A Russian academic has said he was impressed by the positive developments currently taking place in Zimbabwe which are in sharp contrast to the picture portrayed by international media.
Professor Vladimir Shubin told ZBC News in Harare this Thursday that the Zimbabwean media and academics have a huge role to play in correcting the misinformation.
On the international arena, Zimbabwe is generally viewed as an uncivilised society following decades of economic and political turmoil.
Speaking to ZBC News, the top Russian academic said:
There is a lot of misinformation about Zimbabwe, so-called mismanagement. You would think the country has almost collapsed, but when you see the country it is developing, as media you should do a lot to correct that and academics too.
The academic also spoke on the economic ties between Zimbabwe and Russia, particularly in the mining sector, emphasising the need to increase cooperation and relations between the two countries. He said:
You can love each other very much but unless you have economic ties that will be useless.
Zimbabwe and Russia’s cordial relations go back to the liberation struggle when the Europe-Asian country supported the Southern African country’s quest for independence through training its fighters and providing the requisite resources.
More: ZBC News
And Russia is one of the biggest peddlers of propoganda and fake news.
I believe the onus is on the government and the ruling party to improve the image of the country. Everyone knows negative stories sell; so as long as the government and its ruling party propagandists continue to sell the country down the drain; you must expect negativity across the Global World. Stop this nonsense of calling your legitimate opposition “puppets of the west”. Only in Zimbabwe do you find this happening. Stop paying youths to disrupt opposition meetings. Get rid of idiots like Chinamasa and Mugwadi – they have messed up this so-called New Dispensation big time. Do away with lame accusations of regime change. Only in Zimbabwe do you find this Gorge Bush phrase still current.