Ruptly.tv

Email Sent from Ruptly to NewsGuard, October 9, 2019 

 

Ruptly response to NewsGuard comments:

 

NewsGuard wrote:

Although Ruptly has published straightforward content from around the world, its videos and headlines of topics of interest to the Kremlin have repeatedly featured false or misleading statements from Russian government officials, including denials that Syria was behind chemical weapons attacks of its own citizens. Although the footage accurately quotes Russian authorities, NewsGuard has determined that Ruptly, as a government run outlet publishing the government’s false claims, has repeatedly published false content and does not gather and present information responsibly.

 

Our response:

The claim that Ruptly is run by the Russian Government is factually false. It also implies that our team has its editorial direction set and directly managed for it. Our award-winning, multinational team of media professionals is completely independent. This includes both editorial and operational decisions. 

Ruptly was founded by ANO TV Novosti to act as an independent, commercially-funded organisation under German law, and sister agency to RT. It has commercial relations with all its clients including RT.

Our coverage is based on relevancy to our clients and their audiences. It’s also worth noting that media reviewed by NewsGuard that does/did receive public funding is not referred to as “government-run” by the NewsGuard team, including:  AFP, BBC, PBS, VOA. 

In addition, the argument that by running statements made by Russian authorities (accurate or inaccurate) means that we repeatedly publish false content, is illogical and wrong. By such logic, one must arrive at the same conclusion regarding the BBC, given that it consistently covered a range of views and statements during the Brexit debate that turned out to be untrue, for example: claims of £350m per week going to Europe that could be spent instead on the NHS (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36048055). Covering statements made by government officials from whatever country is a standard practice. And, how they are labelled follows standard practices also: for example, a headline by CNN based on the same statement we offered to clients: “Putin: Sergei Skripal is a scumbag and traitor who betrayed Russia” (https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/03/europe/putin-calls-skripal-scumbag-intl/index.html) and Ruptly’s headline, mentioned by NewsGuard later: “Russia: ‘He’s just a scumbag’ – Putin on Skripal,”.

 As a video news agency providing content to journalists, our role is to present raw footage that our clients ensure their journalists edit and use responsibly. 

Moreover, it is our role to ensure that clients have access to video content that helps them in being able to best represent a variety of positions and statements in their coverage – particularly essential for their own compliance requirements with various regulatory standards the world over. 

 

NewsGuard wrote:

NewsGuard’s review of Ruptly’s coverage of the April 2018 chemical attacks against Syrian residents and of the March 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain showed that it cherrypicked video segments to repeat false or misleading statements that advanced pro Kremlin positions.

 

Our response:

In general, this statement is unsubstantiated and provides no detail on how such a conclusion was arrived at.

It’s also a very subjective assessment, essentially saying that we should have chosen other video segments to provide to our clients.

Ultimately, we are a news agency that provides content to publishers. These publishers are able to select the material and interviews that we provide alongside that of other content providers. They can review the statements made by individuals in the segments and apply their own editorial perspective. We provide content that we believe is relevant and newsworthy for our clients and their audiences, and clients choose to buy that content.

The assertion that Ruptly has “cherry-picked” video statements to repeat false or misleading statements and to advance pro-Kremlin positions is equally completely inaccurate. We run statements from sources that reflect the entirety of what they have said, in the same vein as our fellow news agencies, and in no way leave out elements of those views (see Appendix 1 for examples).

Indeed, it is concerning that the implication of NewsGuard’s comments is that carrying statements of the ‘official position’ of Russia is something a news agency should not do, and that such video is not suitable for our client news teams to receive and responsibly use at their discretion. This is a worrisome conclusion, and appears as an attempt to assert an editorial judgement by NewsGuard on the very validity of such positions to even exist. We hope of course that this isn’t the case, and that NewsGuard does not intend to assert editorial judgement over Ruptly, or anyone else for that matter. 

It is also asserted in your commentary on Ruptly that our content advanced pro-Kremlin positions, but no examples nor qualification for such an imputation are made. There is no example of how, or where, our supply of raw news footage to clients might have done any such thing, and we request that this is immediately retracted.   

 

NewsGuard wrote:

Several Ruptly clips published between April 2018 and June 2018 repeated Kremlin claims that the Russia-backed Syrian government did not use chemical weapons. Ruptly videos and headlines often included Russian officials’ claims that the attacks were “staged,” and quoted officials as questioning whether the attacks ever happened. Headlines of clips published between April 2018 and June 2018 include, “Netherlands: Alleged Douma hospital workers denying ‘any sign’ of chemical weapons,” and “Netherlands: ‘No symptoms of chemical weapons poisoning’ – Alleged Douma emergency worker.” 

In October 2018, Ruptly published a video with the headline, “Russia: MoD warns of false flag chemical attack in Idlib,” in which the Ministry of Defence’s chief spokesperson alleged that volunteer members of the Syria Civil Defence, usually called the White Helmets, solicited Syrians to participate in staged videos of attacks in return for food.

The Kremlin’s claims that Syria did not use chemical weapons on its citizens in 2018 have been contradicted by first-person accounts, photos, and videos documenting the victims, and reports from the United Nations and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Our response:

Ruptly’s formatting of headlines is geared to best service its clients and industry standard working practices. The headlines factually relay the opinion or content within each clip.

Also, to simply disregard statements and not share content that may be considered controversial, dissenting, or contain views that some don’t agree with neglects the material role of a news agency, and would undermine the ability of journalists using a video news agency service to adequately report on events as they unfold. We believe it is our duty to ensure that our clients are able to make editorial judgements themselves as to their selection of footage to include in their final news items, and that the array of content provided from the various agency sources they may use is as diverse as possible. 

This is no more important than in relation to the items NewsGuard references as points against the veracity of Ruptly content – for example, as can be seen in the recent case of leaked files (confirmed as genuine by the OPCW), it was revealed that information surrounding 2018 chemical attacks in Douma provided by official reports was, in fact, not accurately portraying expert analysis. Therefore, failing to take into account the counter reports of the Kremlin would have allowed the OPCW’s inaccurate information to circulate unchallenged, without an alternative view. Moreover, Ruptly would have done a disservice to its clients, and their publics, if it hadn’t offered them access to the video content that it did.

Similarly, applying our view/opinion on statements that are made by officials is NOT the format that we, as a news agency, should comply with, and nor will we. It would be a disservice to journalists if agencies like ours editorialised or added their own assessments. Instead, we provide statements from opposing sides, where the source of the statement has expressed it directly and on-camera. 

To be clear, this is not a practice that we have invented, and most certainly not one that attempts to advance any particular position. News media buy clips from us, and use them in combination with their own content, or other clips sourced from us, or elsewhere, to create news items for the public. It is for news outlets to develop the news stories that their publics come to them for, and to suitably editorialise; not for Ruptly to do so. 

In addition to the extended list of opposing opinions that we have already sent you with regards to this topic, below are similar examples from AP, to help show commonality in industry practice:

Russia: US chemical weapons plot in Syria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-CSH65Eja8 

Russia: US training Syria rebels to carry out chemical weapons attacks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2fmnKAHFFw 

Russia says evidence of Syria chemical attacks was faked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm7MT09x_Ao

Syria / Russia / Cyprus / USA – Lavrov says Moscow has proof alleged Douma chemical attack was stage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnr7yr4VOCU

Syrians arrive at OPCW to testify that they appeared in “staged” chemical attack videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1mhxGdj0FM

Russian envoy to OPCW: Syria chemical attack a fabrication aided by UK intelligence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Pw02JWjBo

Russian UK amb denies Macron has proof of Syria chemical attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM0XadBNjf0

Russia: Syria found chlorine of German origin in Ghouta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gALBmtYC-yM

Again, if we follow the logic that NewsGuard have presented, AP has presumably “repeated Kremlin claims”, thereby advancing the Kremlin’s position. Clearly this isn’t the case: AP is simply applying the accepted industry standard approach to presenting news agency content, by providing the factual description of statements and positions expressed by news-generating government officials alongside appropriate attributions. 

This is not affecting your credibility score attached to AP, and nor do we believe it should, yet we note that it shouldn’t affect Ruptly’s either, and hope that NewsGuard recognises the impropriety of concluding that it should.

 

NewsGuard wrote:

Also in 2018, Ruptly published approximately 20 video segments about the poisoning of Skripal in Salisbury, England. NewsGuard found that the majority of the clips featured press conferences or interviews that repeated the Kremlin assertion that two suspects believed to be Russian military agents were not involved. Headlines included “Russia: Putin says Skripal poisoning suspects are civilians, not criminals,” “Russia: ‘He’s just a scumbag’ – Putin on Skripal,” and “Netherlands: Skripal suspects may offer ‘proof of spuriousness’ says Russia.”

 

Our response:

This point is inaccurate, and highly misleading; highlighting clear issues with the conclusion reached and the research NewsGuard has conducted into the volume of our content during the period surrounding the news events mentioned. We have taken the time to exceptionally go through our video archive, as any of our clients can, to accurately clarify the reality of our output over the two-week period surrounding the height of this news topic. We hope that this provides a clear example of the diversity of our output, but also highlights issues with the manner of NewsGuard’s assessments.

During the two weeks surrounding the peak of news media interest in this story – 9-27 March 2018 – Ruptly carried 102 videos relating to the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury. This included 28 general informative videos, 42 UK and international community reactions (EU/USA), and 32 Russian reaction videos (links included in Appendix 1). In addition to these videos, we also made 20 live transmissions available to our clients, produced either by our teams, or others such as NATO, The House of Commons, and UNTV; covering a range of topics from the British Prime Minister visiting Salisbury, to footage of expelled diplomats leaving from Stanstead Airport in the UK.

It is also important to point out that by the logic presented in NewsGuard’s assessment of Ruptly, video news agencies like Ruptly shouldn’t cover opinions from individuals of relevance on international news stories when their view differs from the ‘established’ opinion.

It’s incongruous as an international video news agency, with access to Russian government officials, that we wouldn’t provide the statements that they make on newsworthy subjects to our clients to review and use as they wish. And, given our access, surely it stands to reason that we would have a significant number of video segments from these individuals – as that is what is expected by our clients – and is also a competitive advantage of Ruptly, similar to that which our peers may enjoy in other parts of the world.

For example, looking at data from Tubular Labs, the access that naturally enables us to present positions and activities of various Russian government offices/public institutions more than other outlets, is not dissimilar from our competitors’ advantageous positions of access to other seats of power. For example, that of AP to the White House and AFP to the Élysée Palace. Ruptly delivers content volumes in line with its competitive advantages in the same way as these competitors do – which can easily be seen when comparing their  cross-platform social media output:. Search results for “Trump” show AP carries 4,929 items compared to AFP’s 2,444; whereas, conversely, search results for “Macron” are: AP – 62 / AFP – 520. 

However, it’s also worth noting that when looking at publicly available results for the search term “Skripal” on AP’s Archive YouTube Channel, around a third of the materials are segments featuring the Russian position. Headlines, such as: “Russia: Skripal poisoning is UK/US plot”, “Kremlin doubts Yulia Skripal issued statement of her own free will”, “UK could have poisoned Skripal to cover Brexit difficulties” and many more were all made available by AP to its clients (see below). 

 

AP: 

Russia: Skripal poisoning is UK/US plot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZIJ6dSW59k

Russian ambassador urges UK to be honest in Skripal poison probe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erH407xlKzA

Russian FM spokeswoman: Spy’s illness being used to whip up anti-Russian sentiment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBjo1nh5R2k

Kremlin wants UK to say what it knows about Skripal suspects

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfN3-MTMTg8

Former neighbour on poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FoOf33lz9E

Russia FM: UK could have poisoned Skripal to cover Brexit difficulties

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMAKjGgQWNk

Kremlin doubts Yulia Skripal issued statement of her own free will

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeB6frd06QE

Kremlin: Britain could ask to interrogate poisoning suspects

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6J4VPFynW0

Russian OPCW rep on UK holding Yulia Skripal “hostage”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u3YJzlqIss

Russian UK amb questions Yulia Skripal’s refusal to meet officials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EspJOm3ajDk

Kremlin spokeswoman: Spy rumours part of anti-Russia media campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Glr0Tr-p0

AUDIO: Peskov accuses UK of “Russophobia” over Skripal affair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81zY0-Iumlk

Putin spokesman reiterates Russia stance that Novichok suspects are civilians

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYUoQBbWY8c

Lavrov accuses West of “lies and disinformation” over spy poisoning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y83g8lmYl0Q

FM spokeswoman on UK’s “political and propagandist show”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvoo0xEPD94

Kremlin spokeswoman: Spy rumours part of anti-Russia media campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Glr0Tr-p0

 

NewsGuard wrote:

Between 2014 and 2018, Ruptly published a handful of videos showing Russian officials denying the country’s involvement with the July 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine. A Dutch-led investigation concluded that the plane was shot down by a Russian-made military missile launched from a region controlled by Kremlin-backed separatists, an assertion that Russian officials have repeatedly challenged.

In September 2018, Ruptly published a Russian-language video with a headline airing Russia’s claim that video evidence was “falsified” to implicate the Kremlin in the airplane crash. Another September 2018 video titled, “Russia: Missile that downed MH17 was owned by Ukraine – MoD” covered a press conference in which the Russian Ministry of Defense said the missile that shot down the plane was owned by Ukraine. In 2015, Ruptly posted videos with headlines such as: “Russia: MH17 crash caused by Kiev’s ‘greed and carelessness’ – Rosaviathon deputy head” and “Malaysia: Some Western nations use MH17 tragedy for ‘political purposes’ – Lavrov.”

Ruptly also published multiple videos that provided alternative perspectives on the crash, featuring officials from the Netherlands, U.S., and Ukraine who stated that Russia was responsible. 

 

Our response:

Russia: Missile which shot down flight MH17 was Ukrainian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u6vxmiTfGM  

This video report was uploaded by AP roughly 7 months ago. Headlines like this are not a reason for NewsGuard to doubt AP’s credibility. They cannot serve as testament of whether a news agency is credible or not.  

We have not, and will, not deny journalists the ability to access factual content, even if it features an official position that opposes other official positions or is regarded as controversial. This is not a matter of endorsement or opinion: this is what news agencies do to enable adequate research and reporting.   

 

NewsGuard wrote:

While NewsGuard found that Ruptly provides more balanced coverage of some events, such as the 2016 U.S. presidential election, it found that Ruptly skewed the proportion of its coverage to favor Kremlin positions in other events, including the Syrian chemical attacks and Skripal poisoning. Because its overall coverage of topics of interest to Russia have predominantly featured the positions of its government and owner, NewsGuard has determined that the site does not handle the difference between news and opinion responsibly. 

 

Our response:

As mentioned throughout our response, our content is in line with widespread industry standards for news agencies and, in particular, it is what is expected and demanded by our clients. 

Having a well-organised presence in Russia provides us with a competitive advantage over our rival video news agencies and we will continue using it to provide more information from Russia with faster editing and faster translations. This is the same as any other news agency with a strong presence in specific countries or skill with languages. For example, when AFP reports on topics related to Francophone nations, they will have more content from these territories compared to other agencies, and will likely have more clients turn to them for that specific coverage. And, it’s not surprising to anyone. 

With the cases mentioned above (Skripal, Syria, MH17), aside from having clarified Ruptly’s ownership structure to show such a statement to be materially wrong, it would be remiss to not point out the fact that it is simply illogical for us to reduce the amount that we cover the Russian official position on these matters – as it is directly connected to the news in question. This explains why we, and other agencies, had provided content featuring those statements. 

Also, at no point does NewsGuard make any evidentiary note relating to failure by Ruptly to handle the difference between ‘news and opinion responsibly’. In itself, this is a rather bizarre claim given that the core of our business as a news agency is to provide video clips that cater to our clients’ needs for raw footage of news events. Therefore, our video news clips, by their very nature, do not contain any opinion from Ruptly journalists or contributors whatsoever. Given this renders inaccurate a statement such as “NewsGuard has determined that the site does not handle the difference between news and opinion responsibly”, we would appreciate this apparent inaccuracy addressing and explaining. 

 

NewsGuard wrote:

Asked about Ruptly’s choice of coverage topics, Toktosunova told NewsGuard that the service has covered multiple perspectives on major news events. “Ruptly provided objective and impartial materials showing the position of the opposite sides in the same disputes,” she said.

Headlines on Ruptly videos are generally straightforward and describe what people are saying in the footage, but there are multiple instances where they repeat false information in the video segments, which is why NewsGuard determined that the site publishes deceptive headlines.

 

Our response:

We are exceptionally careful about attributing statements and keeping headlines descriptive. We create accurate headlines for the videos that we offer to publishers, of newsmakers making statements. Although, we also recognise that no one is exempt from making mistakes. As an example of this, AFP felt able to use our coverage in order to debunk misleading deceptive titles on Facebook: https://factcheck.afp.com/no-not-accurate-comparison-how-russia-welcomes-indian-and-pakistani-leaders?fbclid=IwAR0DwYo8-ajDNmF1OUWQ2api42SQPjYNBOd_UJvhETkJeqt7s8ovqDLb_eo

Our industry-standard headlines do not substantiate a claim that we publish deceptive headlines. We caption our headlines accurately to reflect the subject matter and the core elements of the newsmaker(s/ing) within the videos in line with common practice across the news agency world.

In early 2019, Ruptly also launched the Ruptly Verification Unit, bolstering an already-robust editorial verification practice to undertake in-depth analysis of content that appears on our platform; including the verification of sources, accuracy of information and, importantly, verifying the provenance of any footage that we, and also other news agencies, have received – leading the industry.

 

Additional points from the 19th July meeting at NewsGuard’s offices in London:

It appears within your assessment of Ruptly that there has been a material misunderstanding surrounding the nature of Ruptly’s output as a news agency. In each of the points and examples above, this is a common thread that builds to form an inaccurate portrayal of both Ruptly and its content by NewsGuard, which we hope to redress.

Within our meeting, some additional background on Ruptly was requested, and we have ensured to include this herein. Within Appendix 2, you will also find a selection from an array of items on the platform that you had expressed a desire to receive. All of these examples, and more, are of course openly available within our archive to all clients.

Ruptly currently works with over 1,400 clients spanning 111 countries worldwide, across a wide spectrum of media entities, from large scale networks such as CBS News, NHK, RAI, C-SPAN and Al Jazeera to high-profile digital publishers such as The Mail Online, The Sun, South China Morning Post, Tencent, Yahoo, and Ladbible, to global production houses, OTT platforms and documentary institutions, as well as fast-rising independent vloggers on Facebook and YouTube producing the next generation of news media output. 

Ruptly also introduced new subscription models to adapt to the ever-changing consumption habits of media licensing clientele across the world, namely the groundbreaking new product within the news industry called “Ruptly Pass”, a digital-first subscription option which provides unlimited Ruptly content access to qualified emerging media operating on low budgets, at a price-point of 12.50 euros per month.  This business model enabled Ruptly to capture and expand the volume of its subscriber base towards an increasingly fragmented digital market, reaching clients operating on web and social media across 21 countries since the service’s launch in September 2018.

This year also saw the increase of exclusive footage production to enable new client uptake and increase subscriber base renewals, an increase in live event usage utilising the new “Ruptly Live” delivery platform and multiple-language translations of content, resulting in increased sales to major broadcasting networks, independent digital creators and high-profile international online publishers across web and social platforms. The company also consolidated its rising industry reputation with numerous awards and recognitions.

  •         The Drum Online Media Awards – winner of Commercial Team of the Year 2018 
  •         German Stevie – Video Platform for Media and Publishers 2019 Ruptly Live. Gold Award
  •         Shorty Awards – Best Live News Coverage 2019 – Yellow Vests. Gold Distinction
  •         Digiday Awards – Europe 2019 – The Best Use of Live – Ruptly Live
  •         The Drum Online Media Awards 2019 – Breaking News Story of the Year – Kemerovo mall fire. Finalist
  •         Nominated: Diplomatic Council Introduces Nominees for DC Global Media Innovator 2018 – Ruptly Live Platform

Ruptly plans to further develop its video-on-demand platform “Ruptly.tv” with localisation of its language offerings in Russian, Spanish and Arabic in 2019, alongside development of a dedicated archive and long-format documentary partner section.

ENDS

 

APPENDIX 1 – Skripal video items

 

INFORMATIVE COVERAGE:

  • 09.03.2018 UK: New specialist medical teams arrive at ex-spy Skripal’s house

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180309-023

  • 09.03.2018 UK: Troops and military equipment arrive to aid Salisbury probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180309-028 

  • 10.03.2018 UK: Police search graveside in nerve agent spy probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180310-012   

  • 10.03.2018 UK: Forensic officers cut off hazmat suits after spy graveyard search

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180310-014 

  • 10.03.2018 UK: Military called in to remove ambulance linked to Skripal poisoning

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180310-027 

  • 11.03.2018 UK: Salisbury residents told to wash clothes after nerve agent probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180311-015 

  • 11.03.2018 UK: Army seconds Salisbury police amid Skripal probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180311-021 

  • 11.03.2018 UK: Authorities warn public of health risks linked to Skripal poisoning

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180311-018 

  • 12.03.2018 UK: Salisbury braces for Prime Minister’s nerve agent announcement

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-021 

  • 12.03.2018 UK: National Security Council meets before PM May’s nerve agent announcement

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-029 

  • 12.03.2018 UK: Police cordon off Sainsbury’s car park in Salisbury-spy probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-049  

  • 13.03.2018 UK: Salisbury residents react to May’s Russia accusation

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-009  

  • 13.03.2018 Russia: UK ambassador arrives at Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-017 

  • 13.03.2018 UK: Home Secretary chairs COBRA meeting over Salisbury-spy probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-023 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: Contaminated recovery vehicle removed as Skripal probe continues

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-040 

  • 15.03.2018 Russia: Putin discusses Skripal case and Syria during Security Council meeting

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-025 

  • 15.03.2018 UK: ‘Who knows what we Put-in’ – Morbid graffiti pokes fun at Russian embassy menu

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-064 

  • 16.03.2018 Russia: Moscow launches investigation into assasination attempt on Skripal

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-039 

  • 16.03.2018 UK: Forensics teams return to the scene to continue Skripal investigation

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-044 

  • 20.03.2018 UK: Vehicles in and out of London Russian embassy after expulsion order

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180320-015 

  • 20.03.2018 Sweden: Russian ambassador to Sweden summoned over Zakharova ‘Skirpal’ comments

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180320-022 

  • 20.03.2018 UK: Expelled diplomats leave Russian embassy in London

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180320-012 

  • 20.03.2018 Russia: Expelled Russian diplomats arrive in Moscow

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180320-043 

  • 21.03.2018 UK: Expelled Russian diplomats board plane home following Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180320-027 

  • 21.03.2018 Czech Republic: Russian ambassador summoned over nerve agent origin claims

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-032 

  • 23.03.2018 Russia: Vehicles leave UK embassy as expulsion deadline approaches

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180323-016 

  • 23.03.2018 Belgium: Top dogs meet for second day of European Council summit

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180323-013 

  • 27.03.2018 USA: Trump orders closure of Russian consulate in Seattle

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-010

 

UK AND INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS:

  • 12.03.2018 UK: May says Skripal poisoning ‘highly likely’ a Russian act

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-038 

  • 12.03.2018 UK: May says ‘no business as usual with Russia’ as tensions over ex-spy mount

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-042  

  • 12.03.2018 UK: Corbyn favours ‘robust dialogue’ over ‘cutting off contact’ with Russia

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-040  

  • 13.03.2018 Russia: ‘UK expects account from the Russian State by the end of today’ – Amb. Bristow

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-022 

  • 13.03.2018 UK: ‘Midnight, tonight’ – Johnson gives Russia ultimatum to give account of ex-spy poisoning

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-024 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: Theresa May expels 23 Russian diplomats over Salisbury attack

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-018 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: Corbyn heckled and booed in parliament over Salisbury statement

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-023 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: British PM hits back at Labour, lauds support overseas

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-024 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: Corbyn advocates against cutting-off ties with Russia after Salisbury

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-029 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: May ‘trying to build up her image’ – Ken Livingstone on Russian diplomat expulsion

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-053 

  • 15.03.2018 UK: To ban RT UK ‘would portray an image of a country lost in self-doubt’ – Alex Salmond

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-045 

  • 19.03.2018 Belgium: Russia ‘not fooling anybody any more’ claims Boris Johnson

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180319-040 

  • 23.03.2018 Belgium: EU accepts our ‘highly likely’ spy explanation says May

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180323-010   

  • 26.03.2018 Estonia: ‘Putin wishes to divide Britain from allies’ – UK Defence Secretary

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-055 

  • 27.03.2018 UK: More than 130 people could have been exposed to nerve agent – Theresa May

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-008 

  • 27.03.2018 UK: Johnson confirms there are ‘no plans’ for World Cup boycott

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-067 

  • 12.03.2018 USA: White House describes UK spy poisoning as ‘outrageous’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-048  

  • 14.03.2018 Germany: New FM Maas asks Moscow for transparency on Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-061  

  • 15.03.2018 Belgium: NATO offers ‘strong political support’ to UK in Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-019 

  • 15.03.2018 USA: ‘It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it’ – Trump on Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-047 

  • 16.03.2018 Germany: Russian reaction to Salisbury case ‘inappropriate’ – German gov.

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-031 

  • 16.03.2018 Germany: Salisbury case becomes focus of Merkel-Lofven meet in Berlin

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-040 

  • 16.03.2018 France: Merkel and Macron point finger at Russia over Skripal

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-036 

  • 16.03.2018 Poland: Evidence points clearly in one direction – German FM on Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-052 

  • 19.03.2018 Poland: Morawiecki, Merkel push for ‘common,’ ‘firm’ EU response in Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180319-080  

  • 19.03.2018 Belgium: EU Foreign Affairs Council to decide over sanctions against Russia

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180319-009 

  • 19.03.2018 Belgium: Russian election not ‘fair political contest’ – German FM Maas

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180319-026 

  • 19.03.2018 Belgium: NATO expresses solidarity with UK over Salisbury case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180319-047 

  • 19.03.2018 Belgium: Iran sanctions already tough enough says EU’s Mogherini

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180319-048 

  • 21.03.2018 USA: Putin reelection ‘no surprise’ – State Dept.

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-004 

  • 21.03.2018 Germany: Merkel highlights importance of integration in first Bundestag address of new govt.

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-037 

  • 21.03.2018 Belgium: ‘I am not in the mood to celebrate President Putin’s reappointment’ – Tusk

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-050 

  • 23.03.2018 Belgium: EU recalls Russian ambassador to Brussels after EC meeting with May

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180323-004 

  • 23.03.2018 Belgium: Tusk vows ‘additional measures’ against Russia

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180323-030 

  • 26.03.2018 Poland: Poland expels 4 Russian diplomats over Skirpal case – FM

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-046 

  • 26.03.2018 Bulgaria: 14 EU member states to expel Russian diplomats over Skripal case – Tusk

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-041   

  • 26.03.2018 UN: SecGen ‘will closely follow’ Russian diplomats’ expulsion – Spokesperson

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-063 

  • 26.03.2018 USA: Expulsion of diplomats reduces ‘Russian ability to spy on Americans’ – WH Deputy Press Sec.

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-059 

  • 26.03.2018 Russia: US ambassador in Moscow speaks of ‘largest expulsion of Russian intelligence in history’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-065 

  • 26.03.2018 Belgium: NATO withdraws accreditation from 7 Russian diplomats – Stoltenberg

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-057 

  • 28.03.2018 USA: White House calls Russia ‘deep sea beast’ with ‘lots of tentacles’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180328-008 

  • 28.03.2018 Germany: Foreign Ministry demands ‘concrete answers’ from Russia in nerve agent probe

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180328-027 

 

RUSSIAN REACTIONS:

  • 09.03.2018 Ethiopia: ‘Pure propaganda’ – Lavrov on allegations of Russian involvement in Skripal poisoning

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180309-014  

  • 12.03.2018 Russia: ‘Figure it out first then we’ll discuss it’ – Putin on Skripal to BBC

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180312-034 

  • 13.03.2018 Russia: Follow international law before giving ‘ultimatums’ to Russia – Lavrov

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-008 

  • 13.03.2018 Russia: ‘No UK media to work in Russia if London shuts RT’ – Zakharova

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180313-042 

  • 14.03.2018 Russia: Lavrov slams UK behaviour in Skripal case as ‘huge arrogance’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-015 

  • 14.03.2018 UK: Russian Ambassador to UK calls British response over Salisbury ‘unacceptable provocation’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-020 

  • 14.03.2018 Russia: Matviyenko calls UK Skripal measures ‘unscrupulous provocation’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-045 

  • 14.03.2018 UN: UK takes Skripal case to UN, not Hague, as they are scared of professional probe – Russian envoy

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-066 

  • 14.03.2018 UN: ‘Cui bono?’ – Russian envoy asks UNSC of Salisbury case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-076 

  • 14.03.2018 Russia: Zakharova responds to UK’s accusations on Skripal poisoning case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180314-077 

  • 15.03.2018 Russia: Lavrov vows ‘response will be very soon, I assure you’ on expulsions

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-006 

  • 15.03.2018 UK: There is no transparency in the Skripal case, says Russian ambassador *EXCLUSIVE*

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180315-051 

  • 16.03.2018 Kazakhstan: Lavrov says 12,000 evacuated from Syria’s Eastern Ghouta

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-014 

  • 16.03.2018 Netherlands: British fear ‘dirty trick’ being exposed – Russian OPCW rep on Skripal

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180316-050 

  • 18.03.2018 Russia: Mikhalkov says Skripal poisoning akin to ‘blockbuster’ by ‘low-grade screenwriter’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180318-106 

  • 18.03.2018 Russia: Putin slams Skripal poisoning accusations as ‘nonsense’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180318-089 

  • 20.03.2018 UK: Russian Amabssador bids farewell to expelled diplomats

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180320-024 

  • 21.03.2018 Russia: UK may have orchestrated attack on Skripal’s daughter – FM official

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-017 

  • 21.03.2018 Russia: Moscow considers Mirzayanov’s ‘Novichok’ formula publication as ‘aiding terrorism’ – MoD

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-026 

  • 21.03.2018 Japan: US-Japan missile defence system ‘affects Russian security’ – Lavrov

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-006 

  • 21.03.2018 Russia: UK £48m investment in chemical weapons defence centre ‘raises questions’ – MoD

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-030 

  • 21.03.2018 Russia: Skripal was of ‘zero value’ to Moscow – Peskov *EXCLUSIVE*

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180321-057 

  • 23.03.2018 Russia: European Council’s Skripal statement ‘regrettable’ – Foreign Ministry

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180323-031  

  • 25.03.2018 Russia: Peskov describes ‘unprecedented rudeness’ of British on Skripal case

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180325-034  

  • 26.03.2018 Germany: ‘Absolutely unfriendly gesture’ – Russian Amb. on Berlin expelling diplomants

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-052  

  • 26.03.2018 France: ‘Inappropriate to succumb to dirty provocation’ – Russian amb. on expulsion of diplomats

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-045 

  • 26.03.2018 Latvia: ‘Esprit de corps’ – Russian ambassador on Riga’s ‘solidarity’ with UK over Skripal

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-064 

  • 26.03.2018 USA: ‘We hoped for common sense’ – Russian ambassador on expelled diplomats

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-048 

  • 26.03.2018 Lithuania: Russia to expel Lithuanian diplomats – Russian ambassador

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180326-057 

  • 27.03.2018 UN: ‘US abusing its rights and privileges as the host country’ – Russia’s UN envoy on expulsion

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-046 

  • 27.03.2018 Uzbekistan: ‘We will respond, do not doubt it’ – Lavrov on diplomat expulsions

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-044 

  • 27.03.2018 Belgium: EU countries ‘split’ over expulsion of Russian diplomats – Moscow’s EU envoy

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180327-071 

 

APPENDIX 2 – A selection from an array of items on the platform critical of the Russian Government

(Please note that these are examples and each of the topics below have been covered with tens of different reports)

  • Russia: Alexei Navalny jailed for 30 days for ‘calling unauthorized protest’

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20190724-047?search_key=e45612d5-65ab-45ce-b30d-1568ae99cbe9

  • Georgia: TV host suspended for two months after insulting Putin on air

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20190708-047?search_key=4e2d3e39-4ad3-418c-80b9-ad08d5d70e45

  • Russia: Hundreds join unauthorized rally over Moscow election disqualifications

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20190715-050?search_key=10fb6ce1-fcdf-40d1-af6f-06ac0d390fde

  • Russia: ‘Every day we live as if in a gas chamber’ – residents on Yadrovo landfill

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180401-023?search_key=1518ec18-984b-4bd2-bc0c-ce7fa853f878

  • Russia: Investigative journalist Ivan Golunov tearfully thanks supporters at pre-trial hearing

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20190608-031?search_key=b69cd6f0-f100-463d-9e9f-8387baf24d2c

  • Russia: Thousands of Muscovites join march in memory of Boris Nemtsov

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180225-023?search_key=926b29c9-f2b1-4d04-8ca4-388004a074fa

  • Ukraine: Putin mannequin takes goal kicks from WC2018 protesters in Kiev

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20180122-038?search_key=e9665408-2685-4d99-a2be-b4c543b3e98f

  • USA: Anti-Putin protesters hit NYC as Russian leader arrives for UNGA

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20150928-084?search_key=933b602d-cc00-434b-9a18-de5b63a18fe2

  • Germany: Protest held outside Russian embassy in Berlin

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20161207-095?search_key=9a3e88aa-d299-487b-b129-eeb5bcffb31e

  • USA: “Putin is a killer” – anti-Russian protesters hit NYC

https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20150927-097?search_key=9dfc8d63-94b3-415a-ba38-60ed42853f33