Media
Tuesday 21 February 2017
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![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
Russian presidential spokesman
"To say that our media are trying to influence public opinion somewhere is absurdity."
Read more...Despite the Russian claims, U.S. and European officials say Russian media is helping the Kremlin spread false reports and conduct election interference in foreign nations with the aim of undermining the West. -
![Sergey Lavrov]()
Sergey Lavrov
Foreign Minister, Russia
"But in fact in this case (the VOA Russian service reporter) was lying because by the time he made these statements…Mr. Peskov and Ms. Zakharova and representatives of the Foreign Affairs Committees had spoken."
Read more...Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zahkarova apologized to a VOA reporter for incorrect remarks made by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference on Tuesday, in which he misrepresented Voice of America reporting in a way that served to undermine the agency's credibility. -
![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
official Kremlin spokesman
"This is absolutely fake information, a fabrication and complete nonsense. The Kremlin does not engage in gathering compromising materials."
Read more...The Kremlin has a long history of releasing “compromising materials,” or “kompromat,” about politicians, journalists, and political opponents, both Russian and foreign. Not only that, the release of kompromat was a key factor in the rise of Vladimir Putin, and evidence suggests that the Putin administration has utilized the tactic heavily in advancing its goals. -
![German Klimenko]()
German Klimenko
Russian presidential adviser on internet issues
“Our country must be prepared that it will be cut off from the worldwide internet -- the high likelihood of 'tectonic shifts' in our relations with the West (is) in the direction of deterioration."
Read more...Alluding to possible threats from the West, Russia’s top tech envoy expressed fears that Russia's internet could be “cut off.” A Polygraph.info fact check shows that while a foreign cyber attack would be crippling, an effective closure of the nation’s internet access is an implausible scenario. -
![Kellyanne Conway]()
Kellyanne Conway
senior advisor to president-elect Donald Trump
“[The Baltic presidents'] participation had not been cleared in advance, however Trump restrained himself and did interrupt the conversation. But when all three Balts, interrupting each other, began to speak of Russian aggression, the 45th president of the U.S.A. didn't hold back and said, ‘Shut up, please, and let's follow some elementary decency. Then maybe it will all work out for you.’"
Read more...Polygraph.info confirmed with the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry that there was “no such phone conversation” and with CNN’s host Christiane Amanpour that the story was “fake” and she had “not interviewed Conway.” The story was trotted out by the Russian Agency for News Reports, a tabloid site notorious for printing fake reports. -
![Vladimir Bozovic]()
Vladimir Bozovic
Chairman of the cultural organization Matica Srpska
“Montenegro is a country where the United States embassy has been openly involved in the law-making process."
Read more...The U.S. and Montenegro refute the comment by a Montenegrin cultural figure and former Serbian minister. The officials say Americans have no role in the legislative process in Montenegro. -
![Stanislav Govorukhin]()
Stanislav Govorukhin
Russian lawmaker and film director
"[Russia has] the only constitution in the word stating that any kind of censorship is forbidden."
Read more...This is not even close to true, and Govorukhin need look no further than other nations of the former Soviet Union for constitutions expression banning censorship. The OSCE noted in 2010 that only Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia were the only former Soviet republics not to have censorship bans. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
Russian President
“I would like to have such a propaganda machine here in Russia, but regrettably, this is not the case. We have not even global mass media outlets of the likes of CNN, BBC and others. We simply do not have this kind of capability yet.”
Read more...Is the Russian president correct when he says his nation lacks the global reach of worldwide media that the U.S. and UK have to promote Moscow’s propaganda? Polygraph.info talked to a few experts to find out. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
Russian President
"You’ve seen what’s happening: An immigrant raped a child in a certain European country. The court acquitted him based on two reasons: that he speaks the language of the receiving country poorly and did not understand that the boy -- and it was a boy -- did not consent."
Read more...But Putin's remarks to his council on interethnic relations contradict the facts of the actual case. The attacker’s conviction was only partially annulled, and he remains in custody pending a retrial in the case. Russian media reporting of the case as an acquittal, and Putin's reference to it, is an example of "pro-Kremlin disinformation," according to an EU task force. -
![Sergei Lavrov]()
Sergei Lavrov
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
“We have not seen a single fact, a single proof."
Read more...The Russian Foreign Minister says the U.S. has offered no proof that the Kremlin hacked into Democratic Party computers. The U.S. says it does have proof but have not made the details public. -
![Aleksandr Zharov]()
Aleksandr Zharov
head of Russia’s state media regulator, Roskomnadzor
“I’m opposed to censorship. Russian law forbids censorship. Those who call Roskomnadzor the main censor of the [the Russian-language Internet] don’t really understand what [censorship] is.”
Read more...The head of Russia’s media watchdog claims his agency isn’t a censor and only blocks online content that violates criminal statutes. But Russia’s law on “extremism” places critics of the war in Ukraine and Islamic State supporters in the same basket and often indiscriminately targets content regardless of context. Roskomnadzor has blocked numerous sites and social media posts on subjects sensitive to the government. -
Dmitry Kiselyov
TV personality and head of media conglomerate Rossia Segodnya
"Ukraine is, probably, the most dangerous place in the world for journalists right now."
Read more...Violence against journalists has dogged Ukraine ever since the fall of the Soviet Union. But bombastic Russian news anchor and media boss Dmitry Kiselyov is exaggerating when he calls Ukraine “probably the most dangerous place for journalists,” according to monitoring conducted by prominent media-rights watchdogs.
