Information wars

Ukraine: RT’s Peter Lavelle vs CNN’s Chris Cuomo

MH17 tragedy used to fight an information war.

Peter Lavelle

RT,

25 July, 2014

There is a real civil war being fought in Ukraine. The fabric of social life is collapsing and war crimes are being committed. The downing of Malaysian flight MH17 is a tragedy that should have never happened.

These are all facts and almost all of us in media covering this conflict can find common agreement regarding these points. Sadly, this is where agreement comes to an end. Ukraine’s calamity is victim of an information war and propaganda.

I can’t think of a better example of this than from my appearance on CNN’s “News Day” being questioned by Chris Cuomo. Commentary on our encounter to date describes it as a “battle,” “shouting match,” and a “brawl.” All of these appellations apply if one only focuses on how the “interview” appeared in form. What is more important - and not commented on - is the content of the “give and take” slug match.

Being the interviewer, Cuomo from the outset forcefully attempted to frame the interview – and that framing was to blame Russia for the downing of MH17. He appealed to emotion using moral indignation. I refused to participate in his charade. In fact, I was determined to rely on facts as much as possible. This is what generated all the fireworks.

As soon as it was reported that MH17 was brought down, Western media immediately pointed the finger of blame at Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

A Malaysian air crash investigator works at a crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo), Donetsk region July 24, 2014. (Reuters/Maxim Zmeyev)

Over the next few days, media outlets went into a hysteric frenzy portraying Russia in the most horrific fashion. This is not particularly new – Western media is well known for its anti-Russian editorial lines. What I found extremely distressing this time around was that this hysteric frenzy was unleashed based on little or any facts to draw conclusions about MH17. Cuomo, CNN, and other Western media outlets again committed massive journalistic malpractice.

My take coming away from the interview was Cuomo conducted himself like a “drama queen” appealing to emotions and probably his sense of moral justice. However, emotions and any sense moral justice are not substitutes for facts. As journalists it is incumbent on us to report on the facts and only the facts. Cuomo appeared unable to marshal basic facts about what has been happening Ukraine over the past half year.

He also appeared unable to put the tragedy of MN17 into context. This constitutes epic failure on the part of CNN. 

Additionally, Cuomo’s fixation on my place of employment was a cheap shot and a desperate attempt to“shoot the messenger”, because the “message” challenged the mainstream media’s hastily assembled narrative on Ukraine in general. I work at RT as host of the debate program called “CrossTalk.” Unlike CNN, at “CrossTalk” we have real and often very heated debate. As host of the program I may not like or agree with a guest’s point of view, but all points of view are given a fair hearing. And ad hominem attacks are not allowed.

Lastly, I am convinced I was asked to appear on CNN for the sole purpose of discrediting RT and myself. Well, it backfired and badly so.

Cuomo’s performance was sketchy, his knowledge questionable, and his professional responsibly to establish facts absent. To sum up my experience with CNN, I propose readers and viewers answer the following questions: Who uses tragedy to fight an information war? Who is the propagandist willing to say anything to frame a story?


The CNN guy has to explain himself.

Chris Cuomo: Russia wins at propaganda

CNN,

25 July, 2014

CNN’s Chris Cuomo reflected on his argument with Russia Today’s Peter Lavelle, saying on Thursday that Russia is winning the propaganda war.

“There’s two layers of [our argument],” Cuomo said on CNN’s “New Day.” “One is: What’s your role as a journalist and how much do you debate and how much do you own a position? And two is: Who is being more effective? For all the talk about propaganda, which by definition is misinformation, I would say Russia is winning.”

On Wednesday, in a nearly 10-minute back and forth, Cuomo and Lavelle fought and traded insults over whether the U.S. has provided intelligence to support suspicions of Russia’s involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

(WATCH: CNN's Chris Cuomo, Russia Today host battle over MH17)

“I thought he was actually getting away with a benefit that won’t mean as much to you at home as people who understand the business, but the satellite delay was killing me,” Cuomo said. “There was a big delay so I wasn’t able to cut off what I would have done in person.”

He went on to explain, “If we had been in person I would have said, ‘Look, I’m not here to make the U.S. case against Russia. I’m here to ask you certain questions because you have been saying you want the answers.’”