This is not the time for journalism | EU Stratcom’s Disinformation Digest

Furthermore, the article shows that there was careful monitoring of independent journalists in the area. Those who reported objectively were placed on a so-called stop list, with both Reuters and AP declared ”enemies of Russia”. A journalist who quit his job with the Information Ministry over the strict instructions was told by his employers when trying to report independently: ”This is not the time for journalism. Journalism is something for peace. For the war, which is also an information war, we need information soldiers.”

"I have a mortgage to pay, get out of my studio!"

Last Wednesday a talk show was interrupted on the pro-Kremlin TV channel NTV when a physical confrontation broke out between the show's host and a Ukrainian guest. The incident occurred during a debate over the downing of MH17 in the show Mesto Vstrechi  ("Meeting Place"). A commentator with Ukrainian background who had been invited to participate in the show accused its host of lying when he said that Russian Ministry of Defence never claimed that Ukrainian fighter jets shot MH17 down (the Ministry had indeed claimed this. One needs no knowledge of Russian to appreciate not only how brutally the dissenter is escorted out of the TV studio, but also the audience's excited applause (click on the image below to see the show).

The incident spurred strong reactions in Russian social media. Opposition leader Alexey Navalny brought it up on his blog and quoted one of the host's former colleagues, who said that talk show host Mr Norkin had struggled to reconstruct the mortgage for his apartment back in 2010, and suggested that his behaviour was the result of a need for a salary raise. This led Alexey Navalny to suggest that next time the host faced opposition on his show, he should rather shout: "I have a mortgage to pay, get out of my studio! I have three more years to pay plus my car loan! Get out!"

These reactions reflect the well-known fact that national pro-government media in Russia pay considerably higher salaries than, for example, independent media or local outlets outside Moscow. According to Kremlin-loyal Izvestiya, top journalists on pro-Kremlin networks make salaries that easily compete with those of their European colleagues, reporting salary levels of up to 40,000 USD (36,000 EUR) per month and people who, including side jobs, earn up to 200,000 USD (180,000 EUR) per month in total. For comparison, a search for journalist job openings in the St. Petersburg region shows salaries around 400-500 EUR (30,000-40,000 rubles) per month.

Interviewed after the incident, talk show host Andrei Norkin said he has no regrets – except that he didn't actually beat up his Ukrainian guest. The victim of the scandal, Moscow-based Ukrainian businessman and commentator Sergei Zaporozhsky, wrote on his blog that he does not exclude that he will accept future invitations from NTV, "either for another show, or for another host than Norkin".

New troops for the information war

Not only do the Russian authorities perceive media as a part of their armed forces. Not only does the Russian President give medals to journalists who reported about the absence of Russian troops in Crimea. Not only is information warfare a part of multiple official strategic documents of the Russian state. Not only is the desired messaging and disinformation multiplied by a whole army of pro-Kremlin trolls.

A significant reinforcement has arrived this week. As Meduza pointed out, the new National Guard received the competence to engage in "information warfare" from President Vladimir Putin. From the President's decree, it is not entirely clear what specifically will the soldiers perform – but it is clear they will not be short of staff. The whole National Guard should number 350,000-400,000 troops, says Meduza.