Washington fears losing information warfare – historian

RT’s global outreach makes it an enemy in the eyes of the West, historian Alexander Markovics has said

The latest barrage of US sanctions against RT is a panic reaction resulting from the West’s slipping grip on the narrative in the global news arena, according to Alexander Markovics, head of the Suworow Institute in Vienna.

The Austrian historian and publicist spoke to RT in an interview on Friday, just hours after the US announced fresh sanctions against the news organization. James Rubin, head of State Department propaganda and intelligence, accused RT earlier in the day of hindering support for Ukraine worldwide.

“One of the reasons… why so much of the world has not been as fully supportive of Ukraine as one might expect… is because of the broad scope and reach of RT,” Rubin claimed.

Markovics noted that the US accuses Russia of what Washington itself is doing globally: “spreading propaganda and disinformation.” Meanwhile, RT provides people in Europe, Africa, and Latin America with “a second opinion.”

“If you only listened to European and American news about the war in Ukraine, you would believe that Ukraine is winning and that sooner or later, Russia will collapse under the weight of Western sanctions,” he said.

Markovics believes the latest repression against RT is “just a panic reaction” driven by the West’s fear of “losing the game.”

It’s losing the game of information warfare, therefore censoring every kind of opposition still available.

“RT, with its extensive global outreach, is seen as an enemy by Western propaganda,” he added.

Markovics dismissed claims that Western media serve democracy better than their Russian counterparts, noting that the American press has repeatedly been caught lying. He cited the false claims about “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq, which led to the deaths of over one million people during the US-led invasion. “They lied about Afghanistan, they lied about Libya; their actions have resulted in the deaths of millions,” he stressed.

The different message provided by RT resonates in the Global South, Markovics emphasized. Many people in Africa and Latin America “appreciate this variety and difference in news,” without which they would be subjected to a Western media monopoly, he said.

Watch the full interview here:

RT exposed Ukraine conflict as Western proxy war – Tara Reade

The US push to silence alternative voices “seems like desperation,” the former aide to Joe Biden has said

Washington is targeting RT because the news network has presented the facts that the conflict in Ukraine is a resource-motivated proxy war being fought by the US and NATO against Russia, said RT contributor Tara Reade, a former aide to Joe Biden.

On Thursday, the US announced a new round of sanctions against RT, with James Rubin, head of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), accusing the news organization of undermining support for Ukraine globally.

”One of the reasons… why so much of the world has not been as fully supportive of Ukraine as one might expect… is because of the broad scope and reach of RT,” Rubin claimed.

Ironically, the accusations only enhance RT’s reputation as a “really good journalistic media corporation” that effectively reaches its audience, Reade noted in an interview on Thursday. “I think this is unprecedented what happened… it shows how successful RT has been.”

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RT responsible for eroding support for Ukraine – US State Dept

The effort to silence RT “indicates that it poses a threat to the narrative of the military-industrial complex and the intelligence community,” Reade said.

“They are trying to criminalize journalism,” Reade said. “It is really frightening, and hope every journalist pays attention. Because it may be RT this week, but it may be any other news outlet that simply does not hold the line the next time.”

Washington is suppressing free speech and essentially “trying to criminalize thought” in an attempt to “siphon the message to their point of view while silencing international voices,” she added.

They are trying to control and consolidate their power. And they are losing their power. To me, it seems like desperation.

RT is reporting facts that undermine the Western narrative, and “And the truth is, this is a proxy war that the US and NATO are fighting against Russia via Ukraine,” she added. “It’s all about the territory, it’s all about stripping Ukraine of its resources.”

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Washington wants Ukraine’s resources – US Senator

US Senator Lindsey Graham has openly stated that Ukraine’s “trillions of dollars’ worth of minerals” are of interest to the US as he lobbied for more military aid to Kiev earlier this month.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now the deputy chair of the National Security Council, pointed out that a key reason for the West’s focus on the Donbass is its vast mineral wealth. He noted that around half of Ukraine’s estimated $14.8 trillion mineral resource base is located in the Donbass. This natural wealth is precisely why Ukraine’s Western sponsors urge Kiev to “wage war to the last Ukrainian,” Medvedev added.

Brazil seizes Musk’s money

A federal judge has withdrawn $3.3 million from bank accounts belonging to X and Starlink to enforce a fine

The Brazilian Supreme Court has unblocked the bank accounts of X and Starlink, only to withdraw $3.3 million from them in order to enforce a fine levied against Elon Musk’s social media platform.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes banned X’s operations in Brazil at the end of August. He also froze Starlink’s assets, calling it part of a “de facto economic group” with X.

“With the full payment of the amount due, [de Moraes] considered that there was no longer any need to keep the bank accounts blocked and ordered the immediate unblocking of the bank accounts/financial assets, motor vehicles and real estate of the aforementioned companies,” the court said in a statement on Friday.

According to the court, a total of 18.35 million Brazilian reals (around $3.3 million) was withdrawn from both accounts, of which 11 million was from Starlink and the rest from X. 

The companies were fined “for not removing content after an order from the [court] in ongoing investigations, in addition to having removed its legal representatives from Brazil,” the court said.

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Musk threatens to go after Brazilian government assets

Musk has not yet commented on the seizure of the funds. Earlier this month, he said the blocking of Starlink’s accounts was “absolutely illegal” since it was a separate company with different shareholders. The tech magnate also threatened to go after Brazilian state assets in retaliation.

“Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too,” Musk wrote at the time. “Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial,” he added, referring to Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.

De Moraes has also threatened a fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals ($8,874) per day against anyone who used a virtual private network (VPN) to access X. There have been no reports of the fine being enforced, however, and multiple prominent Brazilians – including several political parties – have continued posting on the platform.

The dispute between the US entrepreneur and Brazilian authorities began in April, when de Moraes ordered X to delete the accounts of several supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing them of spreading “disinformation” about himself and the court. Musk refused, saying this would violate Brazilian laws.

X’s Global Government Affairs team has said that de Moraes had threatened their Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment and froze all of her bank accounts even after she resigned. The judge then cited lack of counsel as the reason for the fine and the ban on the platform’s operations.

“Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders,” X said in a statement at the time.