LONDON: Britain accused Russian news channel RT of being a tool of the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign on Wednesday.
It also asked the media regulator to take action if needed after Russia recognized two rebel regions of eastern Ukraine.
Russian officials say RT is a way for Moscow to compete with the dominance of global media companies based in the United States and Britain which they say offer a partial view of the world.
Critics say RT, which broadcasts news in English, Arabic, Spanish and German, is the propaganda arm of the Russian state and aims to undermine confidence in Western institutions.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a letter to state media regulator Ofcom that she was concerned RT would seek to spread “harmful disinformation” about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
“While respecting Ofcom’s regulatory independence, I call on you to ensure your actions are timely and transparent to reassure the British public,” the letter, seen by Reuters, said.
Asked in parliament whether he would request Ofcom review RT’s license, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believed Dorries had asked the regulator to review that matter.
Johnson’s spokesman, asked later if the government was looking to ban the channel, sought to clarify the prime minister’s remarks.
“All the culture secretary is asking Ofcom (is to) take any appropriate action should there be any attempt to use Russia Today to spread disinformation,” the spokesman said.
Johnson had also said the regulator should make its own decisions.
“We live in a country that believes in free speech,” Johnson told parliament. “And I think it’s important that we should leave it up to Ofcom rather than to politicians to decide which media organizations to ban — that’s what Russia does.
RT said British politicians seemed to be trying to meddle in the affairs of a regulator, undermining its independence.
“The UK culture minister is now clearly directly interfering in institutions touted as supposedly wholly free from political pressure and influence,” Anna Belkina, RT’s deputy editor in chief, told Reuters.
Belkina said despite political pressure Ofcom had not found any breaches of the Broadcasting Code by RT in the past four years.
Ofcom said it would prioritize complaints about any broadcaster’s news coverage of Russia and Ukraine.
“Given the seriousness of the Ukraine crisis, we will examine complaints about any broadcaster’s news coverage of this issue as a priority,” the regulator said.
UK says Russian channel RT is tool of Kremlin disinformation
https://arab.news/6gak5
UK says Russian channel RT is tool of Kremlin disinformation
- Russian officials say RT is a way for Moscow to compete with the dominance of global media companies
- Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in a letter to state media regulator Ofcom that she was concerned RT would seek to spread "harmful disinformation" about the Russia-Ukraine crisis
Foreign press group opposes further Gaza access delay
- Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip
JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Thursday said it “firmly opposed” another delay to the Israeli supreme court’s decision on its petition demanding independent access to the Gaza Strip.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 following Palestinian militant group Hamas’s unprecedented attack, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the Palestinian territory under Israeli blockade.
On November 24, the supreme court granted the state a further 10 days to respond to the appeal, but on Thursday extended the deadline again to December 21, giving Israel time to present a plan on foreign media access to Gaza.
“This is an urgent appeal. Continuously preventing coverage — every minute, every hour, every day — seriously undermines the ability of international media to carry out their mission, and infringes on the fundamental rights of billions of users,” the FPA said in a statement.
The association said it was the ninth time the court agreed to grant an extension, and believed it was “clear that the state’s goal is to delay filing their preliminary response as much as possible.”
The FPA represents hundreds of foreign journalists working for international news organizations in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
