Ukrainian crisis: ‘Propaganda war rolls on’

Many lies are circulating in media now and influencing the thinking and the decisions of the responsible politicians, which is very dangerous, journalist Manuel Ochsenreiter told RT.

RT:What do you think of Kerry's pile of harsh words for Russia?

Sociologist, commentator and author Frank Ferudi added on the issue: “I think there is a kind of media fantasy that imagines that what we are seeing is a rerun of the Cold War. There’s a tendency to see the worst in every move that Russia makes. And there’s a lack of sympathy or empathy or understanding, whichever side you’re on, whatever your interpretation of events in the Ukraine, there are some real problems that Russia faces, that Russia is going to deal with."

"There is a tremendous weakening of the standard of journalism and it began a few months ago where there was very little discussion going on about what actually was happening in Ukraine, because the whole Ukraine story was represented in a language of right and wrong."

Manuel Ochsenreiter: It is not worth to talk about the content of Kerry’s speech because maybe Kerry is one of the best paid professional liars in the West. We have to remember what he was telling about Syria in the past. He was one of the loudest war-mongers when it came to Syria. So now he does this function too, when it goes against Russia. The worst thing is to see that this is a part of a giant media propaganda war against Russia, particularly against Crimea and against the Russians in Ukraine. This is really dramatic and what Kerry does and what he says, he is somehow like a pop star in this propaganda show against Russia and this we shall take seriously.

RT:Do you think Washington is likely to change its stance?

MO: I don’t think so, because the propaganda war is rolling. You cannot stop this huge media propaganda. We have many lies circulating in media. The really disturbing fact is that those media lies are now influencing the thinking and the decisions of the responsible politicians as well. This example we know from Syria, when politicians make decisions on the basis of rumors. It is quite dangerous and Washington will not change anything.

RT:Obama continues to insist Russia's violating international law. Do you agree that's the case?

MO: This whole Ukrainian conflict is not about democracy, it is not about oligarchs and it is not about political parties. It is a purely geopolitical conflict. If somebody seizes power in an illegal way, but is pro-Western the Western states will appreciate this. If the same thing happens in the other direction, the Western states will start threatening with the military intervention, for example. So it is about the position of the new government. As long as this regime is purely on the Western side and asks the West for support, the West will acknowledge this regime as a new legal government.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.