Over the past decade, there has been increasing scrutiny in the West on the work of Russian media outlets. The likes of Sputnik and Russia Today, both controlled by the Russian government, are available in multiple languages. They have been accused of engaging in 'influence' operations to further Moscow's geopolitical interests.
Another digital video outlet linked to Russia has also attracted scrutiny: Redfish Media. On February 4, Redfish Media shared on social media a trailer of an upcoming documentary on Jammu and Kashmir.
The documentary will be aired on the evening of February 11 (US time). Redfish tweeted “Indian Kashmir is fast becoming a settler-colonial state. While Indian politicians call for ‘the Israeli model’ in Kashmir, we spoke to separated families, evicted shepherds and victims of militarisation. Tune in on February 11 at 17:00 CET for 'Kashmir: Palestine in the Making'.”
The trailer shows people protesting in Kashmir and voicing concern about outsiders taking over their land. The statements appear to be related to measures announced by the Narendra Modi government since 2019 to boost investment in Jammu and Kashmir.
The provocative nature of the trailer soon invited a backlash on social media. Redfish tweeted on Saturday, “In response to the unwarranted controversy over our Kashmir documentary trailer: We assure our community that the full documentary is balanced and includes the perspectives of all stakeholders, including the BJP in Jammu Kashmir and Kashmiri activists.” Redfish claimed it was granted “exclusive access to parts of Kashmir normally out of bounds to foreign journalists” in 2021.
What is Redfish?
Redfish, which describes itself as a community-based and grassroots media group, has been viewed as promoting a leftist viewpoint. The 'about us' page of Redfish states the outlet collaborates with “people involved in grassroots struggles worldwide to build an alternative to the ruling capitalist system” and declares “all of our stories combined bring together fragmented struggles to show that people are creating their own alternatives to the misery caused by the ruling capitalist system”.
Redfish Media also declares it is “objective, but not neutral”. Both Twitter and Facebook label Redfish Media as an outlet affiliated to the Russian government.
In February 2018, US media outlet Daily Beast reported that Redfish's documentaries had been airing on Russia Today and several of its staff had been associated with Russia Today and other state-run outlets such as Iran's Press TV.
In April last year, Facebook briefly banned the page of Redfish over claims it violated community standards with posts on the defeat of Fascism in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Russia's media regulator had then warned Facebook it would face fines over the issue.
A paper published in a journal of Georgetown University in April last year claimed Redfish promoted a narrative in favour of the Palestinians.