ongressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), the Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, better known as the Helsinki Commission, today presided and questioned expert witnesses at a hearing entitled “Propaganda and Censorship in Russia: Putin’s War on Truth.”
In his opening statement, Co-Chairman Cohen said Russian President Vladimir Putin has to keep his people misinformed because the truth would be unpopular among the Russian people.
“Today’s hearing will focus on propaganda and censorship in Putin’s Russia, both of which we have seen disturbing escalations of since the outset of Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. These practices – which are reminiscent of the Stalin era – aim to cut Russia off from the rest of the world, and from reality itself. Putin is building a new iron curtain. In attempts to justify his indefensible war and continued attacks against Ukrainian civilians, Putin’s Kremlin manufactured lies as pretext for his invasion and has only ramped up propaganda since.
“Putin’s stated aim to ‘de-nazify’ Ukraine was absurd and offensive, especially towards a country with a democratically elected Jewish president who has told stories of his own family members who were victims of the Holocaust during World War II…
“I mean it’s just lie after lie after lie…
“The fact that some Russian citizens believe that a war in Ukraine – a country on its border – is not even happening is evidence of Putin’s ability to manipulate the truth...
“It is clear that the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin does not want the Russian people to see the truth about the war in Ukraine: that this is HIS war of unprovoked aggression on a peaceful, democratic neighbor.”
Original source can be found here.
