The USA is initiating the marking of Russian propaganda channels

The national Russian global media system, which allows messages to be spread in dozens of countries, in their local languages and influencing the local populations is now receiving its first serious repercussions.

The Russian National media channel RT received an order under the USA Foreign Agent Act (FARA) in September from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to register all channels and their employees operating in the USA by the 17th of October. According to Yahoo News, the Sputnik USA channels are also under investigation and probably should be receiving similar orders in the near future.

The Foreign Agent Act registration commitment does not automatically imply any restrictions on self-expression or freedom of speech but it does charge them to notify the state with whom they have financial contractual relationships and descriptions of the expenditures of the consequent funds received.

The most important requirement for FARAS in regards to information consumers is to add and mark these channels and the information therein on interested parties, which means that RT and Sputnik channels must include references to their relationships to the nation of Russia.

Russia has called the FBI’s order a restriction on the freedom of the press and is taking steps to in turn restrict the work of foreign journalists in their own territory.

The spreading of news by the Russian propaganda media has been limited in the past by countries but this move by the United States along with the accompanying news will help reduce the influence of theses channels. Propastop previously came up with the idea that Russian propaganda channels spreading their news in Estonia should be marked; now a similar idea is being implemented in the USA.

Photo: screen shot FARA homepage