Russian state employees who own VGTRK broadcast video recordings and other information on TV channels, sent to them by representatives of the FSB and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation .
Russian propagandists are direct participants in the aggression against Ukraine. Journalists from The New York Times studied the letter of employees of the Russian state television and radio company VGTRK, which was leaked to the network. In March, the DDoSecrets team published 900,000 emails from VGTRK employees. NYT journalists examined the entire database and found 750 gigabytes of files related to the preparations for the war in Ukraine and its initial stages between January and March 2022. The journalists verified the authenticity of the file, and also established that the subjects discussed in the letters subsequently appeared on the air.
Fake news about the Armed Forces
According to materials reviewed by the newspaper, state propagandists followed instructions from the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Defense on how to cover events that caused international outcry. Employees of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company quickly released information from the FSB that painted a rosy picture of a war that was really getting worse, The New York Times wrote.
On the first day of Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine, February 24, FSB officers sent a letter to state media saying the Ukrainian military had abandoned their posts. In another letter sent to the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, the FSB claimed that Ukraine had allegedly seized a civilian cargo vehicle.
In March, the FSB told reporters in state-owned media that two Ukrainian officers had died on the battlefield, which the Russian intelligence service said had killed civilians and terrorists. The All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company was asked to provide this information without mentioning the FSB, which was done by employees of the holding.
Drama theater in Mariupol
In March, according to the NYT, the Russian military in a letter marked Important! sent a video with a Ukrainian refugee. The woman in the recording said that the drama theater in Mariupol, where civilians were present, was blown up by Ukrainian nationalists, and not bombed by the Russian military. “Please use the materials,” the letter said. In March, this case was reported by Mediazona, whose sources claimed that the video with the refugee was distributed by the FSB.
US media manipulation
The leaked letter also revealed that Russian propaganda used selected quotes from conservative Western media such as Fox News and the Daily Caller, speeches by Chinese politicians, and videos from anonymous Telegram and YouTube accounts. to create the narrative that Moscow had won.
“These emails provide a rare glimpse into Russia’s arguably greatest wartime propaganda machine. Even as the country faces battlefield casualties, mounting casualties, economic and international isolation condemning, state-run TV channels are creating a version of the war in which Russia wins, Ukraine collapses, and Western alliances collapse.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.