Paris Has Yet To Show Proof Of Sputnik Spreading Misinformation - Russian Foreign Ministry

Paris has not provided any proof of Sputnik news agency spreading misinformation, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

ST. PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Paris has not provided any proof of Sputnik news agency spreading misinformation, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

In early September, two think tanks affiliated with French ministries issued a report on information manipulation. The authors suggested, in particular, that the journalists of Sputnik news agency or the RT broadcaster should not be accredited.

"We keep asking the French side: you are accusing them of propaganda and so on, [there are] complaints that they are spreading disinformation. Well, great, give us samples, please, make a portfolio of their disinformation examples. In all this time, not a single news story has been passed on to us that would have been equal to disinformation," Zakharova said at the Baltic Weekend forum.

The spokeswoman added that all the issues appeared to be linked to the news outlet's efficiency.

"When Sputnik became effective, that is when all the problems started. That is what the issue is about: they are lashing out at something that is effective, as soon as the ability to compete appears, the rules end immediately," Zakharova said.

The preface to the September report indicated that the views did not reflect those of the two ministries or the French government.

Sputnik and RT Editor-In-Chief Margarita Simonyan said that the two outlets being accused of spreading fake news was in itself fake news, since they did nothing of the kind.