Russiagate Revisited

“Boyd-Barret and Marmura have brought together an outstanding team to analyze one of the most fateful episodes in contemporary political life. The volume is exceptionally coherent, with each chapter ground-breaking in its own way. The book advances our knowledge and understanding in a critical and fundamental manner and will undoubtedly stand the test of time to become essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Russiagate phenomenon.” —Richard Sakwa, Professor Emeritus of Politics, University of Kent and author of Deception: Russiagate and the New Cold War (Lexington Books, 2022). This volume provides a comprehensive, scholarly re-examination of the events and developments collectively referred to as Russiagate. In 2016 a consensus emerged within American and British intelligence, political, and news media establishments that Russia was interfering in the United States federal election vis-à-vis an “influence campaign,” in support of the candidacy of Donald Trump. This narrative monopolized western media attention for over five years but has proven poorly founded in fact. Russiagate Revisited examines the authenticity of official Russiagate claims, the role of mainstream and alternative media as both observers of and participants in the drama, what Russiagate reveals about the state of mainstream journalism, the gambits of professional propagandists within a long-established campaign of demonization of Russia, how Russiagate narratives were perceived in Russia, and the grave implications - of both Russiagate and the decline of trust in public information - for sustainable western democracy. Oliver Boyd-Barrett is Professor Emeritus of Media and Communications at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Stephen Marmura is a Professor in the Department of Sociology, at St. Francis XavierUniversity, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.