DISINFO: Anti-war activists arrested for criticising US Secretary of State
SUMMARY
Activists were arrested for criticising the US Secretary of State. Several activists who challenged Secretary Blinken during an intervention in the Senate were arrested in Washington, for openly protesting against the war.
RESPONSE
This is a distortion of actual events, aiming to promote several long-term pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about censorship and a lack of real democracy in the West.
The group of activists mentioned in this story, called Code Pink, were arrested for loudly disrupting an official event, which is part of their political strategy as they state themselves. They do this in the knowledge that if they stay inside the limits of a peaceful protest, they will be released soon afterwards with no charges, as was the case again here. However, this disinformation story falsely frames this arrest as a reaction to their criticism of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while disingenuously ignoring the actual reason for their actions.
By portraying protests against US aid to Ukraine as the target of state repression, the ultimate goal of this disinformation story is to undermine Western assistance including military and financial aid for Ukraine’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter Article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the West is not interested in peace, that Western media suppress all facts and opinions that differ from official narratives, that US censor people on the internet while Russia doesn’t, or that over a half of Americans love Russia despite US disinformation.