Russia Today - Allegations of pro-Kremlin bias

According to a variety of sources such as Der Spiegel and Reporters Without Borders, the channel presents pro-Kremlin propaganda.[19][20] A 2005 report conducted by the U.S. government operated VOA, interviewed Anton Nosik chief editor of a major English-language computer internet site in Russia, in which he described the creation of Russia Today as an idea smacking of Soviet-style propaganda campaigns, and also noted that the channel was not created as a response to any existing demand.[21] While another article in the Digital Journal called RT a “pro-Putin news outlet”[22] and its advertising campaign as “open propaganda war.”[22]

A 2009 article by journalist Luke Harding for The Guardian reporting on RT’s advertising campaign described the network as “unashamedly pro-Putin “[23] and part of the Kremlin’s attempt to create a “post-Soviet global propaganda empire.”[23]

An article published in The New Republic by James Kirchick characterized the news reportage of Russia Today as, “virulent anti-Americanism, worshipful portrayal of Russian leaders, and comical production values,” that “can’t help but revive the pettiness that was a distinctive feature of Soviet-era propaganda.”[24]

An article by Accuracy in Media criticized RT as a “propaganda network funded by the Moscow regime of Vladimir Putin”[25] and charged that it “regularly features Marxist and radical commentators.[25] The article also cites the description of the network by former KGB officer Konstantin Preobrazhensky as “a part of the Russian industry of misinformation and manipulation” designed to mislead foreign audiences about Russian intentions.”[25] Furthermore, Preobrazhensky argues that Russia Today utilizes methods of propaganda that are “managed by Directorate ‘A’ of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service” and that “the specialty of Directorate ‘A’ is deceiving world public opinion and manipulating it. It has got a lot of experience over decades of the Cold War.”[25]

An editor for the Kyiv Post has noted criticism towards RT and its perceived anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.[26] In December 2011 Andrew Osborn for the Daily Telegraph described RT as “the Kremlin’s slavishly loyal English-language propaganda channel”.[27]