Quote (ferdia @ 2 Mar 2023 11:07)
I provided info to a link as related to Syria. If you had a mind you could easily give a fine example of western propaganda and double standards in action.
youtube watch this Djunior: "Zakharova defeated a CNN journalist! Watch until the end! Ukraine." <-- terrible headline ofc but the content was worth considering. this is a fine example of refuting western propaganda / exposing double standards.
see, that's one of the ways you (either deliberately or ignorantly) contribute to promoting russian disinformation:
OBVIOUSLY you can find examples of biased journalism, outright hit- and propaganda pieces, partisan outlets, flaws in the system, corporate corruption... in western (especially US) media. literally NO ONE said all of it is perfectly free and unbiased.
as a whole, however, it is still significantly more independent, critical, and objective than the strictly controlled media landscape you have in authoritarian shitholes like russia, china, north korea...
so finding examples of bad western journalism is not "exposing a double standard". it's just an anecdote trying to bothsides an issue that could not be more unequal if you looked at it as a whole:
https://rsf.org/en/indexhttps://rsf.org/en/country/russiaQuote
Media landscape
All privately owned independent TV channels are banned from broadcasting, except for cable entertainment channels. The Russian version of Euronews was suspended by Roskomnadzor, the media regulator, on 22 March 2022. Among the big print media outlets, which have belonged to Kremlin allies for a few years, those that had preserved their independence and were under constant threat of closure, like the independent tri-weekly Novaya Gazeta, have had to suspend their publications. Radio stations are in the same situation. Media outlets that have survived are faced with very strict self-censorship because of banned themes and words, and Western social networks are gradually being blocked.
Political context
President Vladimir Putin has seemed increasingly isolated from the outside world since the start of the pandemic. Only a very restricted circle now has access to him, and the last collective decision-making institutions, such as the Security Council, are no longer really collaborative. Parliament has become a chamber for recording decisions made by the Kremlin. The official discourse, relayed by an omnipresent propaganda, is mainly based on accounts of Russia’s “historical grievances” and conspiracy theories.
Legal framework
No journalist is safe from the threat of serious charges under vaguely worded draconian laws that were often adopted in haste. Many laws relating to freedom of expression that had been adopted in recent years – including defamation and “fake news” laws – were amended in order to incorporate them into the Penal Code at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The invasion of Ukraine gave a new impetus to this process, with parliament hastily adopting amendments under which “false information” about the Russian armed forces and any other Russian state body operating abroad is now punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Economic context
The radical sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western democracies in response to the invasion of Ukraine have suddenly severed much of the Russian economy from Europe’s, with which it was closely integrated. This will likely result in a very long and extremely deep crisis. Beyond censorship – which has forced many media outlets to close and has impoverished the few remaining independent journalists, forcing them to change professions or go abroad – the regional media will be among the first victims of this economic crisis.
Sociocultural context
Although the internet connection rate is very high, almost two-thirds of Russians get their news mainly from television, which is controlled by the government, and from Russian social media such as VKontakte. Subjects such as homosexuality and religious feelings have gradually become off limits for the media under Vladimir Putin, who has encouraged a certain conservatism in Russian society.
Safety
In recent years, in addition to heavy sentences and even torture suffered by some journalists, mainly at the regional level, the frequent use of fines and short-term detentions under various pretexts have been added to the arsenal of systematic intimidation against journalists. The media are also under threat of arbitrary inclusion on the list of “foregin agents”, a status that comes with heavy bureaucratic hurdles and legal risks. Faced with additional risks incurred since the state of the war in Ukraine, many journalists working for independent media outlets have chosen exile.
trying to simplistically "bothsides" every issue is not being "fair" or "balanced" or "objective" or whatever you're trying (pretending) to be here, it's just being too dumb (or too dishonest) to put things into perspective, to see the bigger picture, and to draw reasonable and fair conclusions. those kinds of false equivalences ALWAYS benefit the side that is worse - i hope this helps you understand that.