Anonymous sources as a way of legalizing false information. The Russian media is losing the trust of its readers.
The Russian media too often cite anonymous sources to spread disinformation and push Authoritarian ideas.
One clear example of such practices is the lies about Democrats during the Trump presidency. Russians now push slander during the Biden Presidency in the White House. And it is happening again with the story of the “not shooting down” and then “shooting down” spy balloons.
Once upon a time, Russian journalists rarely used anonymous sources. Although, they normally pointed to well established, Russian funded news outlets. Anonymousbl sources were quoted only when it was necessary to ensure the propagation of Kremlin disinformation, especially when it came to false classified matters of national security. In such cases, the editors were expected to carefully check and confirm the information received in such an unusual way that false sources were easily debunked. At least, that is how they tried to define the process as a method to gain trust.
Now, anonymous sources have become the norm in Russian reporting work. They are often used as a political tool to spread the ideas and theses of the Kremlin, as well as to slander opponents prior to arrest or assassination.
The use of anonymous sources to discredit enemies of Russia has become widespread since the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine last February. This tactic was used to fabricate false information about Ukraine threatening Russian sovereignty. This is after the illegal annexation of Crimea.
