[h=3]Allegations of pro-Kremlin bias[/h] According to a variety of sources such as
Der Spiegel and
Reporters Without Borders, the channel presents pro-
Kremlin propaganda.[SUP]
[20][/SUP][SUP]
[21][/SUP] A 2005
VOA report interviewed Anton Nosik, chief editor of a major English-language computer internet site in Russia, in which he described the creation of Russia Today as an idea smacking of
Soviet-style propaganda campaigns, and also noted that the channel was not created as a response to any existing demand.[SUP]
[22][/SUP] While another article in the
Digital Journal called RT a "pro-
Putin news outlet"[SUP]
[23][/SUP] and its
advertising campaign as "open propaganda war."[SUP]
[23][/SUP]
A 2009 article by journalist Luke Harding for
The Guardian reporting on RT's advertising campaign described the network as "unashamedly pro-Putin "[SUP]
[24][/SUP] and part of the
Kremlin's attempt to create a "post-Soviet global propaganda empire."[SUP]
[24][/SUP]
An article published in
The New Republic by
James Kirchick characterized the news reportage of Russia Today as, "virulent
anti-Americanism, worshipful portrayal of Russian leaders, and comical production values," that "can't help but revive the pettiness that was a distinctive feature of Soviet-era propaganda."[SUP]
[25][/SUP]
An article by
Accuracy in Media criticized RT as a "propaganda network funded by the Moscow regime of Vladimir Putin"[SUP]
[26][/SUP] and charged that it "regularly features
Marxist and
radical commentators.[SUP]
[26][/SUP] The article also cites the description of the network by former
KGB officer
Konstantin Preobrazhensky as "a part of the Russian industry of misinformation and manipulation" designed to mislead foreign audiences about Russian intentions."[SUP]
[26][/SUP] Furthermore, Preobrazhensky argues that Russia Today utilizes methods of propaganda that are "managed by Directorate 'A' of the
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service" and that "the specialty of Directorate 'A' is deceiving world public opinion and manipulating it. It has got a lot of experience over decades of the Cold War."[SUP]
[26][/SUP]
An editor for the
Kyiv Post has noted criticism towards RT and its perceived anti-Western and
anti-Ukrainian propaganda.[SUP]
[27][/SUP] In December 2011
Andrew Osborn for the
Daily Telegraph described RT as "the Kremlin's slavishly loyal English-language propaganda channel".[SUP]
[28][/SUP]