Excuse me, are you a spy for Vladimir Putin? In the heated climate of Italian news, which is wondering how to deal with the war in Ukraine, for example, admitting or censoring Russian journalists, it also happens that the presenter of a program asks the invited guest to be a secret agent in the service of the Kremlin. It’s happening on Thursday April 28 on L’aria che tira, the La7 program where Myrta Merlino has invited Russian journalist Nadana Fridrikhson, who has come under suspicion of being a Putin infiltrator on Italian television.
At the beginning, Merlin takes it far: “I wanted to tell you that today there are many controversies that concern you in our newspapers, because the fact that you have been invited to various television programs, in particular Rai, the Italian state television, has taken care of it that the supervisory commission has asked whether it is clear whether you really are a journalist or a representative … “, says the moderator, who, after a moment’s hesitation, continues: ” … an official of the Putin government … a spy , here. Can we be sure?”.
The Russian is stunned and laughs nervously: “I’m laughing, but it’s serious. Like any spy, I have to wear the right mask, so I’m not a spy…” jokes Fridrikhson. “I am a journalist and I am very happy to be able to speak in Italy. But why do we have to immediately interpret our dialogues and decide if I was sent by Putin to undermine the Italian state? It’s absurd, we’re talking on a show and everyone says it. Who thinks,” he replies.
“Why does a Russian journalist have to be a spy in one of your programs? That’s a question that affects Europe,” attacks the Russian, who confirms that she’s just a journalist. Merlino then asks to be broadcast on a Russian program, as recently did the director of Domani, Stefano Feltri, who took part in a popular talk show in the Federation. “I would like to discuss and explain what we see every day. Here we see a war, not a specific military operation,” says the host before dismissing the guest.