RT’s ‘threat’ to US national security exposed

A satire video by the Russian network made it into Washington’s latest homeland threat assessment report

The US Department of Homeland Security has released a new threat assessment report highlighting the dangers facing Washington. Among other things, it warns of AI technology by foreign actors to spread alleged “disinformation” – and gives an obviously satire video by RT as an example of such activities.

The report, released last week, states that Washington’s “nation-state adversaries,” including Russia, China, and Iran, “continue to develop the most sophisticated malign influence campaigns online.” The alleged effort is now boosted by AI technology, which enables “the rapid creation of an endless supply of higher quality, more idiomatically correct text,” which purportedly gives the US’ adversaries a “greater aura of credibility.”

“Russian influence actors have used new AI technology in select cases to augment their operations. For instance, in June, an RT (formerly Russia Today) social media account created and shared a deepfake AI-generated video disparaging the US President and other Western leaders,” the assessment reads.

West runs out of ideas for sanctions, RT keeps running pic.twitter.com/wc95voKRpx

— RT (@RT_com) June 14, 2023

The example listed apparently refers to a video released by RT back in June that portrays Western leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen using various unorthodox techniques in search for inspiration to hatch a new package of anti-Russian sanctions. The obviously satire video was never advertised by RT as actual footage of the process of developing sanctions.

Germany scolds Poland over migrants

Warsaw is accused of taking bribes to issue EU visas to migrants, many of whom then crossed the border into Germany

Germany summoned Polish ambassador Dariusz Pawlos to the Interior Ministry in Berlin on Tuesday, demanding that he explain an alleged scheme whereby migrants from Asia and Africa were sold EU visas for thousands of euros each.

In addition to summoning Pawlos, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser held a meeting with her Polish counterpart, Reuters reported.

Poland’s Foreign Ministry and consulates are accused of issuing visas to migrants from Asia and Africa without adequate background checks, as long as bribes were paid to intermediaries. The scheme was uncovered by Polish media outlets earlier this month, who claimed that up to 350,000 visas have been issued this way since 2021, with visas costing $4,000-5,000 each.

Poland is a member of the EU’s visa-free Schengen zone, meaning that anyone who obtains a Polish visa can freely enter 26 other EU nations.

Read more

Polish FM dismisses cash-for-visas scandal as ‘fake news’

It is unclear how many migrants took advantage of this arrangement to enter Germany. However, hundreds of extra border police have been deployed on the frontier with Poland to scan for suspicious travelers, Reuters reported.

According to one report from Poland’s Onet news site, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Piotr Wawrzyk arranged visas for a group of Indians posing as a Bollywood film crew. The Indians paid up to $40,000 each for these visas, before using them to attempt to enter the US via Mexico. US immigration agents reportedly tipped off the Polish government when they encountered the group at the American border.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau has dismissed the scandal as “fake news,” insisting that only around 200 documents were issued with any “irregularities.” However, Wawrzyk was dismissed from his post last month, and eleven other suspects were arrested last week. Wawrzyk was hospitalized after attempting to commit suicide last week, Polish media reported.

The controversy erupted one month ahead of parliamentary elections in Poland, where the ruling PiS party has positioned itself as being tough on migration. The government also plans to hold a referendum on immigration and border security, in which citizens will be asked whether they support accepting “thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa” as part of an EU relocation plan.

West is not more trustworthy than Russia – Erdogan

The Turkish president noted that his country gets half of its natural gas from Moscow, which reflects existing “solidarity”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has argued that Russia is as trustworthy a partner for his country as the West is, pointing out – among other things – how the European Union has been giving Ankara the cold shoulder for decades over its membership aspirations.

In an interview with PBS on Monday, Erdogan was asked by the host, Amna Nawaz, whether he trusted the pledge made earlier this month by Russia to deliver one million metric tons of grain to Africa via Türkiye. The shipment is intended to help reduce prices in poorer nations after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Deal back in July.

The Turkish head of state replied by saying he has “no reason not to trust them,” adding that “to the extent the West is reliable, Russia is equally reliable.”

Read more

Ukraine conflict set to ‘last a long time’ – Erdogan

“For the last 50 years, we have been waiting at the doorstep of the EU, and, at this moment in time, I trust Russia just as much as I trust the West,” Erdogan explained.

The Turkish president went on to point out that “half of my natural gas supplies are coming from Russia, which means we have solidarity.” According to the official, Ankara and Moscow “are cooperating in the field of defense industry as well.”

During a meeting between President Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the resort city of Sochi in early September, the two sides discussed further cooperation in the nuclear energy field. With Rosatom specialists currently building the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, the Turkish head of state spoke in favor of constructing another such facility in the Turkish Black Sea city of Sinop.

“We are developing bilateral relations based on the principles of neighborliness, friendship and sincerity, aiming to serve the interests of our countries and our region,” Erdogan concluded at the time.

During a press briefing following his return from the talks, the Turkish president revealed that Ankara and Moscow were also developing projects aimed at supplying Russian energy to global markets through Türkiye.

Russia had earlier proposed to create a gas hub in Türkiye, which would allow for the Russian fuel to find its way to southern Europe, and potentially spawn other infrastructure around itself.