Russian Embassy Slams Pentagon Attacks on Sputnik, RT Over Alleged Fake News About Pandemic

The embassy said that the Pentagon's "attacks" could have a negative impact on the safety of Russian reporters in the United States, and therefore human rights organisations should be paying attention to this issue.

"We urge the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) to direct all its efforts to the fight against coronavirus infection. First of all within their own ranks. We sincerely wish for the immediate recovery of all infected US soldiers and their family members. It is ridiculous to blame Sputnik and RT. US troops for sure do not watch or read them. If they don’t wash their hands, then this is definitely not the fault of the Russian media", the embassy wrote on Facebook.

The diplomats added that Moscow and Washington were regularly exchanging information about the global health crisis, adding that Russia was ready to assist all nations suffering from the COVID-19 epidemic.

In February, the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, which RT and Sputnik are part of, said that it had been approached by a Newsweek reporter. The journalist said the magazine had found out that the US military was tracking Sputnik's social media accounts to find supposedly fake news stories about the coronavirus outbreak.

At the time, Sputnik and RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan cited an RT press statement suggesting the US military could “make a much better use of its resources on direct action to fight the coronavirus, rather than sitting in front of screens.”