Unbeknownst to me, on the exact same day that I was writing my Moldovan parliamentary elections post, a writer named Andrew Higgins in America was busy writing an article for a major newspaper that was tangentially related to my article.

In my post, I suggested that much of the anti-Russian hysteria was unjustified and vastly inflated, and several people angrily commented that I had it all wrong, that the Russians are evil and the true perpetrators of brainwashing propaganda that has bamboozled my weak mind.

Well here is the article by Andrew Higgins, writing for The New York Times, entitled “Russian Money Suspected Behind Fracking Protests”.

First, Vlasa Mircea, the mayor of Pungesti, states that anti-fracking protesters were being paid by shadowy Russian agents.

Secondly, there’s an accusation by anonymous “officials” that Russia is doing the same thing in Lithuania.

Third, the former NATO secretary general, Anders “Fogh of War” Rasmussen, is quoted as saying Russia is behind anti-fracking protests throughout Europe.

Fourth, a Romanian politician named Iulian Iancu agrees with Rasmussen’s statement.

Fifth, another Romanian politician named Anca-Maria Cernea states that Russia is involved in the Pungesti anti-fracking protests.

And sixth, George Maior, head of the SRI (Romania’s equivalent to the FBI) also weighs in.

And what, exactly, is the grand total of evidence that Russia is financing these anti-fracking protests?

Mayor Mircea of Pungesti: many hysterical allegations but not one shred of proof

Lithuanian officials: accusations against Russia that “have not yet been backed up by any clear proof”

NATO SecGen Rasmussen: He “presented no proof” during his speech of his anti-Russia allegations

Iulian Iancu: He “acknowledged he had no direct evidence to support [the] allegation” that Russians are behind everything

Anca-Maria Cernea: makes her allegations against Russia despite the fact that “no documents have been uncovered proving payments or other direct support from Russia”

George Maior: “There might be a Russian element here but I don’t think this is proven”.

Indeed, not one allegation against Russia in the entire article is proven by a single document, piece of evidence or other direct proof. All that exists are shadowy insinuations and allegations.

This article isn’t some blog post by an anonymous writer who is indulging in fact-free rants against the Russian menace. It is an article written for one of the most prestigious newspapers in the entire English-speaking world, authored by a veteran journalist, who has worked both for The Wall Street Journal as well as The New York Times.

Surely though, the veteran journalist is just “doing his job”, right? It’s still newsworthy to report what NATO SecGen Rasmussen has to say, as well as the embattled mayor of Pungesti (where the anti-fracking protests took place), right? Not so fast.

Several publications have reported on how the NYT was publishing faked photographs, allegedly showing Russian special forces in Ukraine, and how NYT journalists, including the self-same Andrew Higgins, were behind this anti-Russian propaganda.

If anyone is guilty of lying propaganda, it’s the Romanian government led by Victor Ponta. On the very same day that the Pungesti anti-fracking protests were gathering momentum, Ponta was in the American capital, meeting with Chevron officials. Chevron is the American company that wants to conduct fracking operations in Pungesti, who have also been frustrated by allegedly Russian-backed protests in Lithuania.

Furthermore, Ponta had already announced that his government was paying untold millions of dollars to hire former NATO SecGen Wesley Clark as a liaison between Chevron (the company Clark now works for!) and the Romanian government.

If that’s not enough, I also wrote about the mysterious meeting that Ponta had in February 2012 with a number of high-ranking American officials, before he was appointed as Prime Minister. One of the men he met with was Jay Thompson, a Chevron lobbyist, a man who was caught red-handed publishing a propaganda outlet masquerading as a genuine newspaper.

Add it up. The first anti-Russia allegation comes from Pungesti mayor Mircea, who owns the land that Chevron wants to frack, and is thus losing a lot of money from the protests. You’ve got two former NATO SecGens stumping for Chevron (which competes with Gazprom, a Russian energy company that also conducts fracking operations in Europe – hopa!), blaming the Russian government for protests. You’ve got Victor Ponta and two of his political allies (Cernea and Iancu) also making unsubstantiated allegations against Russia. And all of this tied up in a neat little bow by an American journalist who has already been caught publishing anti-Russian propaganda in his newspaper before.

After knowing all this, you tell me who is engaged in sinister propaganda!

As I’ve written about at length before, when it comes to lies and misinformation in the service of profit and global strategic superiority, nobody – and I mean nobody – can hold a candle to the reigning world champions, the American government and its corporate allies.