Reaction by Russian State Media - disgusting

[mnesiptolema]

Of course I don’t think this scenario is at all comparable to straight-up Russian state media, but there’s a kind of interesting discussion about the extent to which private enterprise can function as a government mouthpiece. Trump and Fox News were very cosy and Steve Bannon was high-up in Breitbart, for instance.

On the other hand it’s hard for @JDB to argue that the NYT decides what is newsworthy for the whole country. Given how partisan most major American news outlets are, it seems more like the NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, & co. decide what is newsworthy for one half of the country, and Fox & co. decide what is newsworthy for the other half, and then both halves are directly opposed to each other.

 

[Maeloc_Cao]

On NBC Tim has made fun of a 16-year-old girl who said she wanted to be an Olympic Champion … is it that every boy or girl who does gymnastics doesn’t dream of that? Is that reason to make fun of her? Is that, for you, acceptable? I mean, the media is always going to look for drama and I don’t agree with it, be it Russian or American.

 

[Sanzhirovka]

To be fair, The Daily Beast (that paragon of US media!) posted this article PRECISELY to get Americans and non-Americans fighting in on-line forums.

Almost everyone in this thread has taken that bait.

Have a small drink, relax.

As for me, this topic is muted.

 

[Doug1233]

What are you trying to say? It’s a fake article?

Did Russian state media not actually say those things then?

 

[Sanzhirovka]

Ok, I honeslty was not going to respond anymore, but this thread showed up on a device where I’m not logged in and yours is a fair question, Doug.

First I’ll simply say that my opinion of The Daily Beast is extremely low. I consider them a tabloid and a waste of time. In my mind, they are barely above the level of a dubious Facebook post.

But, to your question - why yes, the Russian state media did say those things. But, who gives a fuck what the Russian state media says? And here is where you have to understand what the Russian state media is.

The Russian state media exists to serve one purpose: keeping the ruling regime in power. And it accomplishes that through propaganda. The Russian state media does not “reflect” the values of the Russian people, it actively tries to form those values. And one of the biggest values the ruling regime sees right now is to make the Russian people hate the West. And that is why the Russian state media comes out with shit like this article. Sadly it works. I have seen comments on Russian Faebook, VKontakte and so on and there are plenty of Russians who will latch onto the propaganda. I don’t think it’s any secret that is fairly acceptable in Russia to have bigoted, sexist what-have-you attitudes.

But the propaganda is why others in this thread are comparing the Russian state media to FOX news. It is a fair comparison, because FOX news also actively uses propaganda to influence American minds. You can split hairs over whether or not that is meant to “keep the regime in power”, but imo is is meant to keep one of the regimes in the US in power.

So, you cannot say “but this is state media and that is private media”. It’s just the wrong take on the topic. Both are propaganda. The Russian State media is nothing like BBC or NPR and has never pretended to be. It honest-to-goodness is simply a tool of the autocratic regime. And when you see an article like this, your first reaction ought to be “Gee, I wonder why the Russian State media is telling its talking heads to make these arguments?” And the answer is simply “The Russian state media wants Russians to hate and distrust the West because the ruling regime needs the Russian people to coalesce around an external enemy so they don’t question the acts of the ruling regime”.

And that’s it. That’s pretty much the whole entire story.

If you really want to go back and forth over this topic, again, feel free. But it’s really a waste of time. All you are saying is “It’s vile what Russian propaganda is saying about the American gymnastics team!” Well, no shit, that’s like the entire point of the Russian state media.

Pointing out that the Russian state media ran objectionable content is like pointing to a dog and saying “Hey that dog barked!” Uh, that’s what dogs do?

Everyone who knows anything about Russia knows what their state media is, knows it is vile and full of lies.

So, back to muting this. If it’s really a thing this forum wants to discuss, open a thread in off-topic. It really has very little to do with the Olympics and for more to do with the objectives of Putin’s regime. Gymnastics was simply a convenient target this week.

As for the deafening silence. I’m not sure what you mean. Who is supposed to reply to this? You want USAG to issue a statement? What do you want them to say? Feel free to PM me or open a thread in off-topic, I guess.

 

[JaJa]

But the propaganda is why others in this thread are comparing the Russian state media to FOX news. It is a fair comparison, because FOX news also actively uses propaganda to influence American minds. You can split hairs over whether or not that is meant to “keep the regime in power”, but imo is is meant to keep one of the regimes in the US in power.

Distinguishing between what a government sponsored entity is doing and what a private entity is doing or saying is hardly splitting hairs. And if you can not appreciate the difference there is just not much point in discussing this.

 

[Doug1233]

To be fair to you, I agree with the vast majority of what you have written.

The only part I take exception to is that you seem to suggest that there’s no need to discuss, or critique, the statements made, simply because they were made on Russian State TV, and that we should all know that Russian State TV has vested interests in poisoning Russian citizens into hating the West.

Why? Why can’t I criticize the statements made?

And regarding my “the silence is deafening” statement - it wasn’t made in response to you, but with respect to another poster who did not seem to be voicing any criticism over (and could even have been implicitly defending) the statements that were made and the persons/systems making them. You, of course, have not done that - in fact, you’ve done the opposite.

 

[Sanzhirovka]

See, if we sat down somewhere in person - several of us, not just you and me, Doug, and had a conversation, we’d see that we agree on most points. It’s the form of an internet-based bulletin board that draws this out so long. in person, we’d see each other’s faces, understand each other’s tones of voice and be finished with the discussion in, I’m guessing, about two, maybe three, minutes.

Or, we would find we agreed and were interested enough to take off into a long discussion about the role of state media and how perceptions of it can differ depending on one’s background and knowledge, perhaps share some anecdotes we’ve encountered in life … order a few more drinks and segue into geopolitics in general, obviosuly talking about Russia, then extrapolating that into autocracies in general and how they compare to democracies and is democracy currently facing threats … and me being me, I’d bring that back round to the beginnings of “Western thought” and ask you your opinion of the French Revolution? Have you read Twleve Who Ruled by Palmer? Wow - what a fantastically thought provoking book, wouldn’t you agree? (Or, “yeah, damn, you must read that book!”) and with that out of the way, I’d suggest The Crisis of the European Mind by Hazard, which in my opinion does a great job of explaining how the events and maybe even the coincidences of the 17th century set the West on the path that led us to today, and I’d genuinely be interested in your opinion on his ideas …

Then, with surprise, we’d notice the bar is closing, haggle over who was going to pay the tab, call taxis and likely tell friends, “yeah, that guy? he’s a decent chap alright. And hey, have you ever read a biography of Robespierre?”

Or, you know, this:

Duty Calls

xkcd.com

 

[JoseM]

Making fun of her was wrong. It is not acceptable. The media should watch itself.

José M.

 

[onodian]

We should merge this thread with the mykayla one into a super-duper hate thread. I suggest the title “mykayla skinner spews hateful rhetoric, is possibly an asset of Russian state media”

 

[MaryClare]

Hahaha. Interestingly, I very much think that the incorrect story of Simone not allowed her ADHD meds in Japan is one that is, if not created by, now being spun by Russia. For years our media have accused her of doping/unfair advantage and now they have the opportunity to say look at her when you take the medication away etc.

 

[Denn]

@onodian I think we needed that humor .