Simonyan: Is It Fair That Russia Cannot Voice Its Position to the World?

02:32 GMT, 18 January 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan has rebuked claims that the Moscow-based broadcaster is propaganda any more than Voice of America, in an interview with NBC News.

Sputnik

"We are no more propaganda than Voice of America is propaganda or than Radio Free Europe is propaganda," she replied to the US broadcasting company in this month’s interview.

She stressed that RT had never "made a secret out of being a Russian TV station" designed to bring Russia’s voice to the world.

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"Just like the CNN is an American TV station and when you watch CNN International you see that what CNN International says to the world is how America sees the world. When you watch the BBC you see that what BBC is telling the world is how the UK sees the world," Simonyan said.

"If you look at the mission statements of some of those channels, like that BBC or Voice of America, you will find that mission statements clearly state that this media organization exists to bring the voice or British values, for that matter, or the voice of America to the world," she continued.

"Why is it considered fair that any western country can bring their voice to the world and Russia cannot?"

She pointed to Radio Svoboda, an extension of the US government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Russia, which in October became the most quoted radio in Russian social media, "and no one in Russia has said this means they are involved in Russian politics, influencing our elections and we have to shut them up."