Stephen Lendman

US-led Western war on press freedom may abolish it altogether. Journalists covering protests are targeted - for videotaping and reporting on police harshness.

Challenging America’s phony war on terror is hazardous. So is exposing its imperial high crimes. Neocons in Washington consider WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange a terrorist. He’s a journalist publishing material major media ignore.

Reporters and commentators providing press agent services for America’s domestic and geopolitical agenda are well-paid and rewarded in other ways.

Independent truth-telling is risky. So is opposing US hostility toward Russia and other sovereign independent states.

RT and Sputnik News are criticized for doing what journalists are supposed to do - their jobs.

On September 2, London’s Guardian headlined “Twitter suspends Russian news channel’s ‘British embassy’ account,” saying:

“(T)he simmering propaganda cold war between the UK and Russia has warmed up again.” Britain’s complaint to Twitter got RT’s @BritshEmb1917 account suspended” - for using “an image of the UK Foreign Office’s official crest under a profile identifying it as ‘The official Twitter account of the United Kingdom in the Russian Empire.’ “

It’s part of RT’s #1917Live project, reporting on the Russian revolution through voices of witnesses to history.

RT contacted Britain’s Moscow embassy before launching the project. It neither expressed interest in the project or objected to it, including use of the UK Foreign Office’s official crest. Accounts in the project got verified status by Twitter.

Britain’s Foreign Office spokesperson said “(w)e alerted Twitter to an unofficial account that was using HMG branding without consent” - an unacceptable affront to RT and Russia.

RT’s social media head Ivor Crotty tweeted Britain’s embassy in Moscow, saying “(w)e’re willing to do whatever it takes to ensure #1917Live project integrity and retweet the revolutions in a way all are comfortable with pic.twitter.com/gw3GiPolCJ.”

“Perhaps your voice could make a difference here and ensure Britain’s voice is properly heard in an innovative centenary retelling #1917Live.”

Like America, Britain is extremely hostile to Russia. So is the European Parliament. In November 2016, it passed a resolution hostile to RT and Sputnik News - deplorably comparing their content to ISIS propaganda.

Putin responded saying its action reflected degrading democracy in the West. Calling it nonexistent is more accurate.

Reporters Without Borders’ secretary general disgraced himself, calling RT “enemies of journalism.” In response its editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote him, saying the following:

“We would like to kindly request that the Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Deloire, clarifies his position, and shares just whom specifically he considers to be an enemy of journalism within RT.”

Separately, Simonyan said Reporters Without Borders should “dissolve itself, not to be a disgrace to real human rights advocates.”

Instead of respecting and protecting press freedom, the organization is hostile to truth-telling on major issues.

It condemns media deserving support like RT, Sputnik News, and other responsible media like them, opposing “media freedom in Europe,” said Simonyan.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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