Russia Today has been criticized for selling Z goods to support the brutal country invasion of Ukraine.
The state television network began whipping articles with the logo – which was on the side of military vehicles – to “support our boys” in the war.
It says that the collected money will go to help the refugees from Donbass and the heroes from RT The Children of War Project.
Westerners have criticized the channel for taking advantage of the war, but some have joked that “Z” means Ukrainian President Volodymyr Green.
It comes as Tories Deputies have asked the TV regulator to take action against RT after calling the invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation” to “liberate” the country.
Culture Secretary Nadine Doris was among those who told Ofcom to take “timely and transparent” action against the channel.
The state television network began whipping articles over the weekend to “support our boys” in the war
It says the money raised “will go to help the Donbass refugees and the heroes of the RT Children of War project.” Pictured: Tank with markings last week
RT posted a link to its Z goods on social media on Sunday morning, saying the channel had a “new product”.
The tweet shows a number of tops in different sizes with the logo, which sell for around £ 12.
The message read: “RT has a new product. Let’s support our boys in Ukraine. We’ll start sending Z to our friends tomorrow.
“All proceeds from the sale will go to help the refugees from Donbass and the heroes of the RT Children of War project.”
The symbol has been widely seen on Russian tanks and other military vehicles crossing the border with Ukraine in recent days.
It is believed to have been painted on the side to avoid friendly fire during the fog of war or to mark where they were headed.
Professor Michael Clark, former director of the Rusi Defense Brain Trust, told Sky: “Often these symbols will be based on location – they will indicate where a unit is heading.
“If you only had to mark the vehicles as Russian, you could only use one symbol.
“The fact that they are different tells you more – these are probably signs that tell you which units are heading northeast or northwest of an area, for example.”
Tactics reflect what UK and US forces used in the First Gulf War, when the Allies sent to liberate Kuwait marked vehicles with a distinctive inverted chevron [^].
Russia also used similar tactics against military vehicles when its army invaded Crimea in 2014.
Westerners have been put off by RT’s new products, with some saying workers for the organization should be “disgusted”.
Francis Scar, who works for BBC Monitoring in Moscow, tweeted: “There is nothing to see here.
“Just a Russian state operator @RT_com, which sells goods supporting the war in Ukraine.”
The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth wrote: “I hope there are RT employees who are disgusted by their employer who sells goods for the war in Ukraine. This may not be what you want. If not, step forward and say so.
In other words: “Military propaganda has always been the main mission of RT; their employees need to know this.
And one man joked on his Twitter page: “What does that mean? “Does ‘Z’ refer to Zelenski?” RT was asked for comment.
Tory MPs over the weekend called on Russia Today to ban broadcasting in Britain.
Misinformation about the conflict includes the notion that Ukrainian soldiers are “radical nationalists” defending genocide against Russians.
Its reporters also insist that the Russian army is not targeting civilians, despite images of bloodied Ukrainians and bombed towers.
A reporter on Friday night also compared a law signed by Ukraine’s Jewish president Green to the policy of Adolf Hitler.
Culture Secretary Doris told Ofcom last week to take “timely and transparent” action against the channel.
But criticism of RT was rejected by former London Mayor Ken Livingston, who said on the station last week: “I have never seen propaganda. I have never seen a lie.
Despite the expectation that Ofcom will cope with RT, last night a spokeswoman admitted that no new action has been taken.
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the municipality’s elected foreign affairs committee, said RT was not an information network but a weapon against us.
“So what is he doing on our screens when the media supervisor Ofcom already has the power to take action?” He added.
The Kremlin-funded news channel, launched in 2005, is run by Putin’s ally Margarita Simonyan, who once said RT would wage an “information war against the Western world.” (Above Putin and Simonyan in May 2019)
Tory MPs have asked the TV regulator to take immediate action against Russia Today after describing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation” to “liberate” the country.
The Kremlin-funded channel, which launched in 2005, is run by Putin’s ally Margarita Simonyan, who once said RT would wage an “information war against the West.”
On Wednesday, she wrote on Twitter that the invasion was a “standard rehearsal of the parade,” adding: “Except this year, we decided to hold the parade in Kiev.”
Similar outrageous comments about the invasion have been broadcast on the channel over the past week.
The analysis shows that the conflict is called only a “special military operation”, and reporters cite Russia’s claim that it will “liberate the territories of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics”.
On Thursday, news anchor Rory Suche, the son of ITN journalist John Suche, reiterated claims by the Russian Defense Ministry that “direct fighting with Ukrainian troops has been largely avoided,” despite clear evidence of clashes.
And on Friday, the voice of the package, which allegedly explains the origins of Russian aggression, described a law signed by President Zelensky last July as “almost a direct copy of Hitler’s 1935 Reich citizenship law.”
The Mail on Sunday may also reveal that at least 20 current and former British MPs have received almost £ 100,000 from the channel to talk about its programs since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Those who showed up included Tory MP Quasi Quarteng, who was paid £ 750 to participate in February 2017 before being appointed business secretary.
On Wednesday, Simonyan (above) wrote on Twitter that the invasion was a “standard rehearsal of the parade,” adding: “Except this year, we decided to hold the parade in Kiev.” Similar outrageous comments about the invasion have been broadcast on the channel over the past week
European Minister James Cleverley appeared on RT in 2016 to discuss the Tory leadership campaign, but said he did not accept payment.
“Since then, RT has become significantly more partisan and is now a regular mouthpiece for pro-Kremlin disinformation,” he added. I wouldn’t show up now.
Labor MP Richard Bergon has appeared 11 times, and former Tony Blair spin doctor Alistair Campbell has appeared at least three times since 2014. Labor David Lamy won £ 2,000 for two appearances.
Mr Campbell said he had “turned down many invitations to participate after these interviews because I think it has become much clearer in recent years to what extent it has become Putin’s personal propaganda tool”.
An Ofcom spokesman said: “All licensees must comply with Ofcom’s rules, including due diligence and impartiality. If broadcasters break these rules, we will not hesitate to intervene.
Last night, a number of Russian TV channels appeared to have been hacked, with Ukrainian songs replacing regular programs. The Russian government’s website did not work while RT was offline for several hours.
It was not clear who the hackers were, but the Anonymous group said they were at war with Russia.
TOM TUGENDAT: Russia Today is nothing but poison, slander and anti-British propaganda and should have been banned by Ofcom
by Tom Tugendhat for Mail on Sunday
It has been years since the Russian state even vaguely pretended to be honest. By lying about invasion, genocide, and war, Moscow has perfected the art of deception to the point where the only right thing to do is to ignore what comes out of the Kremlin.
However, Putin’s propaganda is being pumped into homes across the UK by his official cameraman, Russia Today (RT).
During the early stages of Covid, the channel spread fear and panic, trying to tear our community apart and undermine our reaction.
When British companies discovered the vaccine, RT spread lies, trying to persuade people not to accept it, which cost lives.
During the early stages of Covid, RT spread fear and panic, trying to tear our community apart and undermine our response.
Over and over again, the English-speaking service is doing its best to confuse and undermine the British at a time when clarity was so important. This is not an information network. This is a weapon against us.
Our media supervisor Ofcom had to ban RT. If so, viewers would not be exposed to a reporter named Rory Sushe (who began his career as a pop DJ on the radio) who claims to be reporting from eastern Ukraine while lying that Russian tanks are helping to “liberate” region and that the Ukrainians who defend their homes are nationalists and neo-Nazi battalions.
The channel shamefully allowed a Russian military commander to claim that the Ukrainian army was using civilians as human shields. They are not.
RT is trying to apologize to the Kremlin for Putin’s war crimes. He gives a platform to charlatans and liars – people like Alex Salmond (above), the leader of the Scottish independence movement in the last referendum, who is happy to take money from RT until this week
Make no mistake, RT is trying to apologize to the Kremlin for the war crimes committed by Putin.
It provides a platform for charlatans and liars – people like Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish independence movement in the last referendum, who is happy to take RT’s money until this week.
Ken Stone of Stop the War in Canada continues to accuse Ukrainians of being in front of Putin’s tanks.
There is nothing anti-Russian in the desire to stop this modern version of Lord Howe’s propaganda broadcasts during World War II.
Russian poets and scholars have long shared deeper truths with us and worked to build understanding.
RT does the opposite. Even his name is a lie.
This channel is not about a nation, but about one person.
This is Putin’s propaganda and it is poison. It’s time for Ofcom to act.