US, Ukraine quietly try to pierce Putin’s propaganda bubble

By COLLEEN LONG, AMANDA SEITZ and NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has been countering disinformation coming from the Kremlin on the violent conflict in Ukraine. Getting accurate news about the war into Russia, though, is a trickier issue. President Vladimir Putin has shut down Russia’s last three independent media outlets, created laws that can send a journalist to prison for defying his propaganda, and scrubbed the words “war” and “invasion” from state media. Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul says the question is no longer “what we do to stop disinformation.” He says the question is now “how do we promote information inside Russia” — and he doesn’t have an answer.