LATVIA-US/MCCAIN NATO opens facility to counter Russian “propaganda”

Record ID: 143335

  • Title: LATVIA-US/MCCAIN NATO opens facility to counter Russian “propaganda”
  • Date: 20th August 2015
  • Summary: RIGA, LATVIA (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) NATO STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE BUILDING / NATO AND LATVIAN FLAGS NATO AND LATVIAN FLAGS BUILDING PLAQUE READING (English): "NATO STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE" OFFICIALS ARRIVING FOR INAUGURATION CEREMONY U.S. SENATORS, AMONG THEM REPUBLICAN, JOHN MCCAIN, ARRIVING FOR CEREMONY MCCAIN (LEFT) OFFICIALS, INCLUDING LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT, DALIA GRYBAUSKAITE (THIRD FROM LEFT) AND LATVIAN PRESIDENT, RAIMONDS VEJONIS (FOURTH FROM LEFT) CUTTING RIBBON VEJONIS, GRYBAUSKAITE AND MCCAIN ARRIVING FOR STATEMENTS PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) LITHUANIAN PRESIDENT, DALIA GRYBAUSKAITE, SAYING: "The main goal is not to be against anybody, but for alliance and for the strength of alliance because today we see attacks on alliance, non-conventionally with cyber attacks, with informational and propaganda attacks. That's exactly why the centre was created, to create not only to find the lies and attacks, but also to dismantle them." PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, SAYING: "I think everyone knows that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is conducting a propaganda campaign and disinformation campaign particularly aimed at the Baltics but also Ukraine, also other NATO countries in the region. And that disinformation has had some effect, particularly with Russian speaking members of the citizens of the Baltic countries. So, disinformation is not new, it's been conducted for centuries, but I believe that this centre can help get the truth and the reality to people of all of NATO, including the Baltics, and I am convinced that we can counter that propaganda because that propaganda is false. And this information and this institution will be vital in conveying the truth. And the truth always succeeds." TV CAMERAS VEJONIS, GRYBAUSKAITE AND MCCAIN LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Latvia
  • Country: Latvia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA6Q44436KUVQR48C0KK0ZZ4B7J
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. Senator John McCain attended a ceremony on Thursday (August 20) opening a NATO facility to fight cyber warfare and spread of what he called Russian "propaganda".
    "Today we see attacks on (the NATO) alliance, non-conventionally with cyber attacks, with informational and propaganda attacks. That's exactly why the centre was created, to create not only to find the lies and attacks, but also to dismantle them," Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite, said at the ceremony.
    Ukraine's conflict with Moscow-backed separatists has unnerved Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, the only parts of the former Soviet Union that have joined NATO and the European Union.
    Earlier in August, U.S. officials said Russia is the leading suspect in a sophisticated cyber attack on the unclassified email network of the U.S. military's Joint Staff that prompted the Pentagon last month to restrict access to portions of that network.
    In late April, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter blamed Russian hackers for a cyber intrusion on an unclassified U.S. military network this year, saying they discovered an old vulnerability that had not been patched.
    "I think everyone knows that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is conducting a propaganda campaign and disinformation campaign particularly aimed at the Baltics but also Ukraine, also other NATO countries in the region. And that disinformation has had some effect, particularly with Russian speaking members of the citizens of the Baltic countries. So, disinformation is not new, it's been conducted for centuries, but I believe that this centre can help get the truth and the reality to people of all of NATO, including the Baltics, and I am convinced that we can counter that propaganda because that propaganda is false. And this information and this institution will be vital in conveying the truth. And the truth always succeeds," McCain said at the ceremony.
    The Strategic Communication Centre of Excellence (StratCom COE) was officially opened in the presence of the highest officials from Baltic states, but it has been operational since January 2014.
    The NATO StratCom COE in Riga is one of twenty such facilities acquire and disseminate information within the block.
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