The Commission on the Investigation of Foreign Interference in Russia's Internal Affairs decided to review the publications of The New York Times and the Financial Times, where articles on allegedly inconsistent official data on coronavirus mortality rate in Russia with real statistics appeared almost simultaneously. This was stated to reporters by the head of the State Duma Commission Vasilii Piskarev
Vasily Ivanovich
.
He noted that ”the statements published in English-language newspapers are factually inaccurate and have already been officially refuted by representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Moscow Department of Health, but the Commission intends to find out why such publications appear.“
“We consider it unacceptable for such media outlets to publish articles based on speculations and not representing the official Russian point of view. In the West, they talk a lot about fake news, but for some reason, they easily allow the appearance of such biased materials about Russia in their newspapers,” the parliamentarian said.
“We have a lot of questions for the authors of these publications, which allow false speculations about our country. All gathered materials will be checked for their compliance with Russian law and journalistic ethics. Shortly, we will send them to the Russian Foreign Ministry and other authorized bodies for the adoption of personalized response measures in relation to these journalists, up to depriving them of accreditation in Russia,” said Vasilii Piskarev.
