Read this article about election meddling from the Russian News Agency. Pay close attention to who the story uses as its sources, which have been underlined to easily identify them. Then answer the questions based on IMV-AIN:
From TASS (The Russian News Agency)
March 18, 2021
https://tass.com/politics/1267601
Russian diplomat blasts US accusations of election meddling as fake news
On Tuesday, a report released by the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence was published claiming that the Russian government allegedly tried to discredit the US President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Moscow considers Washingtons accusations of Russia meddling in the 2020 US presidential election as another example of fake news, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during Thursdays briefing.
“The current US administration does not cease to astonish us with the absurdity of their public statements. Its not just about blatantly out-of-line attacks against the Russian leadership, its also about the absurd accusations of meddling in last years presidential election that [candidate from the Democratic party Joe] Biden won,” Zakharova said. “We consider this another piece of fake news, built entirely on the unfounded conclusion that materials critical of the candidate were allegedly circulating on the Internet, reportedly spread by some Russian agents of influence.”
Zakharova stated that according to the US political elites, all supporters of former US President Donald Trump and the entire opposition are considered “agents of influence.” “This seems weird, namely based on US approaches to interpreting democracy,” the diplomat said. “Meanwhile, if someone tried to affect the expression of the citizens will, it must have been the Internet giants that support the Democratic Party that blocked the accounts of the incumbent president and thousands of his supporters on social networks.”
“We are forced to remind you of an obvious fact: there is no evidence of Russian government bodies interfering in US affairs. The same cannot be said about endless attempts of US officials to manage political processes in other countries, including Russia, to directly lead the marginal opposition groups with the aim to bring instability and to sow dissent and discord,” the spokeswoman stressed.
Washingtons reaction to unsanctioned protest rallies in Russia in January is an example of that, Zakharova said. She reminded that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was quick to come up with critical remarks against the Russian law enforcement. “Essentially, not only did the head of the US State Department allow himself to infringe upon the competence of our judicial and executive powers, he also doubted the legitimacy of epidemiological restrictions when holding mass events,” the diplomat added.
“Unfortunately, the US side is still trapped in an illusion, trying to roll out a meaningless campaign of Russophobic attacks. This only leads to further degradation of bilateral relations, which contradicts the core interests of the Russian and US nations. It seems that Washington is not ready to realize the corresponding risks to peace and security,” Zakharova concluded.
On Tuesday, a report released by the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence was published claiming that the Russian government allegedly tried to discredit the US President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election.
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after Reading the article, respond to these questions about the sources used:
(Independence) Do any of the sources used have a direct self-interest in how the story is presented to the public?
(Multiple) Name each one of the sources that you see being used or quoted. How many unique sources did you find? Are they balanced (reflecting different sides of the story) or one-sided?
(Verifiable) What evidence (if any) do the sources give that could be verified/fact checked and/or which assertions do they make without evidence?
(Authority/Informed) Do we have a reason to believe the sources used would have authority or direct knowledge of the event?
(Named) Which sources do they name specifically (name, title, relevance to the story) that we could use to check and see if they said what is claimed?
