Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to “weaken Russia,” leaked docs reveal
New leaked documents show Reuters’ and the BBC’s involvement in covert UK FCO programs to effect “attitudinal change” and “weaken the Russian state’s influence,” alongside intel contractors and Bellingcat. by Max Blumenthal Part 5 - The UK covertly funded and managed a network of Russian YouTubers and “activated” anti-government protest content In a document marked “private and confidential,” Zinc revealed the Consortium’s role in setting up a “YouTuber network” in Russia and Central Asia designed to propagate the message of the UK and its NATO allies. According to Zinc, the Consortium was “ supporting participants mak[ing] and receiv[ing] international payments without being registered as external sources of funding, ” presumably to circumvent Russian registration requirements for foreign-funded media outfits. Zinc also helped the YouTube influencers “ develop editorial strategies to deliver key messages ” while working “ to keep their involvement confidential. ” And it carried out it