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The U.S. news media's treatment of the Ukraine issue has long been characterized by flagrant favoritism. Reports from organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, and Freedom House showing that Ukraine's actual conduct differed markedly from its carefully crafted image as a dedicated young democracy received little coverage in the mainstream press. That willingness to conceal Ukraine's corruption and authoritarianism has grown even worse since the outbreak of war with Russia. Media coverage moved quickly from ignoring or minimizing inconvenient information about Kyiv's political and economic system to channeling outright Ukrainian propaganda.
For example, multiple unfiltered stories from Ukrayinska Pravda and other Ukrainian news outlets have become a nearly daily feature on Yahoo's news feed. Official statements and press releases from Ukraine's government also appear on Yahoo and other outlets, frequently without an acknowledgment that the accuracy of those accounts could not be confirmed. Contents in the Washington Post and the New York Times, which set the agenda and tone throughout much of the US news media on any issue, similarly have conveyed a solidly pro-Ukraine perspective.
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The Biden administration has put plans for a controversial "disinformation" board under the Department of Homeland Security on "pause" after the board's formation caused a widespread backlash, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
The report said that Nina Jankowicz, a so-called "disinformation expert" who was appointed to head the board, has resigned from the DHS. Jankowicz has previously worked as a "disinformation fellow" at the Wilson Center and advised the Ukrainian government.
The report included a picture of Jankowicz working in a press room at Volodymyr Zelensky's campaign headquarters in 2019 in Ukraine. Jankowicz had also previously worked at the National Democracy Institute, a US-government-funded NGO, where she oversaw Russia and Belarus programs.
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According to a report from Israel's Channel 13, the US will participate in planned Israeli military exercises that will simulate a large-scale attack on Iran later this month as part of Israel’s month-long Chariots of Fire drills.
The Channel 13 report said that the US Air Force will take part in the exercises with refueling planes that will join Israeli jets as they simulate entering Iranian territory and carrying out repeated airstrikes.
The simulated attack on Iran will start on May 29 over the Mediterranean Sea. According to The Times of Israel, it marks the first the Israeli Air Force will practice a large-scale assault on Iran.
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President Biden will deploy up to 500 US troops to Somalia, reversing a withdrawal of most US forces from the country that was carried out at the end of the Trump administration.
"President Biden has approved a request from the Secretary of Defense to reestablish a persistent US military presence in Somalia to enable a more effective fight against al-Shabaab," a senior Biden administration official told The Hill.
The Trump administration withdrew about 700 troops from Somalia, but most were redeployed elsewhere in East Africa, including in neighboring Djibouti and Kenya. "This is a repositioning of forces already in theater who have traveled in and out of Somalia on an episodic basis since the previous administration made the decision to withdraw in January 2021," the Biden administration official said.
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Seeing Russia invade Ukraine, historically neutral Finland has undergone a late conversion and decided to join NATO immediately.
Why? Because NATO membership means the world's strongest power, the United States, under Article 5 of NATO, would go to war against Russia, should it cross Finland's border.
Nervous about Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions, Finland wants America legally and morally bound to fight Russia on its behalf, should Putin invade Finland as he invaded Ukraine.
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Almost three months into Russia's war in Ukraine, there appears to be no hope that a negotiated solution will be reached anytime soon. On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said that the warring sides are not currently holding peace talks "in any form."
"No, negotiations are not going on. Ukraine has practically withdrawn from the negotiation process," Rudenko said, according to Interfax.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation in earlier negotiations with Ukraine, said Kyiv hasn't responded to a draft peace deal Russia put forward on April 15. A Ukrainian negotiator responded to Medinsky's comments by saying Russia was operating with "fakes and lies."
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