Italy launches investigation into the promotion of russian propaganda in Italian media
The Security Committee of the Italian Parliament has launched an investigation into the promotion of russian propaganda through the Italian media. This was reported by Liga with reference to Politico.
According to the newspaper, after a series of scandals related to the appearances of publications with kremlin propagandist narratives in Italian media, the Italian Parliament decided to deal with this problem themselves.
Journalists and the media often argue fof including pro-kremlin experts in their publications and broadcasts due to the need to adhere to journalistic standards and be "balanced" in giving each party a say.
However, this is why respectable experts who do not want to be complicit in propaganda and thus damage their reputation and the reputation of the institutions they represent refuse to be guests at programs with such participants.
For example, NATO Defense College expert Andrea Gilly recently announced such decision.
The most high-profile scandal was caused by an interview with russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who, according to Politico, "used the occasion to assert falsehoods virtually unchallenged," including allegations that Adolf Hitler had "Jewish blood." The publication recalls that after that, the European Commission was forced to remind EU broadcasters that they "must not allow incitement to violence, hatred and russian propaganda in their talk shows."
MP Andrea Romano, who co-initiated a parliamentary inquiry into russian propaganda, says "disinformation is part of russia's military strategy." She believes that "putin’s regime is very effective in its capacity to penetrate democratic debate, to confuse, and create doubts." She believes that "it would be ingenuous to close our eyes."
Adolfo Urso, chairman of the parliamentary security committee, believes that russia is deliberately using the Italian media in a hybrid war to pollute public opinion with fakes and misinformation. According to him, since 2016, the EU working group has documented at least 13,000 cases of fake news, the purpose of which was "not just to confuse but to condition choices."
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