Victoria Odusanwo & Volodymyr Solovian
For nearly two decades since its international “voyage”, Russia Today (RT), the Kremlin’s propaganda flagship, has concealed Russia’s war crimes, fuelled hatred for the West, and exploited conspiracy theories.
After its broadcasts were blocked in the United States and Europe in 2022, RT shifted its focus to countries in the so-called Global South. The Kremlin prioritizes broadcasting in Spanish-speaking countries like Latin America (RT en Español), the Arab world (RT Arabic), and Africa. The outlet is also actively expanding its presence in countries that are still vulnerable to Russian propaganda narratives as a result of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For instance, RT DOC India operates in Hindi, while RT Balkan, headquartered in Belgrade, promotes the Kremlin’s position in the Western Balkans and Southeastern Europe despite EU sanctions.
To circumvent restrictions and broaden its audience through covert influence tactics, RT uses “intermediaries” in local media and individual influencers around the world. According to the US State Department’s Press Office, RT uses proxy media and recruits foreign journalists to promote Kremlin-friendly narratives around the world. In doing so, RT “covers its tracks” and gives the impression of support for Russia from “independent” media outlets. Furthermore, RT uses these “collaborations” to help the Russian military procure weapons and collect and transmit classified information to Russian intelligence services.
The establishment of the so-called RT Academy in the latter half of 2023 will take Kremlin propagandists’ recruitment of foreign journalists and media to a new level. The main goal of this platform is to “train and exchange experiences with foreign journalists.” Given RT’s notorious track record, the “academy”’s promises to teach skills like finding primary sources and combating fake news are especially cynical. Among the “perks” advertised for participants is the ability to communicate and collaborate directly with RT’s international centres.
The first major project of RT Academy involved launching courses for representatives from Southeast Asian countries, reportedly including journalists from 16 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The next step expanded the initiative to Africa and China’s media communities. By the end of 2024, the Russian propagandists’ training course had reached approximately 1,700 journalists from dozens of countries.
RT Producers Lead Webinars for Chinese-Speaking Participants of RT Academy
According to organizers, the African branch of RT Academy became the largest yet, with over 1,000 participants from 35 African countries enrolling in the course. Journalists from Nigeria, the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Cameroon expressed the greatest interest. On top of that, RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, recently stated that Americans “called attendees to persuade them not to participate in RT Academy.”
However, RT Academy’s popularity stems not from an international journalistic defiance of the United States, but rather from the fact that participation is free and available offline. To enter the “mirrored reality” of Russian propaganda, simply complete a basic application form. Following that, the unsuspecting course attendee is promised an “invaluable experience” through “masterclasses, workshops, and training” led by RT’s internal propagandists.
When looking at the list of lecturers, the facade of “impartiality” and “honest collaboration” quickly crumbles. Among those teaching African students is Alexey Nikolov, RT’s managing director, who has been sanctioned for spreading Kremlin propaganda. Other instructors include Saskia Taylor and Rory Suchet, two typical examples of foreign “pawns” in Moscow’s service. Taylor, for example, was a prominent voice in campaigns to justify Russia’s actions in Syria. She accused the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue organization, of fabricating fake reports and using projection tactics to blame them for war crimes committed by the Kremlin. Suchet, on the other hand, is dedicated to “rehabilitating” Russian journalism and perpetuating the myth of Kremlin-backed “objective” journalism.
Rossotrudnichestvo, a federal agency affiliated with Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also supports the project. Prior to the launch of RT Academy, promotional events for African journalists were held at Russian Cultural Centres (Russkiy Dom), ostensibly to promote Russian language and culture. However, as RT Academy shows, such centres are primarily used to spread Russian propaganda.
In September 2024, a seminar for local media professionals took place at the Russkiy Dom in Mali. The event’s description was deliberately manipulative, claiming that “RT Academy experts—senior producer of RT Africa Anton Konkin and RT correspondent Igor Kurashenko—used recent examples to show how major news agencies such as CNN, BBC, and Deutsche Welle employ fake news in their reporting and spread this misinformation worldwide, misleading millions.”
Notably, the activities of the RT Academy are aimed not only at promoting RT in Global South countries, but also at producing publications that foster hostility towards the West.
Given RT’s track record, their courses have nothing to do with developing objective journalism. On the contrary, RT uses these initiatives to build its own information network. In the future, RT Academy participants may join regional branches of the channel or spread Kremlin-friendly narratives on their own media platforms.