DISINFO: RT France is a French press group
SUMMARY
RT is French press group. Statements that RT French journalists serve a foreign power are libellous.
RESPONSE
RT France is part of a Russian TV network based in Moscow and funded by the Russian government. RT stands for "Russia Today" and is a news TV channel that is available in different languages on the internet. RT France doesn't have a stand-alone website and uses the subdomain "french" (francais.rt.com). The website in the French language was launched from Moscow in 2015. In December 2017, a television was launched in Paris and local journalists were hired. Despite local staff, the French branch is not independent from Moscow. Some programmes are still produced in Russia. Some editorials recorded in Moscow, until recently, were the same in several languages. The Budget comes from the Russian Federal State. It is neither owned, financed or managed by French public interest, therefore there is no ground to pretend RT is a French press group. Moreover, the chief editor, Margarita Simonyan, defines RT's role as a defence ministry in the war of information.