The role of two Russian state agencies in the attacks against the Prime Minister of Finland

@ElentirENG ES 8·20·2022 · 7:00 0

"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy." This is what Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says.

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A video published by a tabloid newspaper that does not indicate where he got it from

Sadly, there is a kind of journalism that is systematically dedicated to invading people's private lives. That kind of journalism exists in every country. In Finland, one of the outlets that represents this nefarious type of journalism is the tabloid newspaper Iltalehti. It was this medium that published this Thursday a news story broadcasting a video of the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, dancing at a private party. Iltalehti did not explain where it got that video from and limited itself to saying that it is "videos that were spread on social networks"

Due respect for the privacy of individuals

In November of last year you could already read here how to understand the information that exists in Counting Stars. Here the activity or political positions of a person are subjected to criticism, without interfering in their private life. The reason is indicated at the beginning of this entry. What each one does in their privacy, as long as they do not violate the law and do not use public money, is exclusively their problem and that of their family. As regards the Prime Minister of Finland, that each one who has a certain opinion about her way of governing or about her ideology - she is a social democrat - should be separated from interference in her personal life. I find it incredible that this prime minister is criticized for dancing at a private party.

A smear campaign in the process of integrating Finland into NATO

On social networks, some have pointed out the great coincidence that it is that this smear campaign against Sanna Marin for dancing coincides with Finland's integration process into NATO, after the Finnish Prime Minister decided to take that step in view of the growing threat that Russian imperialism poses to its neighboring countries. When we talk about an intrusion into someone's private life, the controversy should not focus on the leaked material -since no illegality appears in it, unless someone considers it illegal to dance-, but who were the leakers. That is, who decided to make public a video of an innocuous private party to mount a smear campaign against Marin.

The role of two official Russian agencies in this discrediting campaign

In a democracy, the invasion of privacy should never be tolerated. On the contrary, in a dictatorship this type of interference is something habitual. This same week we have been able to verify it with the role played by two official Russian agencies -both owned by the State- in this matter. On the same Thursday morning, the Tass agency spread the news of the Finnish tabloid as soon as it was published, collecting point by point the gossip spread by that madia. A few hours later, Tass posted yet another story about the case, again echoing the tabloid's claims. It's shocking to see an agency controlled by a government engaging in so-called "pink press" customs to attack a ruler they don't like.

The official Russian agency RIA Novosti has done something even more boorish: on its Telegram channel, that agency controlled by the Russian government spread the first video of Marin's party, with comments like this: "She herself said she didn't see the need to change her behavior", stating that "she got into a scandal" and speaking, without indicating any source, about "speculation that drugs were used at the party." The next day, RIA Novosti released yet another video of that private party, which began with the following text: "As soon as a video of the Finnish Prime Minister's party was turned off, a new one appeared".

It is Putin, and not Marin, who has to change his behavior

The garbage journalism practiced by the official Russian agencies deserves a firm response. The scandalous thing is not that Sanna Marin dances, but that Vladimir Putin orders the invasion and destruction of a neighboring country, attacking the civilian population, committing war crimes and deporting thousands of Ukrainians -including children- to remote places of Russia. Marin can dance as much as she wants in her free time. It is Putin who has to change his behavior, typical of a tyrant and a criminal. For the rest, let the official Russian agencies dedicate fueling smear campaigns against democratic rulers is something that proves right to those of us who have been pointing out that they are not information media, but weapons of intoxication at the service of a dictatorship that practices terrorism in Ukraine.

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Photo: Efe. Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland.