Aletho News

Mexican President-Elect’s Campaign Already Target of Russia Fearmongering

21st Century Wire | July 3, 2018

Mexico’s newly elected president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”), just won a sweeping victory by all accounts, but that hasn’t stopped the Russia fearmongering express from rolling on in the mainstream press.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks to his campaign volunteers and supporters after his election victory. (lopezobrador.org.mx)

It’s truly something diabolical to witness – everything from the prospects of peace to just about anything happening on the planet – Russia could be to blame.

You’ll never guess who is behind AMLO’s victory in Mexico. See if you can find a whiff of evidence for this claim (not that it’s needed to just say it anyway): https://t.co/Dz4Eev2rqv

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 2, 2018

As it turns out, back in January, Rueters ran a story quoting H.R. McMaster, then U.S. National Security Adviser. McMaster said he’d already seen the “initial signs” of Russia ‘meddling’ in Mexico’s upcoming election. The story added that AMLO is also “the Kremlin’s favorite” because his campaign was covered on RT and Sputnik broadcasts.

This sounds a lot like north of the border Russiagate. In the case of Mexico, we’re again supposed to take an official’s word for it. No hard evidence needed.

H.R. McMaster, sacked from the White House in April, now works to combat ‘Russia and China threats’ at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution think tank.

The McMaster speculation, as we’ll call it, has been used for months to traffic in more Russia fearmongering news stories leading up to Mexico’s 2018 election.

This is all it takes to give a little canard its wings.

The Guardian soon jumped in with “Mexico’s leftwing frontrunner laughs off Russia jibes and says: I’m no Moscow stooge.” AMLO the candidate responded to the ridiculous allegations of ‘Russian support’ by jokingly referring to himself as “Andrés Manuelovich” and said he was expecting a submarine to arrive from Moscow bringing him gold.

A clever and humorous response, no doubt, but really just more fodder for Russiagate…

The Atlantic (“Are Mexico’s Elections Russia’s Next Target?”) and The New York Times (“Bots and Trolls Elbow Into Mexico’s Crowded Electoral Field”) joined in with their own version of this fake news story.

True to form, The Washington Post couldn’t resist with “The prospect of Russian meddling in Mexico’s election is no joke.”

As Mexico’s election results poured in on Monday, signaling a landslide victory for AMLO, Russophobia ensued on Twitter:

Lots of coverage today of Amlo (Andres Manual Lopez Obrador) victory in Mexico — populist platform, explicitly anti-Trump. Worth remembering that he likely received media/info ops support from Russia + Russian $$ coming through several means. /1https://t.co/wwDxd3md4r

— Molly McKew (@MollyMcKew) July 2, 2018

But the “Gran Premio” (Grand Prize) for this fake news story on Russia meddling in Mexico’s election goes to The Daily Express :

As you can see in the screen grab above from Monday’s edition of their website, the UK tabloid newspaper ran with the headline:

“Mexico Election 2018: Russia INTERFERENCE in López Obrador President campaign feared by US”

And in the subhead and top image, there’s the recycled McMaster claim along with reference to none other than Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

This is the paint-by-numbers kit for how the mainstream press pushes Russia fearmongering inside their fake news echo chamber. With more elections to come this year, expect to see it again.

It’s official. Russiagate goes to Mexico. Where will it go next?

July 4, 2018 - Posted by aletho | Fake News, Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Russophobia | Andrés Manuel López Obrador, New York Times, Washington Post