Moscow seems to have taken its cue from the West when fact checking became a topic of public discourse in the West. The practice had always existed as routine procedure at any authoritative and self-respecting news organization in democratic countries. But fact checking became often a part of the news itself, after the inauguration of Mr. Trump. The reason doesn’t have to be spelled out here.
Obviously, the Kremlin recognized the usefulness of fact checking in boosting the believability of its massive disinformation campaign. Moscow thus established techniques to bolster audience trust of its lies.
According to the Russian government, Russians have been the target of a Western information war barrage. Deployment of a defensive weapon to protect Russian citizens from the messaging of Western sources was a critical necessity.
“Fact-checking” is in essence “fact control” and with the creation of these establishments, Moscow had to emphasize the “apolitical” nature of their “independent and erstwhile” experts. These organizations now present “professional analyses” to the public with the same visual effects and style of language identified with their Western counterparts.
(Pikemalt saab lugeda Eesti Elu 3. juuni 2022 paber- ja PDF/digilehest)
