Russia Today (RT) is a channel that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to ban. RT France is accused of “toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe”. In France too, the government wants to ban it. The Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O has asked platforms, like Youtube, to cut the broadcast. But, for now, the channel is still broadcasting.
Two franceinfo journalists watched RT France for several hours on Monday, February 28, to see to what extent this channel was disinformation.
We find all the codes of news channels: a large set, dynamic dressing and music with drums and trumpets. But before, turning on the television around 10:45 a.m., a program on Novak Djokovic was rebroadcast. We had to wait for the 11 o’clock news to hear about Ukraine. It was not the crude string propaganda tool that one might imagine. Ukrainian and European sources are quoted on the air, the terms of “war”of“Russian invasion” and the toll of civilian casualties are given.
No, what makes us understand that this channel is not quite like the others are details: the Russian army, for example, is more often mentioned in the banner than the Ukrainian army or this sentence pronounced in a report: “And this is the result of the bombardment on Saturday evening in which, about twenty shells fired from the Ukrainian side landed on this residential area of Donetsk. Luckily, no one was in the apartment when the shell fell above.”
Except that here, obviously the shells are not signed. It is very difficult to know where they come from, especially since Russians and Ukrainians pass on the responsibility. But RT France has decided, these are “Ukrainian shells”.
Where the channel’s pro-Russian line is much more visible is in the choice of editorial writers and guests. RT France is particularly known for its on-set broadcasts. In recent days, several passages have been pinned: “It’s not a war of aggression, it’s a defensive war”, “If it is perceived as an illegal act, this invasion of Russia in Ukraine, can also be coated with a certain form of legitimacy. Russia can justify this involvement by the appeal of the populations who come to the Donbass.. .”, “What we are actually witnessing is a dazzling victory for Russia. Obviously I watched the Western media, it is completely lunar, they live in a parallel world. Russia won the war. “
Few dissonant voices are found among the guests. The latter, moreover, are not chosen by the journalists of the editorial staff, but only by the management and in particular by Xenia Fedorova, the president and director of information. This Russian has spent her entire career at RT and defends the editorial line: “bringing an alternative perspective to those of other media”. Despite requests from franceinfo, she did not respond to our requests for interviews.
A sign that there has been a malaise in the editorial staff for a few weeks, several headliners, including Frédéric Taddeï, have decided to leave the channel. But beyond the star presenters, a hundred journalists are part of the editorial staff. These are mainly young people under 30, who feel they are doing the best they can. “RT France is not RT UK or RT America and RT International, which themselves have openly provocative, even conspiratorial and outrageous remarks”explains a writer who prefers to remain anonymous. “RT France had an agreement with the CSA signed since 2017, renewed in 2021. So it is that RT France fulfilled its obligations well.”
“There were certain line constraints, but I never felt like I was denying myself or betraying my country.”
a journalist from RT Franceat franceinfo
Same story on the side of the unions. Today worried by the decision of the President of the European Commission to close this channel. “We can criticize our editorial line, we can say that we were not incisive enough against this war, which I refute”, insists an elected SNJ, who also wishes to remain anonymous. “On the other hand, wanting to close our media, or say that this media wanted to misinform or make fake news, that’s wrong. It’s completely wrong.”
This elected official denounces the death threats of which several journalists have been victims in recent days on social networks. The RT channel will file a complaint, the security of the premises has also been reinforced.