UK
to launch anti-Russian propaganda war as ‘Fusion Doctrine’
defense plan unveiled
RT,
28
March, 2018
Britain
is preparing for a counter-propaganda war against Russia amid
allegations that the Kremlin is spreading fake news regarding the
poisoning of Sergei Skripal.
Intelligence
services will now be tasked with identifying trolling social media
platforms in a bid to clamp down on what is deemed by the UK
government as ‘misinformation.’ The new instructions are included
in the Fusion Doctrine, unveiled as part of the National
Security
Capability Review, to be published on Wednesday. It seeks to tackle
the perceived threat from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), Russia
and North Korea.
Increased
efforts to tackle fake news come amid security experts alleging, in
the Telegraph, that Russia put out more than 20 stories “trying to
confuse the picture and the charge sheet” over the poisoning of
ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury
earlier this month.
It
follows reports of Britain sharing “unprecedented levels of
intelligence” with countries in a bid to persuade them of Russia’s
involvement in the Skripal attack. The material provided includes
evidence from the chemical weapons facility at Porton Down, just
outside the Wiltshire town. The information was cited as being key to
23 states and NATO expelling dozens of Russian diplomats. The UK
usually only shares highly classified documents with fellow ‘Five
Eyes’ countries, namely the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn received widespread criticism after failing to
squarely point the finger at Russia over the Skripal case in the
aftermath of the poisoning. He requested that more evidence be made
available and that the channels of international law be utilized
before people make allegations against the Kremlin.
While
expelling three diplomats from the Czech Republic, President Milos
Zeman echoed such calls, saying: “I want to see the facts. I will
certainly welcome if the United Kingdom presents some evidence that
the Russians wanted to kill the double agent Skripal,” Blesk news
outlet reported on Tuesday. Zeman has also ordered the Czech
counter-intelligence services to investigate whether the A-234 nerve
agent, also known as Novichok, could have been produced in his
country.
Russia
has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has hit out at the UK’s
refusal to allow it to assess the agent. It has also criticized
Britain for failing to disclose information relating to the case.
Russian
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to the
diplomatic expulsions, saying: "An adequate response will be
given to all steps of the United States and the European Union, which
we see. This refers to the expulsion of Russian diplomats and the
closure of the consulate-general [in Seattle]."
“We
demand that the UK provide all available information on this case,”
Zakharova added. “To date, Russia has received zero information on what happened. Perhaps this data is not being made public because it includes nothing but political slogans.”
Zakharova added. “To date, Russia has received zero information on what happened. Perhaps this data is not being made public because it includes nothing but political slogans.”
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