Global Research case study
To illustrate the dynamics found in pro-Kremlin content from pro-Kremlin sources, we examine the Nord Stream explosion-related coverage on Global Research. Global Research appeared in the State Department’s 2020 report Pillars of Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem.
The first piece on Global Research comes from a Russian state-affiliated author who has also appeared or written for Iranian and Chinese state media. Two other headlines about Nord Stream that implied US involvement were published under Global Research’s owner’s name and the other under “Global Research News.”
Another piece titled “How America Is Crushing Europe” was written by Eric Zuesse, an author who has also written for ModernDiplomacy[.]EU. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (interaffairs[.]ru) lists ModernDiplomacy[.]]EU among its partners. Zuesse has also written books. One was titled “America’s Empire of Evil” and another “Hitler’s Posthumous Victory.” Katehon and the Strategic Culture Foundation, two outlets controlled by the Russian state, also have author pages for Zuesse (US Department of Treasury, 2021).
Notably, in 2020, when the Kremlin poisoned Alexei Navalny, Zuesse wrote (sic):
The idea that the Russian Government poisoned Alexei Navalny presumes such astounding stupidity on the part of Russia’s Government as to be exceedingly dubious, at best …The article on “Alexei Navalny” at Wikipedia, which is CIA-edited and written, and which blacklists (blocks from linking to) sites that aren’t CIA-approved, indicates that Navalny has accused numerous individuals of corruption, but not that any of those individuals is corrupt — and this is at a site (Wikipedia) which can reasonably be expected to link to documentation of any damning evidence that Navalny has come up with. But the article doesn’t link to any.
Paul Craig Roberts wrote an article published on Global Research. Roberts served as Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for Economic Policy in the 1980s (Paul Craig Roberts, 2022). In recent years he has endorsed increasingly pro-Russian conspiratorial views. According to the ADL, Roberts described the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 as a “false flag operation” (ADL Blog, 2015). In 2019, he asserted that 9/11 was an attack that the “Deep State perpetrated or covered up” before endorsing a JFK assassination conspiracy theory (Roberts, 2019).
His prior occupation in a Presidential administration makes it all the more worrisome that Roberts has an author page on the SVR-controlled Strategic Culture Foundation (Roberts, 2016; Global Engagement Center, 2020; US Department of Treasury, 2021). He appeared in a report on “Western authors with a background in diplomacy, journalism, and intelligence,” which now appear to collaborate with the Russian state (Merley, 2021).
A final article from Global Research came from Kurt Nimmo, a former editor for InfoWars (Nimmo, 2022). Nimmo has a website that has recently published stories that include “Ukronazi May Become NATO Boss” and “A Tidal Wave of Lies on Ukraine.” These titles and the Nord Stream articles are examples of pro-Kremlin content (Li, 2022a).