Ofcom called in to probe Russian TV

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Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries asked Ofcom to review the Kremlin mouthpiece formerly known as Russia Today. She said the news channel was “demonstrably part of Russia’s global disinformation campaign”.

In a letter to Ofcom, Ms Dorries said the broadcaster is an “information weapon” of the Russian state.

She said: “It is essential that the UK looks to limit Russia’s ability to spread their propaganda at home.

“I have concerns that broadcasters such as RT, whom Ofcom have found to have repeatedly breached the Broadcasting Code in the past, will also look to spread harmful disinformation about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine here in the UK.”

She said this was “something RT has previously done in its biased reporting of the Salisbury poisonings and the conflict in Syria”. Although it was a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom to rule on, she said, there should be a “timely and transparent” response to “reassure the British public”.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for RT to be banned and described it as Vladimir Putin’s “personal propaganda tool”.

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