INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Top United States diplomat Antony Blinken on Friday accused Russian media outlet RT of being a "de facto arm of Russia's intelligence
apparatus" being used against countries around the world."We know that RT possesses cyber capabilities and engaged in covert information
influence operations and military procurement," the secretary of state told reporters."Russian weaponization of disinformation to subvert
and polarize free and open societies extends to every part of the world," Blinken said."We urge every ally, every partner, to start by
treating RT's activities as they do other intelligence activities by Russia within their borders," he added, welcoming such an initiative
being undertaken jointly by the United States , Britain and Canada.Earlier this month, United States authorities announced a battery of
measures including sanctions and potential prosecution targeting Russian media over alleged attempts to interfere in this year's American
elections.The State Department at that time imposed visa restrictions affecting media group Rossiya Segodnya, which includes RT, as well as
others of its affiliates.Moscow responded sarcastically to Blinken's latest remarks, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
saying on Telegram: "There should be a new profession in the United States -- a specialist in sanctions against Russia."RT editor-in-chief
Margarita Simonyan said she was waiting "with popcorn" ahead of Blinken's statement to reporters."The State Department will declare us the
Be ready," she posted on Telegram.RT, a news organ launched in 2005, is widely considered abroad to be a vehicle for Kremlin propaganda.On
Friday, the State Department emphasized that the group's efforts at destabilization extend far beyond the United States, singling out
actions affecting Moldova, Argentina, France, Germany and parts of Africa.It said the Russian government this spring "embedded within RT an
entity with cyber operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence."It added: "This cyber entity has focused primarily on influence
and intelligence operations all over the world."One RT project was a vast online crowd-funding program designed to help provide military
equipment for Russian units in Ukraine.Blinken said the program had procured sniper rifles, body armor, night-vision goggles, drones and
radio equipment for the Russian invaders.Jamie Rubin, who heads a State Department unit meant to counter propaganda and disinformation, said
RT was "not just a fire hose, as the Secretary put it, of disinformation, but a fully fledged member of the intelligence apparatus and
operation of the Russian government on the war in Ukraine."
