RT America shuts down for good. |
The sanctions are hurting the Russian Federation. It appears that RT is closing up shop in Washington, DC. The network RT America is ending operations and it is laying off staff.
That means that Rachel Blevins, Dennis Miller, Lee Camp, Rick Sanchez, Jesse Ventura, Scottie Nell Hughes, Max Blumenthal and even Tara Reade are out of jobs. They won't be allowed to push propaganda for the Russian Federation.
Reade, the staff assistant for then Senator Joe Biden claimed nearly 30 years ago, he digitally penetrated her in the halls of the U.S. Capitol. She made the claim of sexual assault after initially claiming he was playing with her hair and then claiming she didn't get a vibe about him.
Biden denied ever sexually assaulting her.
Her story was amplfied by the far-left, far-right and the Russian troll farm.
It was debunked but it still exists on the political extremes.
The network was declared as state run propaganda by the United States and it was told to register as a foreign agent. The Foreign Agent Registration Act was enacted in 1938. FARA requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities or other activities specified under the statute to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in support of those activities. Disclosure of the required information facilitates evaluation by the government and the American people of the activities of such persons in light of their function as foreign agents. The FARA Unit of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of FARA.
CNN's media analyst Oliver Darcy got word of RT America shut down at 5pm. He wrote Misha Solodovnikov, the general manager of T&R Productions, told staff in the memo that it will be "ceasing production" at all of its locations "as a result of unforeseen business interruption events."
"Unfortunately, we anticipate this layoff will be permanent, meaning that this will result in the permanent separation from employment of most T&R employees at all locations," Solodovnikov wrote.
T&R Productions operated offices in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.
The news would mean an effective end to RT America. The network, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's main mouthpieces in the US, was dropped earlier this week by DirecTV, dealing a major financial blow to it. The satellite carrier was one of the two major television providers in the US to carry the network.
Roku, a company that sells hardware which allows users to stream content through the internet, also said that it had banished RT America from its platform.
RT, which operates multiple networks across the world, has seen its reach significantly diminish in recent days as technology companies and television providers have moved to sever ties with it as a result of Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine.
Several employees from RT's various networks have also publicly resigned from the outlet.
RT America employees who worked from the Washington, DC, bureau were told on Wednesday that an all-staff meeting would occur on Thursday afternoon, according to an email obtained by CNN.
When hosts, correspondents, producers, and others gathered in RT America's lounge, Solodovnikov delivered the news in person, a person who attended the meeting told CNN.
"The meeting was all of about two minutes," the attendee said, explaining that Solodovnikov told the assembled staff RT America would be stopping production and that staff would be provided two months pay.
The attendee, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal deliberations, told CNN that the mood was somber.
"A lot of people were shocked," the person said. "A lot of people were crying."
An RT America host, who also spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity, said that she watched as her entire staff was told "their jobs were no more."
"I have never felt more heartbroken as they have nothing to do with this conflict and seriously were just trying to make a decent living to provide for their families," the host said.
Solodovnikov did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for RT America did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment