Previous posts have discussed Vladimir Putin’s hatred of Hillary Clinton.[1] That intense personal dislike is now seen as an implicit motivation underlying Russian state-owned media’s coverage of the U.S. presidential election.[2]
According to the Associated Press, Russian television reports about the U.S. election “devote most of their time to elaborating on Donald Trump’s allegations that Hillary Clinton is corrupt and the election is rigged.” For example, a prominent television commentator said, “‘Clinton has a choice. Either she gets the presidency or she goes behind bars.’ Unlike the anti-establishment Trump, he told viewers, Clinton has the full backing of the U.S. security services, ‘oligarchic’ corporations and the media.”
Other reports on the Kremlin-controlled TV have “highlighted concerns about Clinton’s health, linked her to sex scandals and suggested the Democratic Party is ‘panicking’ over recent polls.”
In contrast, says the AP, “negative stories about Trump often get lighthearted coverage,” and “Russian media . . . has concentrated on apparent flaws in the U.S. election process, echoing Trump’s claims that the election is rigged against him.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S. the FBI is investigating possible Russian interference in the U.S. election with alleged hacking of Clinton campaign documents and creation of false documents purportedly authored by U.S. officials.[3]
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[1] An impressionistic view of the Russian Federation, dwkcommentaries (Oct. 22, 2016); Hillary Clinton and Vladimir Putin’s Hostile Relationship, dwkcommentaries (Nov. 4, 2016).
[2] Assoc. Press, Russian Media Backs Trump, Questions US Democracy, N.Y. Times (Nov. 5, 2016).
[3] E.g., Reuters, FBI Examining Fake Documents Targeting Clinton Campaign: Sources, N.Y. Times (Nov. 4, 2016).
