Alex playing with fire on Russian TV
FORMER First Minister Alex Salmond was back in the frame as he announced his latest venture The Alex Salmond Show which is to be shown on Kremlin-backed RT.
The ex-FM-turned-Fringe performer, will now be helping to raise the profile and viewing figures of an organisation who are having to register in the US as an agent of the Russian state.
When Western democracy is under attack, and investigations into Russia’s role in manipulating the recent US election are under way, the last thing high-profile figures should be doing is providing credence to a channel who are the mouthpiece of a regime who disappear journalists and opponents, oppress LGBT people and work to undermine foreign elections and governments.
Let’s remember, Salmond called the BBC a national disgrace and Twitter is full of claims of “BBC Bias”. However, the BBC are a public broadcaster, not like RT, a state broadcaster.
It’s an important distinction and one Salmond should recognise.
The normalisation of fake news is a major concern for democracy and we need to be very careful about what organisations we allow to influence our public debate.
RT shouldn’t be one of them.