Integrity Initiative faces setback in Norway: Public ‘skepticism’ of US hinders anti-Russia infowar

Published time: 14 Jan, 2019 10:12Edited time: 14 Jan, 2019 11:41

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© AFP / Christof Stache

Integrity Initiative’s crusade to create a lockstep anti-Russia narrative in Europe and the US has hit a roadblock: According to the shadowy organization, Norwegians are too skeptical of US politics and not adequately anti-Russia.

A series of leaks have revealed that Scotland-based Integrity Initiative, which bills itself as a non-partisan warrior against disinformation and propaganda, received £2.5 million from the UK government to manufacture a seemingly organic anti-Russia consensus across the Western world.

To accomplish this task, the organization enlisted “clusters” of individuals working in entertainment, politics, media, and academics to help push the desired narrative.

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Unfortunately, this simple but elegant strategy has faced unforeseen obstacles. According to a leaked internal report detailing the organization’s activities in Norway, the Norwegian public are too “soft” on Russia – which is obviously unacceptable.

Outlining an August 2016 conference organized by the group in Oslo, the reportthat was listed along the fourth wave of leaks from Integrity Initiative laments that Norwegians are “generally inclined to be soft on Russia as a near neighbor in the North (where there is a tradition of friendship and a good working relationship).”

To make matters worse, some Norwegians don’t blindly trust the United States: “Although the public can be hard-nosed about Putin and Moscow’s policies, their skepticism of US/Western politics can lead to their being less critical of Russia’s position at times,” the report states. For Integrity Initiative, this problem is further exacerbated by the fact that “Norwegian journalists tend to give Russian information the same weight as Western information, not testing its veracity.”

Luckily the organization laid out “next steps” that should be taken to cure Norwegians of their dangerous level-headedness.

Integrity Initiative should “approach influential journalists to pick up this story and educate the public,” the report recommends. The report also calls on Integrity Initiative to “stimulate a series of papers” that align with their anti-Russia agenda.

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The organization’s questionable tactics have raised questions about its true aims.

“They’re actually performing the very definition of propaganda,” investigative journalist Ben Swann told RT’s Watching the Hawks. The shady “networks of networks” is harming the pursuit of truth, he added. Swann characterized Integrity Initiative’s tactics – both in the US and Europe – as: “We’re going to create a narrative, we’re going to force it down your throat, and you’re going to accept this as truth.”