According to the expert, this situation generally relates to the anti-Russian trend in the British media.
“This refers to the anti-Russian trend in mainstream English-language publications, which include The Guardian ... This is in the spirit of the general anti-Russian trend,” the analyst said.
He also believes that it was “quite comfortable for the newspaper to accuse Russia of trying to incite Islamophobia through the publication of this photograph.”
“Again, it is not a fact that apologies will somehow affect The Guardian’s general line with regard to Russia,” Byshok added.
In April, during a fire in Notre Dame, the French editorial board of Sputnik took a photo of a burning cathedral, and two smiling young people of oriental appearance were in the foreground.
At the same time, the agency did not accompany the image with any comments, however, when the photo was distributed on the Internet, some Western media accused Sputnik of trying to influence the attitude of society towards the Muslim population.
The agency, in turn, provided evidence of the authenticity of the photograph.
Four months later, The Guardian admitted her wrong and apologized to the agency.