Fri Sep 20 13:03:12 UTC 2024: ## US Launches Global Campaign to Silence RT, Accused of “Disinformation”
**Moscow, Russia** – RT, the Russian state-funded news organization, has accused the US of launching a “neocolonialist” campaign to silence its voice globally. The initiative, spearheaded by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, aims to “rally allies and partners around the world” to restrict RT’s reach, claiming it spreads “disinformation and covert influence.”
RT Deputy Editor-in-Chief Anna Belkina argues that the campaign is a thinly veiled attempt to maintain Western dominance over the global information landscape, particularly in the “Global South” – Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
“This is a coordinated campaign to force other nations into following their example, all so that the West can recover its information monopoly,” she stated.
The US has accused RT of promoting Russian propaganda and undermining Western interests, particularly regarding the war in Ukraine.
“One of the reasons […] why so much of the world has not been as fully supportive of Ukraine as you would think they would be […] is because of the broad scope and reach of RT,” admitted James Rubin, coordinator for the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center.
However, RT argues that its journalists simply provide alternative viewpoints and report on stories often ignored by Western media. They point to their growing audience, particularly in the “Global South,” where they claim to be a popular source of news.
“We have built a massive global audience and won the trust of viewers and readers worldwide,” Belkina asserted.
This campaign marks a new escalation in the information war between Russia and the West. While the US and its allies have already restricted RT’s access to their own platforms, they now seek to extend this censorship globally, seeking to pressure other countries into following suit.
RT is confident that the “truly independent world” will resist this pressure, highlighting India’s recent response as an example. The Indian government has expressed skepticism about the US campaign, with officials stating that “the matter ‘does not pertain’ to India” and that they “do not follow unilateral sanctions that are not approved by the United Nations.”
The future of RT remains uncertain, but the organization is determined to continue reporting, despite the challenges posed by the new US campaign. They are confident that their audience, which they estimate to be “millions if not billions of people around the world”, will continue to seek out their perspective.
First Piper 