{"id":10228,"date":"2017-10-16T01:04:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T01:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=10228"},"modified":"2017-10-17T01:06:41","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T01:06:41","slug":"why-are-russian-media-outlets-hyping-the-mueller-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-are-russian-media-outlets-hyping-the-mueller-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are Russian media outlets hyping the Mueller investigation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cynthia Hooper<\/a>, College of the Holy Cross<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Four major Russia investigations<\/a> are underway in Washington, along with at least six<\/a> related federal inquiries. <\/p>\n

Anxiety currently swirls around the Kremlin\u2019s manipulation of popular social media platforms Facebook, YouTube and Instagram<\/a>. Cybersecurity sleuths claim Russia used Pokemon Go<\/a> to inflame racial tensions and accuse Twitter<\/a> of deleting crucial data detailing Russian efforts to sow discord during the 2016 presidential election. <\/p>\n

\u201cRussia, Russia Everywhere,\u201d read<\/a> The New York Times Oct. 13 \u201cWeek in Technology\u201d review. <\/p>\n

But as a cultural historian, I\u2019m interested in how Russia\u2019s media outlets \u2013 many of which are state-controlled \u2013 are covering these same stories. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that for years the Kremlin has claimed Washington possesses a knee-jerk, anti-Russian bias. Moscow officials have cast recent U.S. charges that Russia has been acting to \u201cundermine the U.S.-led liberal democratic order<\/a>\u201d as simply part of this same phenomenon, albeit one that has blossomed, of late, into full-fledged hysteria<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s most popular media outlets<\/a> compare the investigations to those of the McCarthy era, calling them \u201cwitch hunts<\/a>\u201d focused on a \u201cphantom menace<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, I\u2019ve noticed something surprising. Amid all the emphasis of \u201cRussophobia run wild,\u201d Russian media coverage seems to have become more positive in regard to one issue: the Justice Department\u2019s investigation led by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. <\/p>\n

While state-sponsored outlets continue to deny any possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, they\u2019ve begun to applaud Mueller\u2019s efforts to look into the past business deals of the U.S. president and his team.<\/p>\n

How to explain this development? After all, didn\u2019t the Kremlin originally want Trump to win<\/a>? <\/p>\n

Robert Mueller\u2026hero?<\/h2>\n

On Oct. 4, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Richard Burr held a news conference to announce that their investigation into Russian meddling had expanded to include the use (and misuse) of social media. <\/p>\n

Many U.S. news outlets covered the event as if it were a sign the Senate inquiry was shifting into high gear. \u201cTop Senators Hint the Russian Investigation is Heating Up,\u201d Business Insider proclaimed<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Russian media, on the other hand, sniffed. They reported on the event as if it were an admission that the charges were unfounded, and the scandal was over. (\u201cComing Up Empty Handed,\u201d one headline read.) <\/p>\n

Compare this, however, to the way Moscow\u2019s three largest, government-controlled television stations reacted when news broke of a federal raid on the home of Donald Trump\u2019s former campaign manager Paul Manafort. Gone was the mocking language that generally accompanies \u201cRussiagate\u201d coverage. Instead, they produced substantial stories on former FBI Director Mueller\u2019s background, experience and methods. <\/p>\n

Two major outlets used near-identical headlines<\/a> to claim the Mueller probe was \u201cgaining momentum.\u201d Mueller has experience dealing with corruption, wrote the broadcast agency Vesti<\/a>, and his investigation appears to involve issues \u201cmore serious than what the American mass media is writing about.\u201d <\/p>\n

Reports not only mentioned Manafort\u2019s alleged 15 bank accounts and 10 registered businesses in Cyprus, but they also implied such scandals could be just the tip of the iceberg. Mueller, one outlet reported<\/a>, \u201cwill likely dig deep, investigating the finances of Manafort (not to mention the finances of Trump himself).\u201d<\/p>\n

Because Manafort has done business<\/a> with at least one oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and earned millions of dollars lobbying<\/a> for a former pro-Russian president of Ukraine, encouraging the U.S. to \u201cdig deeper\u201d into shady deals might seem at odds with Kremlin PR goals. <\/p>\n

But this slant makes sense if the intent is to cast Trump in a negative light. Indeed, it appears to be part of an evolving Russian media strategy designed to highlight a stark opposition between the U.S. and the Russian leader \u2013 with talk of Trump\u2019s weaknesses serving as a foil to Putin\u2019s supposed stability and strength. <\/p>\n

Crafting a contrast<\/h2>\n

This approach became particularly noticeable after Trump began to mock North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Twitter, calling him<\/a> \u201cRocket Man\u201d and threatening to \u201ctotally destroy\u201d his country. <\/p>\n

Since then, Russian state media has portrayed Trump and Kim as two of a kind. Branding Trump\u2019s comments \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201cprovocational,\u201d Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned both men<\/a> for behaving like \u201cchildren in kindergarten.\u201d Russian journalist Dmitry Kiselev<\/a> accused them<\/a> of \u201cpouring fuel on a fire\u201d and thereby threatening to destabilize the world.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Russian press celebrated Putin\u2019s birthday<\/a> on Oct. 7 by highlighting his intellect, daring and (supposed) popularity at home and abroad. The Russian News Agency tweeted a video of a mural of Putin, claiming that \u201cgraffiti has appeared in Barcelona and Paris\u201d praising the Russian president. <\/p>\n

\n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n