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© RIA Novosti / Irina Kalashnikova
MOSCOW, 22 Jul — RIA Novosti. On Saturday one of the biggest stories related to alleged Russian interference in U.S. elections, was the point.
The edition of Newsweek on the results of an out of court agreement was forced to remove the fabricated article by journalist Kurt Eichenwald, in which based on the error ex-editor of the Agency Sputnik bill Moran claimed that the US President Donald trump “conspiring with Russia”.
The famous American journalist and writer, author of the online magazine Newsweek, Kurt Eichenwald accused last year trump, who was then Republican candidate, that he “dances to the tune of Moscow”. Accusations of Eichenwald was based on an editorial error, Moran. The theory of Eichenwald debunked by his colleagues in the West. Moran documented in detail the attempts of Eichenwald “hush up” the case of promises and threats.
Moran said Friday in a release sent to RIA Novosti news Agency the statement that it managed to achieve their requirements. “The lawsuit was settled without claims to my complete satisfaction. Settlement of Newsweek removed the two articles by Eichenwald,” wrote Moran. “With regard to possible questions about the terms of the agreement, I will not comment on. The parties to the agreement agreed that the terms would be confidential,” added Moran.
A review of Eichenwald RIA Novosti does not have.
FROM ERROR TO THE CONSPIRACY THEORY
The story began with the fact that Moran 10 Oct 2016 found on the Internet excerpts from the correspondence of the associates of Hillary Clinton — this correspondence obtained by hackers who posted the Wikileaks website. Moran relied on the accuracy of the tweets which were widely distributed on the Internet and quoted in the publication Sputnik letter closest adviser to Clinton Sidney Blumenthal, who allegedly admitted responsibility ex-Secretary of state for the deaths of Americans in the course of the attack in Benghazi, Libya. 20 minutes later, Moran realized that it was not the words of Blumenthal, but the article by Eichenwald that Blumenthal quoted. Then Moran made a second mistake by removing the wrong article without a formal amendment or cancellation.
After the editor on the popular tweet “swallowed” Republican presidential candidate Donald trump, who quoted the tweet on the same day at a campaign rally. The eichenwald noticed this and concluded that Sputnik and the tramp koordiniruyutsya or even receive instructions simultaneously from the Kremlin. The eichenwald argued that this conclusion is supported in the exploration of the United States.
A Newsweek article widely spread on the Internet, and immediately attracted criticism. Among the critics was the influential newspaper the Washington Post, which usually in no way casts doubt on the theory of American intelligence about the “hand of Moscow” in the elections. In this case, the publication explicitly stated that Eichenwald “at least misleading”.
Journalist of the popular Internet site BuzzFeed John Passantino proved that trump and the editor of Sputnik quoted the same incorrect tweet, widely dispersed over the Internet, so the assumption of collusion are unfounded. Doubts about the conspiracy theories invented by Eichenwald expressed and those media, which usually severely criticized Russia including journalistic organization Bellingcat. Journalists restored the sequence of events and demonstrated that trump didn’t quote the article Sputnik, and literally brought all the same ill-fated tweet.
The author of several best-selling Eichenwald even received a special entry on the popular website Snopes.com which is entirely devoted to exposing conspiracy theories, horror stories and popular misconceptions. The authors Snopes.com led extensive evidence that the theory of Eichenwald is wrong.
Moran reported that Eichenwald was trying to hush up the case by offering him a job in a prestigious American journal, and in case of disagreement threatened that Moran “will destroy your career and life” and hinted that the FBI was investigating journalist. Moran compared the situation with the era of McCarthyism — an infamous period of American history when society is “cleaned out” from the alleged Communists that was accompanied by a massive defamation of innocent people.
Sputnik originally dismissed Moran for the admission of editorial errors, but then, having considered his situation, encouraged him to return to work, but he refused. Moran retired from journalism, graduated in law and passed bar exam. According to Moran, he intends to deal with cases of protection of honor and dignity.
TO CHEAT — NOT GOOD
The decision of the online magazine Newsweek to remove the fabricated article, said the chief editor of Sputnik and RT Margarita Simonyan. According to her, Newsweek just scared of the trial.
“Frightened by the court, Newsweek has removed the lies about us. We will continue to clearly explain different newsweeka that cheating is not good,” said Simonyan RIA Novosti.
HIGH RISK OF RECURRENCE
According to the head of the international Committee of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, the decision to remove the fabricated articles would be welcome, but the risk of false information in the American media remains high.
“We could only welcome such a decision, if not one circumstance. The problem is that tens of thousands of people who read at the time such false information, never know that it was false and that she was “off hire,” said Senator RIA Novosti.
“Alas… While the US will not stop a General anti-Russian hysteria, dramatically reducing the criticality of appropriate revisions relative to bring them the materials, the risk will continue to be unacceptably wide,” he added.
In turn, Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on international Affairs Alexei chepa believes that the deletion of articles Newsweek shows that their publication was made in the framework of the planned policy of pressure on the American President.
“This shows us that initially had all this planned action. We see that within a few months, conducted a consistent policy of pressure on President trump,” said chepa RIA Novosti.
According to him, if you check the majority of these cases, all of them waiting for such a result, namely the proof “that we in their internal Affairs are not interfered and do not interfere, this is all fiction”.
NATURAL
The Union of journalists of Russia (szhr) has called the decision of Newsweek magazine natural.
“First, it is logical that this decision (to remove articles) was adopted, and the main is evidence that this hysteria, to call it by no other way, the hysteria that lasts for many months in the United States and the American press regarding alleged relations and some agreements a secret between trump and Russia, it has become so obvious and so tired, including the Americans themselves and to the society that is to be expected, it seems to me that in the future the degree will be reduced, because he had reached the limit,” he told RIA Novosti Secretary of the Russian Union of journalists, member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) Timur Shafir.
“As the saying goes, the sensation is sucked from the finger at the slightest provocation. The case of Moran and his colleague from Newsweek — the proof”, — he added.
SERIOUS PRECEDENT
For his part, chief editor of the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda” Vladimir Sungorkin has described the decision by Newsweek as a unique precedent.
“This is a pre — trial decision- a unique, a rare thing in American media practice. And the fact that they removed the article confirms that still trump slandered… Then they are 100% sure that you will lose the court”, — he told RIA Novosti.
According to him, this suggests that “the American media has greatly violated the procedure of verification of the information.” “They are already very much overworked. It really is a serious precedent,” stressed the chief editor of “Komsomolskaya Pravda”.
“Speaking about our Russian practice, I, as editor, have it easy — if the article or some excerpts from it are false and I receive complaints, we remove the incorrect information, not thinking about any of the PR effects or possible interpretations. In the American press all the contrary,” said Sungorkin.
According to him, the owners and publishers of the American media “are very proud of their media and cynical attitude to such situations.” “If they have no concrete 100 percent certainty that in court they will lose, they prefer to bring the case to court and then over the years can wear down the opponent with the help of lawyers,” — said the Agency interlocutor.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Experts polled by RIA Novosti have differing opinions on what the implications of the story of Newsweek. Director, Institute of strategic planning and forecasting Alexander Gusev, for example, believes that the campaign against trump will gradually go to the USA on the decline.
“The situation in USA is quite difficult, it is necessary to consider that the American society is clearly politicized. And, of course, a significant role was played by the Democrats, lost the presidential election, the head of which was Hillary Clinton. What could she play? Of course, she could only play on the contradictions, on the negative against trump. Although he trump behaved not very adequate during his election campaign and helped to paint himself into a corner,” said Gusev.
Now, according to him, the situation in the US changes in many ways. “I think that this news (about removing articles in Newsweek) is that gradually the situation in respect of the trump is changed, the pouring of negativity will gradually come to naught. Gradually it will fade, and especially, about any impeachment of it all can not go,” — said the expert.
However, the Department of General political science of the Higher school of Economics Leonid Polyakov believes that to talk about the campaign against trump prematurely.
“I think it’s an isolated episode in the great campaign waged by the Democrats and mainstream media of the United States against President trump. Of course, this is a major blow to the reputation, and indeed the entire community of media,” said Polyakov, RIA Novosti.
In his opinion, “it is unlikely to impact seriously on the campaign, waged against trump”.
“They (the Democrats — ed.) is very important to keep this line in order to try to restore his reputation in the eyes of their own electorates, because if not for that, the mere fact that the loss Hillary Clinton is inexplicable, and they believe that they should pressurize this idea to the end,” Polyakov said.
The expert believes that it is not only “justification strategy” and “strategy of the offensive” before the midterm elections of 2018, the Congress and the Senate. “In the struggle against the Republicans for seats in the Senate and the lower house of Congress in the house of representatives — they will use the story of alleged Russian traces on all cylinders,” concluded the Poles.