Why are Kansas City’s airwaves filled with pro-Putin ‘Radio Sputnik’ propaganda? | Hacker News Reader

Why are Kansas City’s airwaves filled with pro-Putin ‘Radio Sputnik’ propaganda?

kansascity.com

58 pointshhs21 comments

>KCXL has no ties to Russia and is against the country’s conflict with Ukraine, Schartel told us Wednesday. But he needs the money, and he’d lose his business if he pulled the plug on Radio Sputnik.

If your business cannot survive without being propped up by payments from a foreign adversary, you don't have a legitimate business.

I love how no one seems to immediately notice this hole in Russian collaborator businesses’ defense.

Should be interesting in this year's US midterms to see how much reported income is in US elections compared to 2018

Globalism in absolute shambles!

Does this apply to Apple?

"conflict with"? Is that how they spell "invasion" in KC?

KCXL: "At KCXL 102.9fm and 1140am, we bring you the truth. We tell you the things that the liberal media wont tell you."

The Voice of America and BBC World Service have been blasting Eastern Europe and Russia from 100kW++ stations since WW2. Sounds like RU found a cheaper way.

The BBC stopped the shortwave broadcasts in 2008.

They have announced yesterday that they're bringing them back: https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/4/22961286/bbc-news-blocked-...

But who does listen to shortwaves nowadays?

As soon as Russia raises their nuclear forces to “special combat readiness”, I’m fine with taking their propaganda off the air.

It's freedom of speech or no freedom of speech ( no matter how off putting)

It's written to offend. Even the title " airwaves filled with pro Putin propaganda"

I just came back from a trip to Kansas City. I dont think anyone in KC is aware that "the sirwaves were filled" with this little radio station.

I hope nobody tells these hand-wringers about shortwave radio

By HN logic, attacking this guy for broadcasting Russian propaganda is a “slippery slope” towards censorship.

Criticizing him for it isn't a slippery slope towards censorship, but stopping him from broadcasting Russian propaganda is censorship. We get to hear and see American and Ukrainian propaganda in many channels - why not one (or more) for the Russian perspective?

That's free speech, protected so there's nothing that can be done about it. Or is there anything ...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Agents_Registration_...

There has not been much in the way of recent case law; one has to go back to the Sedition Act or the acts during WW II to find aggressive laws outright banning foreign propaganda. So it's hard to say quite where the line might be with its interaction with the current interpretation of the 1st amendment (which does apply to non-citizens). But the US federal government does likely have some constitutionally-valid powers to regulate, and perhaps restrict, foreign propaganda.

Is the owner actually paid by the Russian government? The article links to a paywall and isn't very clear.

According to Wikipedia, Radio Sputnik at least is state owned:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_(news_agency)#Radio_...

So it would seem the owner is being paid by the Russian government, although it's not entirely clear.

Seems fishy the "about" information is behind a paywall.

>There has not been much in the way of recent case law

I thought FARA was how they got a bunch of people from the Trump administration.

A foreign state run entity like Sputnik is not protected under the Constitution. They're not US citizens.

Is that also true for TikTok?

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