Here's one of the leaders of one of the groups who is now indicted, Omali Yeshitela of @_InPDUM, speaking at a "Peace in Ukraine" rally last month.
Criminalizing speech is becoming increasingly common by claiming the speech serves Russia's interests:t.co/i9kmkLYykr
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 19, 2023
Even more chilling is how media outlets cover these DOJ indictments: mindlessly treating them as proven fact:
Anchor: "Jim, this shows how active Russia is in our democracy"
"Reporter": Indeed: chilling. [Proceeds to read from indictment without an ounce of skepticism]
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 19, 2023
All this is independent of the fact that the US not only does exactly what these indictments claim Russia (and China) do, but far more extreme. The US funds dissident groups in many nations, creates fake internets to destabilize, etc. You'd think reporters would mention this: pic.twitter.com/Lgjle6nI0X
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 19, 2023
Humans are tribal so I guess it shouldn't be that surprising but it's still amazing how the US media treats accusations from the US Government as unquestionably true (reading indictments = reporting), while similar accusations from adversary governments are inherently false.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 19, 2023