Putin at RT’s 20th anniversary celebration event
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday criticized Western media, accusing it of monopolising global information and suppressing alternative viewpoints. Speaking at the 20th anniversary event of RT (formerly Russia Today) at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, Putin argued that the channel had emerged to challenge what he described as Western media’s “abuse of monopoly” and to give Russia “a strong voice” abroad. “Back in the beginning of the 2000s, the leading Western mass media were abusing their monopoly… They were trying to dominate the hearts and minds of millions of people,” Putin said, adding that RT provided “an alternative, truthful point of view” and defended viewers’ right to a choice.”Terrorists who BOMBED ‘our cities, schools, hospitals’ and ‘took HOSTAGES’ were labeled by Western media as ‘REBELS’ — Putin Russia’s sovereignty relies on its ability to share an ‘OBJECTIVE picture’,” he added.
Defending his country’s media, he addressed RT event saying, “It is very easy to accuse someone of propaganda and misinformation or interference in the internal affairs, although you never impose anything. You basically offered an alternative, truthful point of view, and thereby you defended the viewers’ and listeners’ right for a choice. But the mere presence of such a choice was seen by our partners as a threat. ” He accused Western “elites” of trying to dictate how media should operate. “For years of RT work, they have been teaching us how we should live, how mass media should work, how democracy should be understood, and what democracy is… They were trying to convince us of the importance of competition, the pluralism of opinions,” Putin said, claiming the rise of RT exposed their “primitive and straightforward” reaction of banning, cancelling, and blocking alternative narratives. “The voice of the truth, the voice of Russia should be amplified,” he said. “It should be confident and convincing.” He also linked the channel’s work to Russia’s push for a “multipolar world” and the defense of “civilizational diversity” and “traditional values.”Further drawing contrast between Russian and western media, Putin said, “Even Western elites ‘admit audience of Russia Today is bigger than their own domestic TV channels’ Highlighting RT journalists’ work in conflict zones, including Russia’s operations in Ukraine, Putin said, “The courage and your aspiration to truth are the main features of the channel’s workers,” noting that reporters “risk their lives” to cover global hotspots.
