(This article is from an update to Ron Paul Institute subscribers. Subscribe for free here).

I just finished doing an interview on RT International about a new US State Department report on “Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem.” I expect the black SUVs to be rolling into my driveway here in Lake Jackson any minute. I wish that were a joke, but these days you never know. An American foreign policy expert friend of mine who for many years wrote a column in a publication that the US government deemed “Russia-connected” got a visit from the FBI (in black cars) warning him of serious consequences should he continue to share his views on that particular outlet. So much for that old US embrace of the free press and media pluralism!

So tonight, as is par for the course, on the eve of renewed US/Russia talks in Geneva the US side feels compelled to drop a stink bomb on the party, like a dog marking his territory. This one comes in the form of a new report on how evil and dangerous are RT and Sputnik, two Russia-affiliated alternative news outlets.

I had a half hour to plow through the 30-ish page report before I went live, so I tried to hone in on any legitimate criticism. Had RT and Sputnik been making up false stories? Nope. No mention of that. Are they reporting in any manner outside of accepted journalistic practices? Nope. Have they been peddling disproven conspiracy theories, like four years of US mainstream media fake conspiracies about Russiagate? Nope. 

So, as our older readers might remember that old ad slogan, “where’s the beef”?

 Well…Antony Blinken’s State Department is furious because according to one study Americans who watch RT don’t seem as susceptible to US government’s pro-interventionist propaganda.

As the State Department report puts it:

One recent study reported that American consumers exposed to RT content are more likely than those not exposed to prefer that the United States withdraw from its global leadership position, even when the consumers are aware that RT is funded by the Russian government.

Oh noes! Some Americans dare to not prefer a “global leadership position” for the US government! Some Americans may not prefer the largest military budget on the planet, troops in 150 foreign countries, endless US-backed color revolutions, the murder of foreign leaders, and 20 year occupations in wars that are lost by everyone except the US military-industrial-Congressional-think tank-complex!

 But if the State Department thinks it is dealing with just a handful of Ron Paul supporters, they are victims of their own circular thinking and mirror-imaging. As I said in the interview, according to a December, 2021 YouGov/Koch Institute poll, some 73 percent of Americans actually prefer that the US government “withdraw from its global leadership position.”

Are 73 percent of Americans “anti-American” as defined by the State Department? Maybe the State Department is wrong instead of the 73 percent of Americans who pay their salaries!

The other big beef the State Department has with RT and Sputnik is that they accuse the networks of taking a position in favor of Russian government positions on foreign policy. Whoa, they got me there. Good thing the US media is always out there opposing Washington’s endless interventionism! If we non-interventionists didn’t have the mainstream media – and especially US government-funded VOA and RFE/RL – on our side, I don’t know what we’d do!

Of course all US mainstream media networks – including those catering to conservatives like Fox News – take the US government position on foreign policy, with extremely few exceptions. Even the otherwise very watchable Tucker Carlson will criticize US government aggressive policies toward Russia not because they are dumb policies…but because that aggression should be focused on China!!!!

The American media, like the US government it serves, is obsessed with enemies. Enemies sell. Enemies get views and clicks. That’s all that counts. They condition Americans to think of the entire rest of the world as desperate to destroy our way of life and drain our precious bodily fluids.

As Ron Paul said in his latest column, “It’s all fun and games until the missiles start flying.”

The State Department report also points to the close ties between Russian media figures and the Russian government. Seriously? Have they watched the US mainstream media lately? As Australian writer Caitlin Johnstone put it not long ago, “The CIA Used To Infiltrate The Media. Now The CIA Is The Media.” Additionally, US journalist Matt Taibbi gives us a partial list of US intelligence agents who went on to serve their masters in the US mainstream media.

Has the State Department not noticed how many senior US Administration officials of both parties went on to senior and high-paid positions with US mainstream media outlets? Surely they need to get out more.

As with everything coming out of the US Administration (and the ones before it), US foreign policy is best defined as one of projection. They claim that others are doing precisely that which they themselves are doing. This report is no different.

But we should all reserve some righteous anger for our own government believing us to be so stupid and ignorant that a few minutes of watching RT – or maybe even reading Caitlin Johnstone or Matt Taibbi or Glenn Greenwald – will turn us into Manchurian candidates out to do the bidding of a 1950s era global menace waiting to turn us all into slithering communist salamanders. Shame on them!

I wanted to take a moment to recognize Novak Djokovic and his heroic defiance of the COVID regime, lending his enormous platform and status to the millions of people around the world who have been denied their unalienable rights in the name of a virus.

You would never know it by his disposition, but “Djoker” has an amazing rags to richer story, and he’s well aware of how governments can cause great human suffering. Growing up in war-torn Belgrade, Djokovic had to learn to play tennis in between bombing raids. Far from a silver spooned prodigy, he had to defy incredible odds to just achieve a modicum of success, and yet he has become one of the greatest athletes of all time.

What separates Djokovic from other pro athletes on the COVID Mania issue is both his status as the world’s greatest and his consistency in been speaking out against the COVID regime. Since day one, this man has been fighting the good fight, but the news hasn’t reached consistent international attention until now. 

Djokovic has remained defiant in his public opposition to government force in the form of draconian COVID restrictions and injection mandates. He has done so in the face of incredible scrutiny on all levels. 

As early as April 2020, several months before the mass distribution of COVID shots, Djokovic was already speaking out about the future prospect of vaccine mandates.

Now, with the Australian Open just days away, the 20 time grand slam champion (and 9 time Australian Open champion) has turned up the heat. He continues his fight Down Under, squaring off against the forces of a society that has transformed into something akin to a Police State. 

Australia’s Northern Territory adopts strict lockdown for the unvaccinated only: “You may only leave home for three reasons…work is not a reason to leave the home…one hour of exercise for the next four days is not ‘essential.’”pic.twitter.com/b4i4WWAD7u

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) January 6, 2022

On Tuesday, the most Australian Open champ ever made it a point to show that he wasn’t going to bow down to Australia’s COVID regime, which discriminates against the “unvaccinated,” in creating a two tiered Safety Society.

Happy New Year! Wishing you all health, love & joy in every moment & may you feel love & respect towards all beings on this wonderful planet.

I’ve spent fantastic quality time with loved ones over break & today I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022! pic.twitter.com/e688iSO2d4

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 4, 2022

Djokovic is facing ridicule from the media, from powerful governments, and even from his own pro colleagues.

‘If you are vaccinated you can play’: Rafael Nadal short on sympathy for Djokovic https://t.co/Ehb1heJlwT

— Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) January 6, 2022

Though he is not without defenders. The man’s family has raised incredible awareness about the punitive conditions through which he is being exposed to by the Australian government.

“They are keeping him as a prisoner. It’s not human.”

The mother of Novak Djokovic accused Australian authorities of unfairly holding her son in a “terrible” immigration detention hotel as he faces deportation https://t.co/79yHiPuH46 pic.twitter.com/2xx7rFyvoN

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) January 6, 2022

Novak Djokovic’s dad:

“This isn’t a battle for Serbia and Novak. This is a battle for 7 billion people.
They want to subdue us, they want us all on our knees. It won’t fly.” pic.twitter.com/YFtIdybMHA

— hodlonaut 🌮⚡🔑 🐝 (@hodlonaut) January 7, 2022

He reminds us of one particular legendary sportsman of the past, a man who shares his status as one of the greatest professional athletes of all time. Of course, there are no perfect parallels, but there was one man who not so long ago took a hugely important — but deeply unpopular in his time — public stance in the fight for humanity.

That man is the late Muhammad Ali, “The People’s Champ,” who, in his time exiled from the sport of boxing, faced tremendous hostility from all levels of society. Ali’s refusal to enter the armed services and outright protest of the draft drew immense scrutiny and outright insanity. His outspoken rejection of the war in Vietnam, and his explicit challenging of the American civil rights status quo, further infuriated these forces. The media turned him into a monster. The US government persecuted him. He was labeled as ethically depraved. He was robbed of his ability to make a living during a large portion of the prime of his athletic career. In the face of endless cruelty and hate, Ali never wavered.

It wasn’t until years, or really, decades later that Ali’s struggle against the system was universally recognized as a noble endeavor. 

Props to Novak Djokovic for fighting the good fight and carrying the torch. For using his platform to fight for the rights of every individual against the forces of government tyranny, he’s the new People’s Champ.

Reprinted with permission from The Dossier.
Subscribe here.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla dropped a bombshell in a CNBC interview yesterday, admitting that his company’s Covid “vaccine” offers limited if any protection! He went on to say that a third shot of the same formula does offer some protection. The Biden Administration is in full panic mode as its Covid response lies in tatters. Also today: LA Times columnist believes it’s a great idea to mock unvaxxed people who die of covid. Watch today’s Liberty Report: