CONFERENCE
Subject: “International news channel RT (formerly Russia Today) and the difficult task to generate support for Russia's foreign policy objectives in foreign society.”
The presentation 40-minute presentation and following discussion will be conducted in English.
In recent years, the Russian government has created a broad network of public diplomacy. Its aim is to support Russian foreign policy objectives in societies abroad. At the centre of this network is the international news channel RT (formerly Russia Today). RT broadcasts programs to more than 100 countries in many languages and is widely represented in social media. RT has become a powerful instrument in the process called „information warfare”. In fact, it has become so powerful that even US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed concern about the impact of RT, which he called a „propaganda bullhorn deployed […] to promote President Putin’s fantasy”.
It is not surprising that both John Kerry’ Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and RT representatives deny the accusations of RT being a propaganda tool. RT considers that the channel operates in accordance with international journalism standards. They argue thatRT is an additional voice in international and national debate, expressing views largely ignored by the majority of media. In this way, RT has managed to attract a small but fervent audience in Western countries.
This presentation will address the ways in which RT positions itself as a professional news channel, not a state-sponsored public diplomacy tool. Particular attention is paid to how RT generates credibility with the audience about what they report on. In order to provide a broad understanding of this issue, the presentation will closely examine strategies used on both the level of the organization and the level of individual programs.