Voice of America Russian service journalists Garry Knyagnitskiy and Daria Davydova were sent on leave after being accused of working for Russian propaganda before co-operating with the broadcaster.
The Washington Post writes about it.
Knyagnitskiy and Davydova were suspended on February 24. This happened after a collective letter of 15 journalists of Voice of America to the management. In it, the journalists wrote that they “cannot entrust the mission of the Voice of America to people who have worked for the Russian government for years and promoted pro-Kremlin narratives."
This letter was signed back in November, when, as WP writes, Knyagnitskiy and Davydova were hired. Voice of America management did not explain why the decision to remove them was made several months after 15 employees appealed.
Voice of America managers who made the decision to hire Knyagnitskiy and Davydova say they donʼt regret their decision, as they allegedly meet the standards. Knyagnitskiy himself stated that he does not consider himself a propagandist.
- For years, former military correspondent Garry Knyagnitskiy created fakes about the “genocide of Donbas residents” on the order of the sanctioned state channel NTV and called the Ukrainian government “the Kyiv regime”. He also managed to work for the New York edition of the Russian TV channel RTVI. There he also justified Russiaʼs aggression against Ukraine.
- Davydova spread disinformation and justified the occupation of Crimea.