Internet/social media
Monday 27 May 2019
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![Margarita Simonyan]()
Margarita Simonyan
Chief Editor, Rossiya Segodnya, RT
“We're showing a rally in support of Maduro in Caracas. Reuters is showing a green boulevard. Q.E.D.”
Read more...The photograph on Simonyan's Telegram channel, which she called a “green boulevard” was an image from Paris. Reuters fed to its affiliates hours of live coverage of French street protests, which turned violent. -
![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
Russian presidential spokesperson
"The report contains no proven evidence that Russia allegedly interfered in the election process in the United States.”
Read more...The report by the special counsel on Russian interference in the 2016 election does contain evidence that Russia interfered in the election in several ways. However, much of the evidence establishing interference came in earlier indictments by Mueller and the U.S. Intelligence Community’s reports. -
![Sergey Lavrov]()
Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister
“I’ve repeatedly said that as soon as Edward Snowden chose freedom – refused to fly to where he was threatened with the electric chair – the Americans immediately began trying to punish us.”
Read more...Apart from the rhetoric of a former CIA director, the U.S. Justice Department confirmed in writing that Snowden never faced capital punishment. Lavrov falsely connects the Magnitsky Act to the Snowden affair. -
![Rick Sanchez, RT America host]()
Rick Sanchez, RT America host
RT America host
“The demonization of Russia is the engine that drives, if nothing else, our weapons industry. Using a complicit media, the arms industry makes billions and billions of dollars simply convincing us, and other countries all over the world, that they need protection from Russia… Whether Russia really poses a threat or not doesn’t really matter. That’s the real story here, that’s the real takeaway from the Mueller report.”
Read more...Independent analyses show that the global arms trade increased steadily over 2008-2018. During the period of the Mueller investigation, the U.S. share in the global weapons transfer increased by less than one percent. -
![TASS]()
TASS
Russian state-owned news agency
"On March 27, the Federal Security Service in cooperation with the Russian Interior Ministry and the Federal National Guard Troops Service foiled the activities of a cell of the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami international terror group during a special operation in Crimea and detained 20 people from among its chieftains and ordinary members,’ the FSB stressed.”
Read more...Hizb ut-Tahrir, while controversial, is not an “international terror group,” and the suspects claim the FSB planted incriminating material in their homes during the raid. -
![Russian Foreign Ministry Twitter account]()
Russian Foreign Ministry Twitter account
Official social media account
“We hope #Washington will eventually master the courage to officially admit that there was no collusion whatsoever & that all the allegations about (Russian) interference are nothing more than a defamation attempt designed for use in (U.S.) political infighting”
Read more...The four-page summary of the report which has been released includes a section confirming, not debunking, Russian interference in 2016 the election. -
![RT (Russia Today)]()
RT (Russia Today)
State-owned media outlet
“‘Behind me is toothpaste CNN said doesn't exist in #Venezuela’ – Max Blumenthal explores markets outside #Caracas”
Read more...CNN didn’t say that toothpaste doesn’t exist or isn’t available in Venezuela. More importantly, a video from the state-run subsidized market doesn’t disprove the reality of critical shortages of basic goods in the country. -
![Svobodnaya Pressa]()
Svobodnaya Pressa
Russian News Outlet
“USA Air Forces: ‘Thanks very much to the Russians for taking Crimea”
Read more...None of the U.S. Air Forces’ commanders or representatives, including General Tod Wolters, ever said the words cited in the Russian media outlet. -
![RIA Novosti]()
RIA Novosti
Russian state-owned media outlet
“‘Not Odessa, but Kotsyubeyev!’ Why does Kyiv erase the real names of cities”
Read more...While Ukraine’s “decommunization” law is not without controversy, countries have the right to rename cities and other geographical features as they wish. Nothing in the law requires new city names to be based on historical titles. -
![Vyacheslav Volodin]()
Vyacheslav Volodin
Chairman of the Russian State Duma
“It is important, [Volodin] said, ‘not to close, not to cut off, but to ensure the security of the internet in the Russian Federation’.”
Read more...Despite attempts at assuring the Russian public that the draft law on the Digital Economy National Program is not intended to “cut off” Russia from the world, critics fear Russia’s own “Great Firewall” is in the offing. -
![Konstantin Kosachev]()
Konstantin Kosachev
Chairman, International Affairs Committee, Russia’s Federation Council
"Guaido’s status cannot be determined from abroad, whether by the president of the United States or any other country. It can be determined only by the people of Venezuela and only by constitutional means. In this sense, for Russia the presidential status of Guaido doesn’t exist."
Read more...The U.S. is just one of many countries and international organizations which recognize the interim presidency of Venezuelan opposition politician Juan Guaido. Many of these countries didn't recognize Maduro’s controversial reelection in 2018. His original term ended on January 10, 2019. -
![Maram Susli AKA Mimi al-Laham]()
Maram Susli AKA Mimi al-Laham
Vlogger, commentator
“NATO puppet #Bellingcat created an account pretending its [sic]"In #Venezuela" when the Bellingcat author behind it actually a student in Canada.”
Read more...While the Twitter account calls itself “In Venezuela,” it publicly identifies its physical location as based in Toronto, Canada. This is also stated at the top of the “about” section on the writer’s blog.
