The New York Times has examined the correspondence of employees of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company

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The New York Times has analysed the VTRK emails received from the FSB
19:16, 16.12.2022

Journalists have analysed how the FSB and the Russian Ministry of Defence run the Russian media and create fakes.



In the spring, a group of DDoSecrets published some 900,000 emails from employees of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, which includes TV stations such as Russia 1, Russia 24, Vesti FM radio and other Russian media. The New York Times decided to analyze this correspondence. As a result, journalists learned how the FSB had ordered the RosS media to create a picture of Russia winning the war.

The NYT journalists discovered 750 gigabytes of files related to preparations for the war, as well as those created in its early stages. They also found that information from these files was then actually appearing on Russian television broadcasts.

It was also found that propagandists were instructed by officers of the Russian Federal Security Service and the Russian Ministry of Defence how, for example, they should cover the international resonance and paint a rosy picture of the war.

Thus, the Russian media used quotes taken out of context from conservative Western publications such as Fox News and the Daily Caller, speeches by Chinese politicians and videos from little-known Telegram and Youtube accounts to create the impression of a Kremlin victory.

For example, an email was sent to state media outlets referring to recipients as "colleagues" of the FSB. It offered to publicize information that the Ukrainian military was allegedly abandoning its combat posts. Another email offered to report that Ukraine had allegedly seized a civilian cargo ship. Another email offered to spread news about two Ukrainian officers who were allegedly killing civilians. Subsequently, the NYT journalists were able to determine that this information had gone viral.

These emails provide an inside look at the Russian propaganda machine, how it works, that even when it fails on the battlefield, state media can create a completely different picture of current events, according to the NYT.

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