Russian media outlets including RT have been banned by Western governments because they fear the truth, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. The president made the remarks on Wednesday during a meeting of the ‘Russia – the country of possibilities’ civic platform.
“Probably, [truth] is the sharpest weapon against lies, and propaganda soaked with these lies,” Putin stated.
“That’s exactly why our effectively only media outlet aimed at a Western audience – RT – gets shut down and obstructed everywhere. They are afraid of the truth,” he added.
In recent years, Russian state-affiliated media outlets, including RT and Sputnik, have been repeatedly targeted by Western states under various pretexts, including the fight against so-called Russian “disinformation” and “propaganda.” The situation deteriorated sharply after the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022.
Last year the EU and UK banned all Russian ‘state media,’ from RT and Sputnik to public broadcaster VGTRK, while Brussels pushed YouTube to enforce the ban globally. Canada also banned RT, while Germany and France froze RT’s bank accounts in their countries, forcing the local outlets off air.