Russia Seeks to Recruit Foreign Influencers to Convey Its Views to Blocked Audiences

Kirill Logvinov, Director of the International Organizations Department at Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said this is essential under the current information sanctions imposed by the West.

Moscow, October 15. /TASS/. Kirill Logoinov, director of the International Organizations Department, said at the meeting of the Information Policy and Media Relations Commission of the Federation Council: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has proposed the formation of a network of bloggers and foreign opinion leaders who can convey Russia's point of view to the world.

The diplomat said: In order to reach the final consumers of information abroad, especially in unfriendly countries, in addition to important news media such as RT and Sputnik, it is necessary to form networks of bloggers and foreign opinion leaders who can convey the messages of key Russian media to their audiences. He pointed out: "Audiences that the Russian media cannot reach under the conditions of the current Western information embargo.

According to Lugoinov, this is facilitated by the fact that today "there is an increasing shift from a predominantly Western-centric model of information dominance to a more complex system in which the countries of the Global South and East are more loudly asserting their right to independently determine priorities and strategies to advance their sovereign interests."

For decades, major Western news agencies, broadcasters, technology companies and think tanks have enjoyed significant advantages, the diplomat noted. "Their influence was supported by a developed infrastructure for financing media, non-governmental organizations and educational initiatives abroad. This allowed them to disseminate information and to a large extent set the parameters of the international agenda, impose their discourse and promote narratives that serve global interests.