Post #29677

💬Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova: 🇿🇲 In Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, a two-day UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day (observed on May 3) – has concluded. Usually, this annual event is held on a high note – with fanfare, so to speak. Preferably in a country of the “golden billion”, where no “troublemakers” can spoil, with their revelations, the complacent atmosphere of this “celebration” of freedom of speech and expression – as the West understands these concepts, of course. That was the case in New York in 2023 and in Brussels in 2025. For some mysterious – or, perhaps, quite prosaic – reasons, Russian correspondents, media professionals, public figures and commentators somehow could never make it to the microphone there. Either the conference link – at a forum of a UN specialised agency, no less – would not work, or a visa would not be issued in time, or some other misfortune would strike. ☝️But in Lusaka, things suddenly did not go according to the usual script.RT International chief producer Dmitry Leontyev not only managed to reach this media Eldorado, but also asked a question that, judging by the reaction in the room, left many there stunned. In a nutshell, he asked how countries of Borrell’s “blooming garden” can ban RT for allegedly spreading disinformation when the channel broadcasts only facts. How can those who endlessly lecture others about media pluralism restrict their own citizens’ access to the full range of socially significant information – and then threaten other countries, Zambia among them, with sanctions unless they follow suit and block media outlets the West has baselessly branded “disinformation” channels? What, then, is the meaning of the phrase “freedom of the press”, repeated ad nauseam at such conferences? 👉Not a single speaker gave a clear answer.But those who were ready for an honest conversation heard the Russian journalist’s voice. The West’s house of cards built on lies is wobbling ever more visibly. It is being held together with duct tape – the very tape that all too often runs across the mouths of international officials who are duty-bound to tell the truth about the catastrophic state of journalists’ safety and freedom of speech in the world [but fail to do so].