Just when you thought the ‘Russian collusion’ narrative couldn’t get any more surreal, 3 House democrats decide to write a letter to the FCC which can only be described as ‘criminally stupid’ and even that seems generous.
According to the letter, signed by Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J), Sputnik Radio, “a radio network funded by the Russian government, was used as part of the Kremlin’s effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.” As such, these 3 democrats demand that the FCC launch an investigation into Sputnik Radio.
And while it may only seem ‘marginally stupid’ to suggest that propaganda from a Russian-operated radio station might outweigh the $1.2 billion that Hillary spent on her campaign and/or all of the propaganda spewed by the mainstream media, the argument goes full “criminally stupid” when you realize that Sputnik Radio didn’t even start broadcasting in the U.S. until June 2017 (which is about 8 months AFTER the 2016 presidential election…for anyone who may have missed the nuance there).
We’re writing in response to recent troubling press reports that a radio network funded by the Russian government may have used U.S. airwaves to influence the 2016 presidential election. We ask that you investigate these troubling reports and apply all applicable laws and regulations to enforce the public interest standard for licensed stations that broadcast this network.
An article published by the New York Times Magazine (9/13/17) titled “RT, Sputnik and Russia’s New Theory of War” suggests that Sputnik, a radio network funded by the Russian government, was used as part of the Kremlin’s effort to influence the 2016 presidential election. In Washington, D.C., listeners can tune their radios to 105.5 FM to hear Sputnik and the Russian government’s effort to spread misinformation to influence U.S. policy and undermine our elections. This means the Kremlin’s propaganda is being broadcast over a license granted by the FCC and the Russian government may be using our country’s own airwaves to undermine our democracy.
Meanwhile, a quick look at the New York Times’ original article (“RT, Sputnik and Russia’s New Theory of War“) reveals that even they noted that Sputnik Radio didn’t start until after the election.
It’s hard to imagine Russia’s state-backed media getting any traction in the United States if there wasn’t already an audience for it. For some subset of Americans, the intelligence report singling out RT and Sputnik was just another attack from the supposed “deep state” that Breitbart, for instance, had been fuming about for months — and it was less than surprising when, this spring, Sputnik hired a former Breitbart reporter, Lee Stranahan, to start a radio show in Washington. As Stranahan told The Atlantic, though his paycheck might now come from the Russians, “Nothing about it really affects my position on stuff that I’ve had for years now.”
What more is there to say?
The full letter is here:
via http://ift.tt/2jGnsWi Tyler Durden