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Russia Today
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Soft power, hard cash: How the UK secretly buys influencers
There is something profoundly grotesque about a government that funds 'freedom campaigns' through secret payments to social media stars, complete with non-disclosure agreements forbidding them to reveal who's really pulling the strings. Yet that's precisely what Britain's Foreign Office has been caught doing. A recent investigation by Declassified UK revealed that the UK government covertly paid dozens of foreign YouTube influencers to promote messages aligned with British foreign policy – under the familiar, pious banners of 'democracy support' and 'combating disinformation.' Of course, those slogans sound wholesome enough. Who wouldn't be in favour of democracy or against lies online? But this framing is the point: it launders raw geopolitical interests into the comforting language of values. In reality, this is simply propaganda. Slick, decentralised, modernised – but propaganda nonetheless. This covert campaign didn't happen in a vacuum. It's merely the latest incarnation of Britain's longstanding approach to managing inconvenient narratives abroad. During the Cold War, the UK ran the notorious Information Research Department (IRD) from the bowels of the Foreign Office, quietly subsidising global news wires, encouraging friendly academics, even feeding scripts to George Orwell himself. Back then, it was about containing Soviet influence. Today, the rhetorical targets have shifted – 'Russian disinformation,' 'violent extremism,' 'authoritarian propaganda' – but the machinery is strikingly similar. Only now, it's all camouflaged beneath glossy behavioural science reports and 'evidence-based interventions.' Enter Zinc Network and a clutch of similar contractors. These are the new psy-ops specialists, rebranded for the digital age. Zinc, in particular, has become a darling of the UK Foreign Office, winning multi-million-pound tenders to craft campaigns in Russia's near abroad, the Balkans, Myanmar and beyond. Their operational blueprint is remarkably consistent: conduct meticulous audience research to understand local grievances, find or build trusted social media voices, funnel them resources and content, and ensure they sign binding agreements not to disclose their British backers. A few years ago, leaked FCDO documents exposed exactly this approach in the Baltics. There, the British government paid for contractors to develop Russian-language media platforms that would counter Moscow's narratives – all under the pretext of strengthening independent journalism. They weren't setting up local BBC World Service equivalents, proudly branded and transparent. They were building subtle, local-looking channels designed to mask their sponsorship. The goal was not to encourage robust pluralistic debate, but to ensure the debate didn't wander into critiques of NATO or London's chosen regional allies. This is the moral sleight-of-hand at the core of such projects: democracy is not the intrinsic end, it's the vehicle for achieving Western policy objectives. When the UK says it's 'building resilience against disinformation,' it means reinforcing narratives that advance British strategic interests, whether that's undermining Moscow, insulating Kiev, or keeping critical questions off the table in Tbilisi. Meanwhile, any rival framing is instantly demonised as dangerous foreign meddling – because only some meddling counts, apparently. It is deeply revealing that the YouTubers enlisted by the Foreign Office were compelled to sign NDAs preventing them from disclosing the ultimate source of their funding. If this were truly about open civic engagement, wouldn't the UK proudly brand these campaigns? Wouldn't London stand behind the principles it professes to teach? Instead, it resorts to precisely the covert playbook it decries when wielded by adversaries. In truth, 'disinformation' has become an incredibly convenient term for Western governments. It carries an aura of technical objectivity — as if there's a universal ledger of truth to consult, rather than a constantly contested arena of competing narratives and interests. Once something is labelled disinformation, it can be suppressed, countered, or ridiculed with minimal scrutiny. It is the modern equivalent of calling ideas subversive or communist in the 1950s. Likewise, 'freedom' in these projects means nothing more than the freedom to align with Britain's worldview. This is a freedom to be curated, not genuinely chosen. And so local influencers are groomed to shape perceptions, not to foster independent judgment. The fact that these influencers look indigenous to their societies is the whole point – it's what gives the campaigns a deceptive organic legitimacy. This is why Zinc's approach hinges on meticulous audience segmentation and iterative testing to find precisely which messages will most effectively shift attitudes. The aim is to secure agreement without debate, to achieve consent without the messy business of authentic local deliberation. This should worry us. When liberal democracies resort to covert influence, they hollow out their own moral authority. They also undermine public trust at home and abroad. If London can so easily rationalise deception in Tallinn or Tashkent, why not someday in Manchester or Birmingham? Already, parts of the behavioural 'nudge' industry that grew out of these foreign adventures have found eager domestic clients in public health and law enforcement. The biggest casualty in all of this is genuine democratic discourse – the thing that such operations claim to protect. Because what these programmes actually protect is a carefully policed marketplace of ideas, where uncomfortable questions are outflanked by well-funded, astroturfed consensus. And so long as Britain continues to cloak its strategic propaganda efforts in the soft language of freedom and resilience, citizens everywhere will remain less informed, less empowered, and more easily manipulated. If that's what modern democracy promotion looks like, maybe we should be honest and call it what it is: camouflage propaganda, draped in the rhetoric of liberty, but designed to ensure populations think exactly what Whitehall wants them to think.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spain: Tens of thousands demand new election at Madrid rally
An opposition-led protest against government corruption in Spain drew tens of thousands of people on Sunday. Officials put the number of people at the "Mafia or Democracy" rally in Madrid at up to 50,000, while the city's right-wing mayor spoke of 100,000 people. Plaza de Espana, a large square in the center of the Spanish capital, was crowded with demonstrators, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags. Mayor Jose Luis Martínez-Almeida told protesters that Spain's opposition People's Party (PP) wants to "drive out the mafia as quickly as possible and restore our democracy," in a reference to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's left-wing government. Todo este deterioro político e institucional tiene que llegar a su fin. ¡Basta ya de arrinconar, perseguir y despreciar a esta España plural y de todos!@IdiazAyuso — PP Comunidad de Madrid (@ppmadrid) June 8, 2025 Many of the protesters chanted, "Pedro Sanchez, resign!" in reaction to a leaked audio recording allegedly showing political activist Leire Diez, at the time member of the Socialist PSOE party, waging a smear campaign against a police unit. The police unit had investigated graft allegations against Sanchez's wife, brother and his former right-hand man. Diez has denied the allegations, insisting that she was conducting research for a book and was not working on behalf of Sanchez or PSOE. She has since quit the party. The Diez scandal is one of several graft investigations circling Sanchez and his allies. Others include alleged donations to lawmakers close to the PSOE linked to a tax fraud case. Having accused the government of "mafia practices" over the affair, PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo told protesters Sunday that the PSOE had "stained everything — politics, state institutions, the separation of powers," before demanding a snap election. The next vote is due in 2027. But Feijoo has already moved his party's congress forward by a year to this July, citing the need to be prepared for possible early polls. The opposition leader is yet to put forward a motion of censure against Sanchez's minority government. To do this, he would need the support of regional parties, who are wary of joining forces with the right-wing populist Vox party. Sunday's was the sixth anti-government protest that the PP has arranged since Feijoo became party leader in April 2022. Former prime ministers Mariano Rajoy and Jose Maria Aznar were also in attendance. A Spanish government spokeswoman mocked Sunday's turnout, noting on X that a veteran Spanish rock duo had recently pulled a bigger crowd in Madrid than the "apocalyptic Feijoo." Estopa mete más gente en el Metropolitano de Madrid que el apocalíptico Feijóo en la Plaza de España — Pilar Alegría (@Pilar_Alegria) June 8, 2025 Sanchez, meanwhile, has dismissed the investigations against members of his inner circle as part of a right-wing "smear campaign." The PP currently holds a slim lead over PSOE, according to recent polls, although Sanchez has the highest approval rating among all party leaders. During its time in office in the past decade, the PP was also accused of corruption, involving illegal party funding, abuse of office, bribery and cover-ups. Edited by: Darko Janjevic
Times of Oman
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Miguel Uribe, who was to run for Colombian Presidential race, shot thrice
Bogota: Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe, in the running to join next year's presidential race, was shot at an event in Bogota, according to national police, CNN reported. The 39-year-old, from the conservative Centro Democratico - or Democratic Center - one of the biggest opposition parties in the South American nation, had expressed his intention to run in next year's election, as per CNN. "Armed individuals shot him in the back while he was participating in a campaign event at around 5:00 pm," the party said in a statement. Bogota Mayor Carlos Galan said Uribe was receiving emergency care after being attacked in the capital's Fontibon district, and the suspected attacker had been arrested. The attack drew condemnation from the Colombian government and Centro Democratico, as well as former presidents and other regional leaders. Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his solidarity with the senator's family in a post on X, saying: "I don't know how to ease your pain. It is the pain of a mother lost, and of a wounded homeland." The Colombian foreign ministry called the attack "a direct affront to democracy, respect for differences, and the free exercise of politics in our country." It called on the authorities to "to fully clarify this serious incident." Centro Democratico called the shooting "an unacceptable act of violence." "We strongly reject this attack, which not only endangers the life of a political leader but also threatens democracy and freedom in Colombia," it said in a statement, as per CNN. At least four former presidents - Ernesto Samper, Alvaro Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos and Ivan Duque - issued condemnations. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa sent his prayers to Uribe's family, adding that "we condemn all forms of violence and intolerance." The UN Human Rights office in Bogota urged the authorities to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colombia presidential hopeful shot twice in head at rally
A Colombian presidential candidate has been shot and seriously injured at a campaign event in the capital, Bogota. Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was hit three times - reportedly twice in the head - by a gunman while he was addressing a small crowd in a park on Saturday. Police arrested a man at the scene. Uribe is in critical condition in hospital, according to Colombian media. Uribe's Centro Democratico party condemned the attack, saying that it "endangers the life of a political leader... democracy and freedom in Colombia". Phone footage shared online appears to show the moment when he was shot in the head mid-speech, prompting those gathered to flee in panic. Paramedics said he had been shot three times, including twice in the head, AFP news agency reported. The government of left wing President Gustavo Petro said it "categorically and forcefully" condemned the attack as an "act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy. Uribe, a well-known member of the political establishment in Colombia, announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election in October. He is the son of Diana Turbay, a journalist who was killed in 1991 in a rescue attempt after she had been kidnapped by the Medellin drugs cartel run at the time by Pablo Escobar.
BBC News
08-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Miguel Uribe Turbay: Colombia presidential candidate shot in head
A Colombian presidential candidate has been shot and seriously injured at a campaign event in the capital, Uribe Turbay, 39, was hit three times - reportedly twice in the head - by a gunman while he was addressing a small crowd in a park on arrested a man at the scene. Uribe is in critical condition in hospital, according to Colombian Centro Democratico party condemned the attack, saying that it "endangers the life of a political leader... democracy and freedom in Colombia". Phone footage shared online appears to show the moment when he was shot in the head mid-speech, prompting those gathered to flee in said he had been shot three times, including twice in the head, AFP news agency government of left wing President Gustavo Petro said it "categorically and forcefully" condemned the attack as an "act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy."Uribe, a well-known member of the political establishment in Colombia, announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election in is the son of Diana Turbay, a journalist who was killed in 1991 in a rescue attempt after she had been kidnapped by the Medellin drugs cartel run at the time by Pablo Escobar.
