Report: Sochi Olympics Falling Victim to Media Terrorism

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Jan. 13, 2014 - PRLog -- Western media outlets are actively inciting safety fears as the start of the Sochi Olympics draws near, says Omnicom Press author William Dunkerley. He's just issued a report titled, "Sochi Under Attack by U.S." published by the American University in Moscow.

Dunkerley's report reviews what he calls "potshots" that are being taken at the Olympics and its host country Russia.

What's more, he says, the U.S. State Department opened up with cannons when it recently issued a Travel Alert. It may cause a lot of Americans to reconsider attending, according to Dunkerley. A New York Times headline warned, "Americans Traveling to Winter Games Cautioned." Dunkerley reports that president Barack Obama already announced that he isn't going.

"The kicker to all this," says Dunkerley, "is that much of this fear-mongering is based on media misrepresentations." Dunkerley's report quotes a CBS News report that said, "Suicide bomber attacks near Sochi." But that bombing in Volgograd, Russia was nowhere near Sochi, according to Dunkerley.

Dunkerley asks in his report, "Would a suicide bombing in the Italian Alps be a realistic worry for people at a large public gathering in Berlin, Germany? Or likewise an incident 100 miles north of Montreal to people in New York City?" Dunkerley points out that those are examples of distances similar to the expanse between Volgograd and Sochi. What CBS News called "close" is nowhere near close, he exclaimed.

"It's potshots like those of CBS News and others that are beclouding the security issue for travelers," Dunkerley complains. He calls these attempts to foment travel fear a case of "media terrorism."

Dunkerley's report is critical of the Kremlin for being unprepared for the onslaught of media terrorism. He recounts that as early as October 2012, efforts were made to draw the Putin administration's attention to the impending Olympics media problem. Russia without Spin (http://www.russiawithoutspin.com), a Russian-American private sector initiative that Dunkerley strongly supports, was offering to help with its specialized expertise, Dunkerley explains. But, unfortunately, he reports, the overtures were met with disinterest.

Dunkerley says, "Russia without Spin went on to demonstrate the effectiveness of its proprietary skills in counteracting malicious news reports. It took on the Litvinenko case that since 2006 had been the source of malicious media allegations against Russian president Vladimir Putin. The demonstration proved successful, and that nettlesome issue was taken out of the news, at least for the time being."

However, "the Litvinenko story may flare up again in the future" Dunkerley points out in his report. He says it's unclear what if anything the Putin administration would do in response. The Russia without Spin initiative still stands ready to help, however, if called upon, he adds.

Moreover, though, Dunkerley believes that the Olympic media terrorism should serve as a lesson to the Kremlin. He says, "It's high time for the Kremlin to reassess its interest in remediating its reputational problems." "If they don't," Dunkerley concludes, "it's hard to see how that will help anyone other than Putin's political enemies."

The full text of Dunkerley's report titled "Sochi Under Attack by U.S." can be viewed on the site of the American University in Moscow at http://bit.ly/JVleLN

(Note: Dunkerley is author of the book The Phony Litvinenko Murder, published by Omnicom Press.)