“RussiaVsWorld” continues to tell about Russian agents in Europe and the world in general who promote Kremlin propaganda and Russian interests.
Today we’ll introduce you to a Canadian writer and reporter, Aaron Mate (Maté). Aaron works as a reporter for The Grayzone and hosts the show Pushback with Aaron Mate.
“The Grayzone” – a website that’s earned a reputation for spreading disinformation, promoting authoritarian regimes, and denying the reality of human rights abuses and genocide.
This group of bloggers, led by Max Blumenthal, has deep ties to Russia, with many of them having worked for RT or been guests on their shows.
This group could be characterized as anti-USA, and the Grayzone is basically built around this idea. Mr. Mate is obviously a very intelligent person, and he knows how to defend (and advertise) himself online.
Working for Assad and disinformation about Syria
He was actually named as one of the most prolific misinformation spreaders about the Syrian conflict in The Guardian article by Mark Townsend.
In June 2022, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) published an analysis of social media accounts, individuals, outlets and organizations that disseminated disinformation about the Syrian conflict. Mate was named as the most prolific spreader of disinformation about the Syrian conflict since 2020 among the 28 conspiracy theorists analyzed.
Many of Mate’s claims on Douma chemical attack have been debunked by the Bellingcat.
Mate has blamed two OPCW inspectors for doctoring a report on the 2018 Douma chemical attack in Syria to place blame on the Assad regime and to justify missile strikes against Syrian government forces by the USA, UK and France.
Mate and The Grayzone, for which he reports, also have been recipients of the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees’s Serena Shim Award, a cash prize administered by Paul Larudee and frequently given to supporters of the Syrian government, and individuals who promote conspiracy theories in support of Syria’s president Assad.
Another fact that supports our opinion is that Mate has also received money from The Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees, an organization that funds apologists for the Assad regime.
In 2020, Aaron also testified at the UN at a Russia and China hosted a meeting about the alleged cover-up on the attack.
Supporting for Putin and Russia’s war in Ukraine
Mate says the Ukrainian Government, which came to power after the Maidan revolution, was a “fascist-infused coup”. Regarding the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said that the US is funding “proxy warfare” against Russia and preventing any prospect of peace for its own ends.
Aaron is heavily in the “US/NATO provoked Russia to attack Ukraine” corner, which can also be seen from his tweet right after the invasion began. Naturally, his very much against NATO and its expansion and has called it “a cult”.
In 2022, Mate was disinvited from the Web Summit conference at the insistence of the first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, who was the keynote speaker at the Web Summit launch. Mate had been accused of publishing anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian tropes related to the war in Ukraine.
Like the rest of the “negotiate for peace” block, Mate has highlighted Putin’s call for peace negotiations after the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories. But this call hasn’t stopped Russia from conducting war crimes and targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Mate also goes on as a guest to a show on a Russian propaganda TV channel (Russia state-owned) RT America.
People like Mate should understand that they are helping Russian terrorism and justifying its crimes in Ukraine. And sooner or later they will bear responsibility for it. After all, in this way they are legal accomplices.
