In comparison to major US outlets? I get what you're saying, and agree that they place a halo on Russia, but, I would argue instead that you can get a much more holistic view of what is actually happening in the West from RT than what's being sold you to us on a TV screen in the US. From what I've seen, it doesn't look like RT is sparking anything that isn't already brewing and should not be covered.

There are very serious issues and changes brewing in France and all over Europe that OUR media is obscuring and even dismissing.

For one example (of many), regarding the Yellow Vest situation, Paris is on the verge of open revolution, but, up until about a week ago, most of the US outlets, especially the liberal ones (sorry, but it's true), portrayed peace and harmony in France and would mention Macron as some kind of noble visionary in contrast to Trump - not once did I see a mention of how his polling numbers were precipitously dropping to the lowest in modern history, among a myriad of other indicators. That, to me, is propaganda.

The word "division" is thrown a lot now, but conflict is inevitable, and I think the greater sin in our media has been obscuring issues behind a TV screen until things reach a climax.

Regarding what the article is referring to, things like the Washington Post allowing China to buy ads or China funding lobbyists who speak to congressman who likely have no idea, I can't see anybody justifying that, unless they hate the US, which okay, that's your prerogative.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the average person is at least two orders of magnitude less endowed with information than the people you might speak with on HN, whether or not any of our opinions are correct, so even a tiny bit of propaganda reaching enough people can change minds against the interest of the country.

I think this should've been illegal 50 years ago, and I think the people abetting this should be tried for treason, almost by the very definition.

That's a funny contradiction of a sort - then the index fund becomes the agent it's supposed to be observing.

For one, Blackrock is not Berkshire Hathaway - and in reality, obviously Blackrock can't wake up tomorrow and decide to be. They're not built for that.

Another scary thing is that the market is being increasingly turned into a derivative, and the underlying asset becomes more volatile (certainly for many different reasons) as it becomes proportionally smaller .