DISINFO: Bellingcat spread harmful rumours about Russia upon request from CIA and MI6
SUMMARY
Investigation site Bellingcat pretends to be independent. But it is not. It pretends to make investigations, but its site is very opaque. Nothing is sourced and the articles are all directed against Russia. It is evident for everyone that their information is only rumours that are forged by Western secret services
A committee of the European Parliament proposes to work with them. Such a privilege is very dubious. Do you know many people who come from nowhere and create a simple website on the internet and after that, the EU would work with them?
Bellingcat is the anti-Julian Assange. Assange or Snowden reveal real information and they have to go to jail. Bellingcat only makes anti-Russian propaganda and it is praised. The site spreads malicious rumours against Russia that the CIA and MI6 want.
This is information white-washing of the American and British secret services, it is obvious for everyone. They only publish material that is against Russia and they do not prove their conclusions.
RESPONSE
Recurrent disinformation to discredit the investigation collective Bellingcat.
It is incorrect to say that Bellingcat doesn’t inform of where its information comes from. All investigations explain clearly how they were conducted, what are the sources and how they are corroborated. Most investigations are based on open source, in the case of Russia, often include official records. Moreover, Bellingcat offers a large variety of material explaining how they run their investigations: for example, resources, guides, workshops and even video showcases with their team members.
The criticism that Bellingcat only targets Russia is also incorrect. Although it is true that lately many investigations concerned Russia, there were many others with no connection with Russia. Out of the last 25 investigations published on the website in June 2021, 20 were not in connection with Russia, that is 80% (see for example, US-soldiers-expose-nuclear-weapons-secrets-via-flashcard-apps/).
The technique to reject any unpleasant material by labelling it as a “CIA disinformation” is frequent. It was used by Vladimir Putin on 17 December 2020 against the Bellingcat investigation made in collaboration with The Insider, Der Spiegel, El Pais and CNN : “It’s not an investigation, it’s the legalisation of the materials of American intelligence agencies”.
Read also related stories: Bellingcat reports do not contain evidence, Bellingcat is a Factory of Fakes used for an information war against Russia, British website Bellingcat is suspiciously close to the US and UK authorities, Information site Bellingcat has been convicted for disinformation, Bellingcat: An American propaganda machine.