Washington has now taken its war against Russia's state funded English language broadcaster RT to a global level, and is urging all nations to block its broadcasts and close down offices.
Already back in 2022 after being officially branded a foreign agent by the US government which resulted in major platforms dropping its programing, RT America's offices in the US were shuttered and it was effectively booted from the country. But on Friday the Biden administration unveiled a new effort which seeks to expose RT as part of "malign global intelligence and influence operations".
The State Department claims to possess US intelligence reports that suggest Russian intelligence is deeply embedded in RT around the world.
"Thanks to new information, much of which originates from RT employees, we know that RT possessed cyber capabilities and engaged in covert information and influence operations and military procurement," Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Friday.
US officials allege that Russian intelligence efforts utilized RT to the point of crowdfunding for military gear. "Under the cover of RT, information produced through this unit flows to Russian intelligence services, Russian media outlets, Russian mercenary groups, and other state and proxy arms of the Russian government," Blinken said.
The alleged crowdfunding activity on behalf of the government allowed "sniper rifles, suppressors, body armor, night vision equipment, drones, radio equipment, personal weapon sights, diesel generators" to be sent to Russian units fighting in Ukraine.
Biden officials say that want to put a dent in RT's operations globally and hope to convince allies and nations from Latin America to Europe to Asia that it is a 'threat' to democracy.
CNN, which was the first to report on the new State Department initiative, included the following hilarious line in its reporting:
Asked for comment by CNN, RT responded with a mocking email that read in part: "We’ve been broadcasting straight out of the KGB headquarters all this time."
The timing of the public rollout of this major anti-RT initiative is interesting and curious to say the least, given the US is getting closer to the November election, and admin officials and the Democratic party are busy resurrecting the old 'Russiagate' talking points against Trump. There are also the usual same election 'foreign interference' warnings being loudly sounded from US officials. This has also included talk of China and Iran as supposedly meddling in significant ways.
We've finally crossed the Rubicon. The Biden regime wants to ban RT. Here is Jamie Rubin, who embodies the deep state more than anyone else, explaining that, unlike RT, U.S. taxpayer-funded media is totally neutral and would never parrot government propaganda. pic.twitter.com/0pXcpJiXAx
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) September 13, 2024
Is it a coincidence that the administration is talking about RT as if it's 2016? We think not.
