This 9 December 2018 video from Britain says about itself:
Labour attack government-funded body for sharing criticism of Jeremy Corbyn – News Live
Labour figures have attacked a government-funded organisation for sharing articles that were critical of Jeremy Corbyn’s views on Russia. The Integrity Initiative came under fire from Labour’s general secretary following a story in … Scottish paper the Sunday Mail.
The Initiative has received more than £2.2million from the Foreign Office in two years to – in ministers’ words – “defend democracy against disinformation.” On its website, it describes its key activity as “tackling disinformation in Europe”, and particularly “addressing the activities of the Russian state”.
However, the Sunday Mail reported that the Initiative’s Twitter account also shared some material that was critical of Jeremy Corbyn.
Quoting from the article, the Initiative tweeted: “I do not believe Mr Corbyn was a paid or conscious agent of [Czechoslovakian intelligence].” But, quoting from the same article, a second tweet added: “Mr Corbyn was a “useful idiot”, in the phrase apocryphally attributed to Lenin.
“His open, visceral anti-westernism helped the Kremlin cause, as surely as if he had been secretly peddling Westminster tittle-tattle for money.”
… A further post by the Initiative on April 11 showed a screenshot and stated: “An alleged British Corbyn supporter wants to vote for Putin.”…
An [Integrity Initiative] spokesman told the Sunday Mail any criticism of a domestic politician “shouldn’t be on” the Twitter account.
However, Andrew Fisher, an aide to the Labour leader, said: “This astonishing story really deserves attention.” Labour MSP Neil Findlay told the Sunday Mail: “Such clear political attacks and propaganda shouldn’t be coming from any charity. “We need to know why the Foreign Office have been funding it.”
David Miller, a professor of political sociology in the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol, added: “People have a right to know how the Government are spending their money, and the views being promoted in their name.”
The Initiative is “led”, according to its website, by the Institute for Statecraft, an organisation operating from an old Victorian mill in Fife. The Sunday Mail reported it aims to counter Russian online propaganda by forming “clusters” of friendly journalists and “key influencers” throughout Europe who use social media to hit back against disinformation.
Asked about the articles relating to Jeremy Corbyn, spokesman Stephen Dalziel told the Sunday Mail: “I’m not aware of that. “I’m not the one who controls the Twitter account. If it was criticism of one of our politicians, then that shouldn’t be on there.”
Secret Scottish-based office led infowars attack on Labour and Jeremy Corbyn. Explosive leaked documents passed to the Sunday Mail reveal the organisation’s Integrity Initiative is funded with £2million of Foreign Office cash and run by military intelligence specialists: here.
By Conrad Landin in Scotland:
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Researcher at government-funded think tank behind fake news story that Kremlin aided Corbyn’s rise
The shadowy Institute for Statecraft received taxpayer funds while spreading anti-Labour propaganda
A RESEARCHER at a shadowy government-funded think tank was behind suggestions that the Kremlin assisted Jeremy Corbyn’s rise to the Labour leadership.
The Institute for Statecraft is in the spotlight after it emerged that it received funding from the taxpayer while spreading anti-Labour propaganda.
The organisation is based in a ramshackle old mill in Fife, Scotland, and avowedly sets out to counter Russian disinformation online. Several of its senior figures have military backgrounds.
In response to a parliamentary question, Europe minister Alan Duncan confirmed the Foreign Office handed the Institute £296,500 for its “Integrity Initiative” in 2017/18. This year, the government has channelled a further £1,961,000 to the scheme.
The Integrity Initiative’s official Twitter account promoted an article saying it was “time for the Corbyn left to confront its Putin problem”, the [Scottish] Sunday Mail newspaper revealed yesterday.
The account also re-tweeted a comment accusing Labour strategy and communications chief Seumas Milne of “supporting the Russian slaughter of Afghanistan.” A further social media post linked to an article alleging Mr Milne had worked “with the Kremlin agenda.”
Now the Morning Star can reveal that a researcher at the same organisation was responsible for highly publicised claims that Russian media worked to support Labour leader Mr Corbyn.
Ben Nimmo, a “senior fellow” at the Institute for Statecraft, co-authored an article with Jonathan Eyal of the Royal United Services Institute alleging that TV news channel RT broadcast “systematic bias in favour of Corbyn” when he first stood for the Labour leadership.
The article went on to say the motivation for this was “most likely to be executing the interests of the government which funds it.”
Mr Nimmo was also quoted in the [Rupert Murdoch owned] Sun newspaper saying Russia was “supporting Corbyn against his opponents both in the Labour Party and outside it.”
The newspaper used this to support its assertion that “a twisted Russian cyber campaign which has backed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is aiming to sow division across the UK.”
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said: “It is one of the cardinal rules of British public life that official resources should not be used for party political purposes.
“Why did the Foreign Office allow public money to be spent on attempting to discredit Her Majesty’s Opposition? Did they know this was happening? If not, why not? And if they did, how on earth can they justify it?”
Labour MSP Neil Findlay told the Sunday Mail: “Such clear political attacks and propaganda shouldn’t be coming from any charity.”
The Institute for Statecraft was also quoted in a Herald article hitting back at criticism of the Scottish Parliament for inviting Ukrainian parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy, the founder of a neonazi party, to Holyrood.
“Putin’s authoritarian, militaristic, nationalistic regime is far closer to fascism”, a spokesman was quoted as saying. “The history of Ukrainian nationalism is more complex than ‘they collaborated with the nazis’.”
Integrity Initiative spokesman Stephen Dalziel told the Sunday Mail criticism of politicians “shouldn’t be on” the programme’s Twitter account.
