THE PARTIES AGREE THAT SOVIET INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES SEEK TO MANIPULATE FREE WORLD MEDIA WITH FORGERIES AND DELIBERATE FALSEHOODS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00845R000201300020-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 18, 2010
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: October 9, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/18: CIA-RDP90-00845R000201300020-0
STAT
WASHINGTON POST
9 October 1984
Libel action by leading west German news p'u cation
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The parties agree that Soviet IntelligenceAgencies seek
r ld Media withforgeries
to manipulate lFree.W0
aneasoo.
d dliberateflehds
.
Mr. John Wilmers QC-Counsel for the Plaintiffs was under the control of the _KGB ,.knowingly employ jour
Illy Lord, 1 with my Learned friends Mr Charles Gray and nalists who axe communist intelligence agents.and in fact
are
Andrew Monson represent the Plaintiffs who are the are a KGB front organisation., My clients were 'concerned
own ens and publisher of the West German weekly magazine to refute and deny any such suggestions and to ensure that
their journalistic and editorial independence ~, is not in
Der Spiegel, M Learned friends Lord Rawlinson Mr An-'I
b Y uestion.
drew Bateson, Mr. James Price and Mr. Mark Warby repre-
sent the Defendants Sir James Goldsmith, Cavenham Lord Rawlinson QC-Counsel for the Defendants
Communications Limited and Mr. Anthony Shrimsley. Sir James' position is that in pursuance of their policies, the
On the 21st day of January, 1981 Sir James Goldsmith Soviets- conduct massive and continuous propaganda cam-
delivered a speech to the Media Committee of the Conserv-
ative Party in the House of Commons which was subse-,
quently published,. inter alia, in Now magazine, edited by
Anthony Shrimsley..
This speech dealt with Soviet propaganda and the,
systematic manipulation of the western media by certain
organs of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Sir
James went on to describe the three major organisations
used for this purpose and which report to the Politburo in
Moscow: the International Department headed by Boris
Ponomarev; the International Information Department
headed by Leonid Zamiatin and the KGB controlled Soviet
f
propaganda organisation called Service A which is part .o
trolled Communist press _ the value of which is limited
the KGBs First Chief-Directorate. Service A plans, coordi since the sources are publicly known-there is a major and
r gates and. supports secret operations which are designed continuous effort to plant propaganda covertly through
d
a.
to backup overt Soviet. propagan
As an example, Sir James made reference. to informa-
tion provided by General Jan Sejna, a former high official of
the Czechoslovak government, and former Secretary of the
Czechoslovak ruling party's Defence Conunittee, who de-
fected in 1968. Sir James stated "General Sejna, the high-
ranking Czech intelligence defector, admitted that the cam-
paign by the German news magazine Der Spiegel to errs
credit Franz Josef Strauss was orchestrated by the KGB"
It is to this reference that the Plaintiffs have' taken
exception in that they felt that it implied that the.magazine
paigns. both. OVERT and COVERT - the former through.
.overtly controlled Communist media throughout the world,
the latter, consisting of the dissemination and planting of
stories, rhany of which are based on forgeries and deliberate
falsehoods-known as "disinformation
The ultimate object of the campaigns is the under-
mining of free western societies and political systems. In
particular they aim to promote ideas, individuals and gov-
ernments helpful to Soviet strategy and conversely to dis-
credit those hostile to the interests of Communism
In pursuance of their aims the Soviets make use of
unwitting: Western media In addition to the overtly con-
well placed agents of influence who themselves may be
either conscious or unconscious of the role that they are
playing The media thus used are not intended to realise
that theyafeparticipating in KGB orchestrated campaigns.
It is- Si James' position that in pursuance of these
policies,.the Soviets made a conscious decision to seek to
discredit 'the-West German politician Dr. Franz Josef
Strauss and mounted a campaign of defamation, disinfor-
mation and provocation against him. Franz Josef Strauss
was Minister of Defence-in Chancellor Adenauers govern-
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