International Media

Article in AP By Justin Spike, 10/25’24

Headline: “Hungarians protest state media ‘propaganda factory’ and demand unbiased press”

“Thousands of protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Hungary’s public media corporation on Saturday to demonstrate against what they say is an entrenched propaganda network operated by the nationalist government at taxpayer expense.”

” . . . Both Hungarian and international observers have long warned that press freedom in the Central European country was under threat, and that Orbán’s party has used media buyouts by government-connected business tycoons to build a pro-government media empire.”

https://apnews.com/article/hungarians-protest-media-propaganda-ef0f419ea38ea8d2beb4f0dd56d82d57

Article in Reuters by Angerlica Medina, 10/4/24

Headline: “Chivas player firework joke backfires, outrages Mexican media”

“Chivas winger Roberto Alvarado’s firecracker prank at the club’s press conference backfired, with Mexican media deeming the action inappropriate and walking out in protest.

” . . . Alvarado threw [a firecracker] into the press room as part of an alleged prank ahead of Thursday’s conference in Verde Valle, Guadalajara, leading to claims of aggression from reporters.

“Unbelievable what happened at Chivas today … In almost 15 years of covering the team, this has NEVER happened. It was NOT a joke as they claim. They smashed an ‘explosive’ into the door of the press room with everyone inside,” journalist Karina Herrera wrote on social media platform X.”

https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/chivas-player-firework-joke-backfires-outrages-mexican-media-2024-10-04/

Article in Poynter by By: Cristi Hegranes, 10/2/24

Headline:  “International news is on the line in the upcoming presidential election”

“So much is on the line in the U.S. presidential election, including the future of international philanthropic giving — and the international news it funds.

“Politics aside, a second Donald Trump victory would undoubtedly ensure that more donated dollars from individuals and foundations will go to domestic causes, rather than abroad. Conventional wisdom suggests that elections heighten overall donor engagement, but that’s not true for international causes.”

” . . . there is always a downturn in international giving during election season, and the future of that giving will depend largely on who ends up in the White House.”

” . . . of course, the current investment trend in local news in the U.S. is necessary and deeply important. But this is also a critical moment for international news, which receives just a fraction of journalism philanthropy.

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2024/international-news-is-on-the-line-in-the-upcoming-presidential-election/

Article in the Washington Post by Catherine Belton, 9/13/24

Headline: “U.S. says Russian state media outlet runs intelligence operations”

Subhead: “The State Department accuses RT, the Russian media outlet, of running intelligence operations and procuring weapons for the war in Ukraine”

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken said new information showed that the Russian state media company RT, formerly known as Russia Today, was now being deployed by the Kremlin to conduct cyberintelligence and covert influence operations targeting countries in Europe, Africa, and North and South America. It was also being used to procure weapons for Russia’s war against Ukraine, expanding RT’s remit far beyond that of a media outlet, officials said.

. . . “RT has become increasingly entrenched as a channel voicing Kremlin propaganda in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, and it has gone underground to operate through a web of front companies in the West, according to RT’s editor in chief, Margarita Simonyan.

“In comments posted on Telegram, Simonyan responded to Blinken by saying, ‘We have done this, are doing this and will do this.’ ”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/13/rt-propaganda-intelligence-weapons-ukraine/

Boris &  Natasha from Huffington Post

Article in New York Magazine Intelligencer by Nia Prater, 9/4/24

Headline: “Benny Johnson, Tim Pool Say They’re Victims in Russia Media Scheme”

“On Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department unveiled a bombshell indictment in New York’s Southern District, alleging that Russia was behind the funding of a United States–based right-wing media company and that it used the business’s influencers to push disinformation and Russia-backed propaganda. The company, Tenet Media, employs several prominent conservative commentators, including Benny Johnson and Tim Pool.

“Prosecutors say that Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva helped to funnel nearly $10 million from foreign entities to an American right-wing media organization.”

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/right-wing-creators-say-theyre-victims-in-russia-media-plot.html