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Russia-Backed Media Outlets Are Under Fire in the US—but Still Trusted Worldwide

Media platforms like Russia Today have clear relationships with Russian intelligence, according to a recent US government indictment. But these publications are still trusted all around the world.

In the US, RT pulled in former war reporter Chris Hedges and late night host Larry King before it lost most of its broadcast access following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It has also invested heavily in old school television infrastructure, with offices in Havana, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Delhi, Algiers, and many other locations that will likely continue to operate unhindered, and offers services in French, German, and Arabic, in addition to English. Rubi Bledsoe, a research associate at Center for Strategic and International Studies, says that even with Russian state media removed from some social platforms, its messages are still likely to spread in more covert ways, through influencers and smaller publications with which it has cultivated relationships.

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