State Dept: We Sanctioned RT To Shrink Its Global South Influence

Sept. 18—Jamie Rubin, director of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, explained during a special Sept. 13 State Department briefing that RT, RIA Novosti, Rossiya Segodnya, and other Russian media had to be sanctioned because they were responsible for the fact that Global South nations were not sufficiently supporting the proxy war in Ukraine. The Global Engagement Center brags of its role in devising a global apparatus to suppress any dissident opinion, actual freedom of speech, labeling it “Russian disinformation.”

“We’re using a strong sanction tool. But remember, sanctions are a tool." Rubin stated. "They’re not a goal. What’s the goal? The goal is for the rest of the world—and remember, you’ve asked questions from Matt [State Department spokesman Matt Miller] for months and months about the Global South, and why there’s not more support for Ukraine in this part of the Middle East or that part of Latin America or this part of Africa.

“Well, one of the reasons—not the only reason, but one of the reasons why so much of the world has not been as fully supportive of Ukraine as you would think they would be, given that Russia has invaded Ukraine and violated rule number one of the international system, is because of the broad scope and reach of RT—where propaganda, disinformation, and lies are spread to millions if not billions of people around the world.” According to this specious argument, all Global South nations would be supporting the U.S. and NATO, at least regarding Ukraine, were it not for the existence of RT and other Russian media.

Sputnik points out that perhaps RT’s message “resonates” with people. Consider that RT’s annual budget is $300 million compared to billions that the New York Times, Reuters and other Western media have at their disposal. It’s outmatched 50:1 by Western media. During a recent Sputnik Political Misfits show, invited guest journalist and geopolitical analyst KJ Noh remarked, “So either RT has the smartest, most cost-effective propagandists on the planet, or maybe it is telling the truth and people can see that and hear that.”