MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd July, 2020) A US-based think tank has claimed that Sputnik and RT media outlets' growing popularity in Africa may discredit the activities of the US military in the region through information campaigns.
According to the Foreign Policy Research Institute's (FPRI) report, dubbed "'Engaged Opportunism': Russia's Role in the Horn of Africa," RT's Arabic-language channel has a greater viewership in Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Sudan than the Qatari state-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera and Saudi television news channel Al Arabiya.
"As Russia does not wish to militarily intervene in the Horn of Africa, its ability to challenge U.S. influence in the region is limited. Instead, Russia could try to undermine the credibility of the United States in the Horn of Africa by launching a concerted information war against U.S. military activities," the report read.
The institute also claims that RT and Sputnik, in their coverage of the US military operations in Somalia, "have extensively highlighted casualties resulting from U.S. counterterrorism strikes ... and have expressed doubt about the credibility of U.S. government reports on death tolls in Somalia."
According to the US think tank, such publications can affect local opinions regarding US actions.
"While quantitative data on the reach of Russian state media outlets in the Horn of Africa is limited, RT and Sputnik's emphasis on positive news stories from Africa ensures that its stories are regularly reprinted and circulated in local media outlets, which magnifies the impact of Russia's information war against the U.S.," the FPRI said.
Russian media outlets have faced severe criticism in the West over the past several years for allegedly delivering biased coverage of news. In 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the need to counter Russian media, citing Sputnik and RT as major threats. A number of European and US politicians have accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in other countries' affairs, albeit without providing any proof. Moscow has called all the accusations against RT and Sputnik groundless.
