where he pushed back against claims in the mainstream US media that Russia had interfered in the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.

"When the witch-hunt against RT America began and it was forced to register as a foreign agent, Ed set an example for all of us, saying: ‘Let them call me what they want, I am going to speak the truth no matter what,'" Simonyan recalled.

Throughout the race, Schultz interviewed Sanders three times for the network. When Sanders held a rally in Schultz's hometown, the candidate said of the anchor, "This guy, more than any other person in the media, by far — it's not even close — has been the person to educate the American people about the disastrous trade agreements that this country has had."

Schultz leaves behind six children and his wife, Wendy. "My sincere condolences go out to his wife, family and all fans, who watched his amazing show every night," said RT America News Director Mikhail Solodovnikov. "We lost one of the best and most honest journalistic voices in America. We lost a legend."

 

[angelburst29]

10/29/18 - Department of Justice Sued by Florida Company That Wants to Broadcast Russia's Sputnik Radio
A Florida company that wants to broadcast Russia's Sputnik radio sues the Department of Justice

The Moscow headquarters of Russia's Rossiya Segodnya state media group, which runs the Sputnik news agency RM Broadcasting, on November 12, 2017. A company operating out of Jupiter, Florida, is required to register as a foreign agent because it broadcasts the Russian radio program Sputnik, according to the Department of Justice. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

A U.S. broadcasting company based in Florida is suing the Department of Justice for requiring that the media company register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

According to the Department of Justice, RM Broadcasting LLC, a company operating out of Jupiter, Florida, is required to sign up as a foreign agent because it broadcasts the Russian radio program Sputnik.

FARA requires that U.S. individuals or entities register with the government if they are doing political, public relations or financial work on behalf of foreign individuals or entities. The Department of Justice claimed that RM Broadcasting acted as a “publicity agent” and “information-service employee” for the Russian state-owned media company Rossiya Sevodnya. But RM Broadcasting argued that the arrangement was only a run-of-the-mill business deal that did not qualify as propaganda or promotion.

The dispute culminated in a lawsuit that was filed against the Department of Justice on October 19 in Florida’s federal court.

“RM does not create, provide, or have any direct control over the content of the programming, and does not possess the authority to exercise editorial control over the programming,” RM Broadcasting owner Arnold Ferolito’s lawyer Nicole Waid argued in a letter to the Department of Justice.

“RM does not act as an agent, representative, employee, or servant of Radio Sputnik, Rossiya Segodnya. The contractual relationship between the two parties solely consists of the availability of radio airtime between Radio Sputnik and an FCC licensee,” the letter continued.

In an email to Newsweek, Waid said that RM Broadcasting did not want to register as a foreign agent because the company "fundamentally disagrees with the government’s interpretation of the definition of an agent of a foreign government." She also cited privacy concerns.

"There are consequences to registering as an agent of a foreign government. First, you relinquish your 4th Amendment rights. The government has the ability to inspect your books and records at any time (including financial statements, emails, etc.). Second, the confidential terms of your business contracts are no longer confidential. The service agreements are posted online with all financial information regarding the business transaction (except bank account information regarding wire transfers)," Waid wrote. "Thus, registering can have a significant detrimental impact on business operations."

Nevertheless, court documents revealed that the company was doing a type of public relations work for Sputnik International. In a letter addressed to Sputnik representative Anton Anisimov, Ferolito wrote that the company wanted to provide "proper PR and advertising opportunities" for the Russian media outlet.

The broadcasting company shared with the Department of Justice copies of its contract with Sputnik. However, it denied the government's request to provide copies of all communications with Radio Sputnik and its parent company Rossiya Segodnya, which is owned and operated by the Russian government.

“We respectfully submit that this request is overbroad, unduly burdensome, and unnecessary,” the lawyer’s letter read.

Reston Translator, another U.S. company that broadcasts Sputnik, registered as a foreign agent last year. But unlike Reston Translator, which broadcasts radio programs, RM Broadcasting only buys airtime for radio stations and resells that airtime to companies like Sputnik. Legal experts said that subtle difference could be debated in court, because FARA law is not well defined.

The outcome of the case could have a significant impact on how FARA law is interpreted going forward, according to experts.

“The statute is so far-reaching and sweeping, and many terms are not well defined. This leaves room for interpretation. They are arguing about control, about whether there is agency and whether the Russian government can direct or control their activity. These inquiries are very fact-specific, and there is gray area, so it does give the parties an opportunity to argue their case,” Tessa Capeloto, a lawyer and expert on FARA law, told Newsweek. “Depending on what happens, it could impact how DOJ interprets control and agency, and it could impact future registrations and how DOJ applies the law.”

FARA was a little-known law until recently, when several high-profile cases snagged former Trump campaign officials for acting as unregistered foreign agents for Ukraine and Turkey. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Mike Flynn pleaded guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent for a Turkish company with ties to Turkey's government. In August, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Sam Patten were also charged for working on behalf of Ukraine.

Before 2018, only a handful of FARA violations had been prosecuted in the years since the law was enacted in 1938 to counter Nazi propaganda efforts. In 2016, an audit of FARA conducted by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General found “widespread delinquencies” in compliance rates.

But FARA law has gained a new lease on life ever since special counsel Robert Mueller opened his investigation into foreign election interference in the aftermath of the 2016 elections, and foreign media companies have been thrust into the spotlight. In November 2017, Russian media companies RT and Sputnik officially registered as foreign agents in response to a request from the Department of Justice. In September 2018, the department demanded that two Chinese media companies do the same.

Nevertheless, many legal experts and law enforcement agents are confused about what constitutes a FARA violation and when someone is obligated to sign up as a foreign agent. In the case of RM Broadcast, the company's lawyers argued that it was not acting as a foreign agent by simply honoring a contract with Sputnik.

RM Broadcasting is ultimately a one-man show run by 75-year-old Arnold Ferolito. According to documents submitted to the Department of Justice, Ferolito is originally from the Bronx, New York, and now lives in semiretirement in Florida. His wife, Olga, is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Russia.

“Mr. Ferolito travels to Russia to visit family and for business purposes, but he does not participate in any activity that promotes Russian interests or values,” documents submitted by Ferolito’s lawyer read.

Last year, Ferolito brokered a deal with the AM radio station WZHF that made Sputnik the only program available on the Washington, D.C.-area station. That likely caught the attention of federal investigators who were looking to curb foreign influence through FARA enforcement.

But the U.S. government had its eye on RM Broadcasting for years before the deal with WZHF. In 2013, the Justice Department’s counterintelligence unit asked the company to describe all services it provided from Kremlin-linked entities. In that case, the government was interested in the company’s ties to the outlet Voice of Russia. RM Broadcasting’s relationship with Voice of Russia was terminated in 2014.

 

[angelburst29]

01.11.2018 - Moscow Shocked by French Cabinet Spokesman's remarks regarding RT, Sputnik
Moscow Shocked by French Cabinet Spokesman's Remarks Regarding RT, Sputnik

The Russian Foreign Ministry is shocked by remarks made by spokesman for the French government Benjamin Griveaux that employees of Russia's RT and Sputnik news outlets are not journalists, as they are engaged in pure propaganda, the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

“Honestly, to say that we were surprised or upset is to say nothing. I think this condition could be better described as 'shock' when we heard the spokesman for the French government, Mr. Griveaux, just recently said the following. I quote: there are two media outlets that I refuse to see in the press room of the Elysee Palace, they are RT and Sputnik because I do not consider them to be media, they are not journalists, they are engaged in propaganda," Zakharova said at a weekly news briefing.

According to Zakharova, such an approach is the result of "the unwillingness of the French authorities to hear alternative sources of information."

Last month, two French government's think tanks issued a report, which recommended the country's authorities to abstain from accrediting journalists of the RT broadcaster and the Sputnik news agency.

Last year, RT reporters were denied entry to the headquarters of then-French presidential candidate Macron twice in April, and in May, a Sputnik reporter was not allowed to enter the square in front of Paris' Louvre museum where Macron and his supporters were celebrating the victory in the presidential run-off. After Macron became French president, he accused RT and Sputnik of "spreading false information and slander."

The situation around RT and Sputnik in France is not unique for the European Union: in 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution claiming that Russia was waging information warfare and singled out RT and Sputnik. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the resolution proved that Western democracy was failing, but expressed hope that common sense would prevail and Russian media outlets would be able to work abroad without restrictions.


17.09.2018 - Sputnik among Top 20 most visited News Sites in France
Sputnik Among Top 20 Most Visited News Sites in France

According to MMX Multi-Platform data from US media measurement and analytics company comScore, a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms, Sputnik is one of France’s top 20 most visited news/information outlets, closely trailing giants like Les Echos, and Le Dauphine Libéré.

Sputnik ranks 5th among all foreign media websites in France, behind the Yahoo-HuffPost News Network, but ahead of the BBC Sites, The Guardian, and CNN Network. It also ranks ahead of French media giants such as Liberation CNews and Nouvelobs.

In July 2017, desktop-only data from comScore showed that Sputnik was the 69th most visited news/information outlet in France.

Our own data, which includes social media statistics as well as desktop and mobile, show that Sputnik’s overall audience has tripled since July 2017.

We thank our readers for their belief in the pluralism of opinions and their respect for freedom of expression.

We are also thankful for our growing audience in African countries, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and other French-speaking readers around the world.


03.10.2018 - US Homeland Security recommends Public to "Be Aware" of RT, Sputnik
US Homeland Security Recommends Public to 'Be Aware' of RT, Sputnik

US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has called on the public to avoid reading news from Russian media outlets, specifically the RT broadcaster and Sputnik news agency.

"I encourage everybody, if you are reading something… and it suddenly takes you to RT and Sputnik, be aware. I mean, those are state-sponsored news outlets. They're not independent," the Washington Examiner quoted Nielsen as saying at a cybersecurity summit in Washington.

The remark comes after a year of persistent pressure on Russian media in the United States, during which time US lawmakers and intelligence community claimed that the Russian outlets may have been involved in Moscow’s alleged attempts to influence the 2016 US presidential election. The media, as well as Russian authorities, have repeatedly refuted the allegations as unsubstantiated.

In November, the US Department of Justice ordered the RT broadcaster's branch in the United States RT America to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

At the same time, many other media outlets, including BBC, China's CCTV, France 24, and Deutsche Welle were not registered as such. Later that month, RT's accreditation to the US Congress was revoked.

Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik and RT, pointed out that the broadcaster's registration as a "foreign agent" put it at a disadvantage compared to other foreign media outlets working in the United States.


04.10.2018 - Simonyan comments on RT Homeland Security Chief's warning about RY, Sputnik
Simonyan Comments on RT Homeland Security Chief's Warning About RT, Sputnik

Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Sputnik news agency and the RT broadcaster, has commented on the recent warning of US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen about both outlets.

Margarita Simonyan quoted Nielsen's plea to "be aware" about the two outlets, adding ironically "Lest you may like it."

"You will be drawn in. You will keep watching and reading only us. And then it's only a short distance to the Salisbury [Cathedral] spire," Simonyan said.

On Tuesday, Nielsen called on the public to avoid getting news from RT and Sputnik.

The latter was a reference to Simonyan's interview with two Russian citizens whom the United Kingdom is suspecting of involvement in a poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in England. The two men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told Simonyan that they came to the UK city of Salisbury as tourists, to see the sights, in particular, the famous Salisbury Cathedral and its spire. The two refuted the UK allegations.

Both RT and Sputnik have faced restrictions in their work in the United States. In November last year, the US Department of Justice ordered the broadcaster's branch in the United States, RT America, to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). RIA Global LLC, which produces content for the Sputnik news agency, was ordered to register as a "foreign agent" in February. Sputnik Radio's partner Reston Translator had to do the same in November.