The Fort Worth Press - US radio sets out to break Russian 'propaganda wall'

USD -
AED 3.672985
AFN 69.901592
ALL 94.336007
AMD 393.250352
ANG 1.79454
AOA 917.999753
ARS 1022.259777
AUD 1.596934
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.698605
BAM 1.874072
BBD 2.010521
BDT 118.990811
BGN 1.873502
BHD 0.37718
BIF 2943.915831
BMD 1
BND 1.352325
BOB 6.880923
BRL 6.078802
BSD 0.995774
BTN 84.654229
BWP 13.762804
BYN 3.258689
BYR 19600
BZD 2.00161
CAD 1.43625
CDF 2870.000111
CHF 0.893705
CLF 0.035848
CLP 989.149934
CNY 7.298701
CNH 7.30706
COP 4390
CRC 502.39074
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 105.658298
CZK 24.054599
DJF 177.317197
DKK 7.144799
DOP 60.635678
DZD 134.877055
EGP 50.910301
ERN 15
ETB 124.126733
EUR 0.95802
FJD 2.315402
FKP 0.791982
GBP 0.79535
GEL 2.80989
GGP 0.791982
GHS 14.637652
GIP 0.791982
GMD 72.000047
GNF 8602.830559
GTQ 7.672406
GYD 208.324949
HKD 7.770065
HNL 25.276684
HRK 7.172906
HTG 130.26897
HUF 396.659991
IDR 16184.4
ILS 3.640501
IMP 0.791982
INR 85.06795
IQD 1304.414484
IRR 42087.497632
ISK 139.010161
JEP 0.791982
JMD 155.795747
JOD 0.709096
JPY 156.603501
KES 129.000388
KGS 87.000051
KHR 4001.494811
KMF 466.124997
KPW 899.999441
KRW 1451.48497
KWD 0.30799
KYD 0.829812
KZT 522.944395
LAK 21794.540106
LBP 89168.367494
LKR 292.350591
LRD 180.728433
LSL 18.332231
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.892632
MAD 10.021656
MDL 18.341143
MGA 4698.115196
MKD 58.942719
MMK 3247.960992
MNT 3397.99987
MOP 7.97156
MRU 39.601
MUR 46.859851
MVR 15.400805
MWK 1726.205872
MXN 20.0746
MYR 4.491977
MZN 63.903729
NAD 18.332231
NGN 1546.450013
NIO 36.642041
NOK 11.314885
NPR 135.44715
NZD 1.767831
OMR 0.38501
PAB 0.995774
PEN 3.707899
PGK 4.037907
PHP 58.629008
PKR 277.163787
PLN 4.081092
PYG 7764.394745
QAR 3.629996
RON 4.765904
RSD 112.068288
RUB 102.899255
RWF 1388.066423
SAR 3.75635
SBD 8.383555
SCR 13.944953
SDG 601.500765
SEK 11.01661
SGD 1.35516
SHP 0.791982
SLE 22.813261
SLL 20969.503029
SOS 569.08232
SRD 35.130996
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.713025
SYP 2512.530243
SZL 18.327728
THB 34.241963
TJS 10.893341
TMT 3.51
TND 3.172929
TOP 2.342096
TRY 35.202695
TTD 6.758272
TWD 32.68497
TZS 2414.999914
UAH 41.761098
UGX 3652.705513
UYU 44.413143
UZS 12838.129186
VES 51.475275
VND 25436
VUV 118.722003
WST 2.762788
XAF 628.546104
XAG 0.033765
XAU 0.000381
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.759575
XOF 628.546104
XPF 114.276406
YER 250.375018
ZAR 18.30089
ZMK 9001.185115
ZMW 27.557229
ZWL 321.999592
  • BCC

    -0.2600

    122.75

    -0.21%

  • GSK

    0.1700

    33.6

    +0.51%

  • RBGPF

    59.9600

    59.96

    +100%

  • NGG

    0.8200

    58.5

    +1.4%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.86

    +0.08%

  • JRI

    0.1100

    12.06

    +0.91%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    23.16

    +0.22%

  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.56

    0%

  • SCS

    -0.5800

    11.74

    -4.94%

  • RIO

    -0.0900

    58.64

    -0.15%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.27

    -0.14%

  • RELX

    -0.3100

    45.47

    -0.68%

  • AZN

    0.9100

    65.35

    +1.39%

  • BTI

    0.1131

    36.24

    +0.31%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    8.39

    +0.12%

  • BP

    0.1900

    28.6

    +0.66%

US radio sets out to break Russian 'propaganda wall'
US radio sets out to break Russian 'propaganda wall'

US radio sets out to break Russian 'propaganda wall'

With Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border, US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is trying to break through a "wall of Russian propaganda", its director for Europe told AFP.

Text size:

Based in Prague, RFE/RL was founded in 1950 as an anti-communist outlet to beam programmes into the Soviet bloc, helping topple those totalitarian regimes nearly four decades later.

These days, it still broadcasts in 27 languages -- including Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian -- to 23 countries, many where media freedoms face severe restrictions.

It has more than 200 journalists in Ukraine and plays a major role in covering the looming conflict on the Ukrainian border, according to Kiryl Sukhotski, regional director for Europe and TV production.

"Our role is to provide objective and impartial information from both sides of the conflict to our audiences. We're a surrogate broadcaster and we don't take sides," Sukhotski said in an interview.

"We are penetrating the wall of Russian propaganda."

The West has repeatedly accused Russia of spreading disinformation to justify its cause, while Russia says the Western view of the crisis is distorted.

Most recently, the Russian foreign ministry slammed as "nonsense" and "provocative" reports from Britain about Moscow planning to install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv.

RFE/RL, which has a target audience of 37 million people, stepped up activities in the region following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the occupation of eastern Ukraine by pro-Moscow rebel forces.

It launched the Current Time TV channel in Russian, as well as programmes targeting audiences in the Donbass and Crimea regions.

- 'My boyfriend is there' -

The radio station's journalists -- staff and freelancers alike -- face constant threats from Russian and rebel authorities.

Some have already ended up in prison, such as Vladyslav Yesypenko, who is facing 15 years in jail on espionage charges.

Their coverage methods vary, from on-the-ground reporting to journalism based on open sources.

Last week, an RFE/RL journalist gave an account of how Russian troops are gathering on the Ukrainian border by following scores of TikTok accounts.

"Soldiers were sharing TikTok videos of how they go towards the border, and then there were hundreds of comments saying, 'Oh, my son is going there', or 'My son is on that train', or 'My boyfriend is there'," said Sukhotski.

"And we started talking to their families posting those comments and suddenly this whole picture of dozens of thousands of troops moving to Belarus, towards the Ukrainian border, we were able to do it just by looking at TikTok accounts," he added.

- 'White noise' -

Funded by the US Congress, RFE/RL is also setting out to battle what it says is Russian disinformation.

"We are creating a new unit in Kyiv that will do same-day rapid reactions to fake news, disinfo, propaganda -- just saying OK, this is true, this is not true," Sukhotski said.

"Russia very quickly understood that it is not necessary to lie to make successful propaganda. All you need is to withhold context and create white noise.

"Our task is to present the context and for our audiences to make their own decisions, and this is what the Russian authorities perceive as a threat," he added.

Recalling Moscow's attempts to jam RFE/RL broadcasts during the Cold War, Sukhotski said variety was key.

The radio is present on Facebook, Twitter, and also on Russian social media including VKontakte and Odnoklassniki.

"The whole digital landscape is changing fast and if we are not changing with it, we will be left behind," he said.

"You can block a website but it would be very difficult to block Facebook or YouTube. Russia is not yet there."

"It is the beauty of social media that can get us there despite any attempts by the authorities to block us."

N.Patterson--TFWP