The British government is ready to improve UK-Poland cooperation to counter Russian disinformation in the region, including through new joint strategic communications projects. Belsat TV has been mentioned as part of the plan.
The UK will reportedly provide £5m for the project, with Poland expected to contribute a similar amount.
“It will aim to build capacities to detect and counter Russian information operations, and deliver support to Belsat, a Polish-funded TV channel providing unbiased, free and frank reporting for Belarusians,” SkyNews reports.
It became known on the eve of Theresa May’s visit to Poland. The British Prime Minister is due in Warsaw on Thursday. The main goal of the visit is strengthening ties between the UK and Poland; a new treaty of defence and security cooperation may be announced. It is expected to include measures to tackle cyber attacks from Russia.
BBC and Belsat cooperation
This year our channel has started cooperation with the BBC. As part of it, Belsat TV has been broadcasting the best series and shows of the iconic TV station. With the help of BBC colleagues, Belsat TV is making a new cooking show – ‘I Am Not Eating This!’
“In the post-Soviet area, there are only a few TV stations that have the honoured to cooperate with the BBC. Ukraine has hundreds of TV channels, but only two of them cooperate with the company; Belarus has one BBC collaborator, and this is Belsat TV,” Belsat Information Programming Director Aleksy Dzikawicki said.
“This season, we have entered into cooperation; now we are getting a number of programs from our BBC colleagues. Next year we will also start to cooperate in the field of information. The BBC will provide us with stories and materials for the Russian-language program Like That. Its target group is not only Belarusians, but other Russian-speaking residents of the former Soviet Union as well,” he stressed.
- Belsat TV: 10 years of countering propaganda, disinformation
- Belsat staff discussed with Poland ways to deal with Russian propaganda
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Belsat.eu, following SkyNews
