Russian media could almost be covering a different war in Syria | World news | The Guardian
Really
you couldn't make this stuff up. Below are the Guardian's strident
criticisms of the Russian media for promoting the Russian and Syrian
governments' narratives of what is going on in Syria.
Unlike, of course, the western media - including the Guardian - which
have been maintaining their fiercely independent coverage, refusing to
act as an echo chamber for Washington and London, and letting only the
facts speak for themselves.
Guardian criticisms [followed by how the western media might look from Russia]:
The Russian media has been reporting on what could almost be a
different conflict. [The western media has been reporting on what could
almost be a different conflict.]
Coverage in Russia, where the
government controls major TV channels and news agencies, is often highly
selective and defensive of the Kremlin line. [Coverage in Britain,
where the government holds the purse strings of the biggest TV and radio
channels, is often highly selective and defensive of the Westminster
line.]
Russian TV has been a cheerleader for Russian and Syrian
military operations and shied away from noting the resulting civilian
casualties. [British TV has been a cheerleader for the west and Israel's
illegal violations of Syria's sovereignty and shied away from noting
the help being accorded by the west to violent Islamist groups.]
The Russian media has also amped up the Kremlin’s criticism of the west.
[The British media has also amped up Washington's criticism of Russia
and the Syrian government.]
The Kremlin has been linked to a
“troll factory” in St Petersburg employing people to write comments and
posts promoting the government line. [The CIA and MI6, it has been
documented, have a history of planting agents in western media
newsrooms, and there are strong suspicions that they also run “trolling
operations”, employing people to write comments and posts promoting
Washington's official line.]
The aftermath of an airstrike by Syrian government forces in the Arbin district of Damascus.
Photograph: Ammar Al-Bushy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
