DISINFO: Washington Post: Putin’s refusal to condemn Hamas is bearing fruit
SUMMARY
Putin’s refusal to condemn Hamas is bearing fruit, according to The Washington Post. The Kremlin did not condemn Hamas after the attack in southern Israel and also invited its leaders to Moscow to carry important negotiations, writes this outlet. Hamas repaid Putin with the release of hostages of Russian citizenship, including a man. Besides, the representatives of Hamas pointed that they are freeing hostages of Russian citizenship, which indicates respect for the Kremlin’s stance.
RESPONSE
This is a deliberate distortion of the original article at The Washington Post featured in this disinformation story. The article, which is an analytical -and at some points very critical- piece on Russia’s latest steps regarding the recent conflict in Gaza, never states that Vladimir Putin’s decisions regarding Hamas are “bearing fruit” nor says that Hamas actions “indicate respect”. This manipulation aims to portray Putin’s position towards Hamas under a positive light by falsely framing it as being vindicated by a prominent US media.
Pro-Kremlin media frequently resort to this manipulative technique of quoting sentences from serious publications or journalists and then introducing a distorted message as if it were part of the original story.
See other examples in our database, such as claims that The Wall Street Journal explained how Europe’s full storage gas sites are in fact a reflection of its weakness and vulnerability, that Financial Times reported that Ukraine threatened Russia with terrorist attacks, that The New York Times reports that Russia is barely affected by sanctions, or that The Times explains how Western media deliberately hide the truth on Russia’s main successes in Ukraine.