“Despite efforts”: the US announced an increase in traffic to RT and Sputnik sites amid a special operation in Ukraine

Russian "propaganda" poses a great threat to the United States, according to a report prepared by Microsoft on international cyber threats allegedly arising from Russia against the backdrop of events in Ukraine.

The almost 30-page document presented by the company notes that, despite all the measures taken to reduce traffic on the Sputnik and RT websites, their figures are higher than before the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine.

“Despite all efforts to reduce traffic on Sputniknews and RT.com, consumption of Russian propaganda is still higher than before the war,” the report says.

We are talking about monthly 60-80 million views of "Russian propaganda" resources by American users, which, according to the authors of the report, is comparable to the attendance of The Wall Street Journal.

At the same time, it is noted that the reported data on the coverage of "propaganda" from Russia may be underestimated due to the inability to include all its sources.

The report describes a vision of alleged disinformation activity in the wake of events in Ukraine and says that a significant increase in traffic on the RT and Sputnik websites has been observed since January 2022.

Views peaked on February 24 and reached 82%.

The authors of the report also write about the work with various instruments of influence in cyberspace, allegedly carried out by Russian structures in recent months.

As the document says, the longer the special operation in Ukraine goes on, “the more difficult it can become to maintain the unity and commitment of a broad international coalition.”

“Ukraine and its NATO allies and other partners need to prepare for Russian attempts to influence cyberspace to undermine support for Ukraine from the population of these countries.

And, as discussed below, like all other cyber-based threats, countering these threats will require innovation in both technology and public-private partnerships.

The authors of the report believe that opposition to Russian influence in cyberspace should be formed on the basis of several principles.

One of them implies that the fight must be waged with the use of digital technologies and appropriate tactics.

The authors also call on the world's democracies to join efforts to counter Russia in the field of cyber security. 

Recall that RT America officially announced the end of content production on March 4, 2022.

At the same time, the production company T&R Productions, working with the TV channel, announced the stop of production and the dismissal of employees in the United States.

"As a result of unforeseen events and the interruption of business as usual, T&R Productions is currently ceasing all television production work at all offices across the United States," the statement posted on Telegram said.

It should be noted that shortly before this, the EU banned the broadcasting of the Russia Today TV channel and the work of the Sputnik agency on the territory of the union.

Commenting on the conclusions of the authors of the report on the successes of "Russian propaganda", State Duma deputy Oleg Matveychev noted that people begin to look for alternative sources of information when they lose confidence in their own media.

“Americans have been caught so many times by what they see, read and listen to in their own media and realize they are in fake news.

American freedom of speech was dealt a giant blow when they blocked their own president on Twitter.

It became clear to all Americans that they live in a country where there is an information dome, where information is dosed, where it is forbidden to see one thing, another is allowed and a third is shown, ”the deputy said in an interview with RT.

As the deputy noted, an experienced viewer and reader in the United States realized that many statements in the American media, as a rule, do not come true.

“Their predictions are not true.

Facts that are already obvious to everyone are hushed up, but they are not talked about.

People understand that if you want to know reliable information, no matter how you feel about it, look there.

All these bans, of course, dropped traffic, but in America, and in Europe, and around the world, the truth will make its way, ”concluded Matveychev.

In turn, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, also believes that there is a demand for alternative points of view in the United States.

“You can restrict traffic as much as you like, but this will be just another argument in favor of Americans preferring to draw information from reliable sources, because they want to see an objective picture and different points of view, and not a one-sided reality combed by Washington,” Belik said. in conversation with RT.