abcnews | ANALYSIS: MOSCOW – The New York Times is – improbably – the latest darling of the Russian propaganda machine.
The paper this weekend published one of the most detailed articles to date
on a group of separatists in eastern Ukraine. The report found no
evidence of Russians within the unit’s ranks or Russian influence or
arms, although it was careful to note that its findings are far from
definitive.
Russian media, however, quickly seized on the report, eager to cash
in on the Times’ credibility to back Moscow’s claims that it has nothing
to do with the unrest there.
“No Russians among Slavyansk self-defense forces – NYT reporters,” RT, the Kremlin’s foreign language mouthpiece, tweeted more than once. Other state-run outlets trumpeted the article as well.
The Russian Foreign Ministry posted the article on its Facebook page. The Russian Mission to the United Nations touted it on its Twitter account. (Of course, they did not do this when the same reporter wrote a lengthy story proving the fighters in Crimea were Russian troops.)
Chalk it up to another volley in what has so far been a strikingly successfully Russian propaganda campaign in Ukraine.
Russian propaganda has been in overdrive since the unrest in Ukraine
began. Soon after ousted President Viktor Yanukovich fled,
Kremlin-backed media began screaming about threats to the
Russian-speaking population. (Ukraine’s parliament added fuel to the
fire by trying to remove Russian as an official language.)
