The New Observer

The Guardian continues to promote the unlikely story that the Kremlin poisoned Navalny with Novichok. This is Shaun Walker’s latest creation.

Shaun Walker may well be a nice guy. But he is in the wrong profession. His ‘journalism’ always reads like an exercise for an MA in Creative Writing. (His recent piece on Belarus being another example).

In the present story Shaun Walker promotes once again the story being told by Navalny’s supporters and associates that Putin personally ordered Navalny to be poisoned with ‘Novichok’. Continue reading “Unlikely tales about Novichok (2)”

This is part of my ongoing observations of routine propaganda about Russia in the Western media.

By propaganda I mean writing things which are either simply not true or which may be loosely connected with some truth) but is presented in such a way as to convey an impression which is itself not true. (By truth I mean saying things which correspond with how things are). In short, the Western media is telling its readers a load of fairy tales about Russia. There are several factors driving this. On factor is deliberate manipulation of  compliant journalists by MI6. (I strongly suspect that the Guardian’s Luke Harding who is clearly having some kind of problems is being manipulated by MI6).  Another I think is just lazy journalism by career journalists writing what their editors want to hear. Continue reading “Propaganda Watch 200”

The line from the Western media at the moment seems to be that Putin ordered the poisoning of Navalny with Novichok. For example, this piece in The Guardian.

 

Luke Harding is not credible. However this story is widespread; here is the Independent’s version.  The sub-heading of the story makes it clear that Putin was responsible: “The poisoning of the Russian opposition leader with Novichok shows just how much he is feared by the Kremlin”.

The piece in the Independent is an extraordinary exercises in delusion. It assumes that Putin ordered the “assassination”. (Though it qualifies this by the suggestion that maybe someone did it to please Putin). No evidence at all is supplied for this. (It is worth pointing out at this point that the recipe for Novichok is well-known around the world) [3]. It characterises Navalny as Putin’s “rival” – which is absurd. Navalny doesn’t even have a coherent political programme; he is an “anti-corruption” blogger. It is also an exercise in circular logic. That Putin poisoned Navalny is proof that Navalny is a big threat. That Navalny is a big threat means it must be Putin who poisoned him.* Continue reading “Unlikely tales about Novichok”