Des Moines Precinct 14.

This precinct has become synonymous with the problems that occurred in Iowa a couple of weeks ago. Elizabeth Warren, receiving 19 votes less than Bernie Sanders, wins one more state delegate in the precinct. And yes, the Iowa Democratic Party have called the results official, and these errors have helped determined the state, and eventually national, delegates for Iowa.

Of course, you don’t hear much about this in the mainstream media. When stories run about polls with Pete Buttigieg being “a strong second” and Amy Klobuchar being the “real winner” or New Hampshire, even though she finished third with 19.8% of the vote, which led to the absurd calculation that if you add up “Amy and Pete, they finish first”, it is easy to see why many progressives cannot trust the mainstream media, especially MSNBC and CNN. And with the complete dismissal of the errors in Iowa by MSNBC and CNN, it further adds to the mistrust, and shows blatant bias.

However, there is one station that did talk about the errors in Iowa. Russia Today.

In a report by Rick Sanchez (I always wondered what happened to him) he and reporter Michelle Greenstien talk about the issues regarding the errors in Iowa with both the number of delegates awarded and the application used to report the precinct numbers to the Iowa Democratic Party.

So, let’s recap. There are blatant errors, Des Moines 14 proves that. MSNBC and CNN rarely talks about the errors or the app. Once the Iowa Democratic Party certifies the results as official, MSNBC and CNN say little, but RT continues to report the story.

So, if I am a progressive voter (or a voter that just wants the truth about something), who do I consider the legitimate source of news? Is it RT, with it’s clear Kremlin bias on other issues, but dead-on accuracy on this issue, or MSNBC and CNN, who creates absurd narratives like suggesting that Bernie Sanders is a person who might side with the executioners in Central Park during a socialist takeover of the United States?

This is how both CNN and MSNBC become a Russian asset.

CNN and MSNBC have been trying so hard to reject the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, that they are losing legitimacy as news organizations with progressives. They are now being seen as biased opinion makers, going as far as the bash Sanders’s supporters on baseless claims (claims that can be attributed to almost any candidate). The bias has become so blatant, even Bill Maher and Seth Meyers are making jokes about the media’s refusal to accept that Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary.

On the other hand, RT is truthfully discussing the problems that are happening in Iowa. This only strengthens their legitimacy as a news organization, as they are seen as reporting the problem and not making blatant false accusations (even if they are showing a clear bias). They are winning over the crowd that MSNBC and CNN are losing.

However, this is very dangerous.

As RT continues to build legitimacy with certain segments of the population regarding the Iowa issue (which, in fairness, they deserve credit for creating that legitimacy because they are accurately reporting the news and not hiding it from their viewers), they can create a following of people who might believe RT’s propaganda on other issues. Basically, if RT is right about Iowa’s numbers (which, again, look at Des Moines 14), then they must be right about what is happening in Ukraine! They must be right about Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 really being shot down by Ukrainians, and not by Russian-backed rebels. They must be correct about everything! This is exactly what The Kremlin wants.

However, this approach isn’t new. RT has been doing this for years. They have talked a lot about issues of injustice in the United States which appeals to the left, such as racism in criminal injustice and the poor quality of American health care, to win over those in the American left. And, to a certain extent, it worked with those on the far left (hence the reason we probably saw Jill Stein sitting next to Vladimir Putin). But in those days, CNN and MSNBC also covered those same issues, thus making RT look more “out there” in their view of the situation.

But today, RT’s legitimacy is purely a creation of the mainstream media’s refusal to look at this election in a non-discriminatory manner. As a result, RT builds legitimacy. Furthermore, The Kremlin can splinter the American electorate. Again, this is what The Kremlin wants.

The MSNBCs and CNNs of the world could stop this by simply stating the obvious, and not providing such blatant anti-Sanders news coverage. Of course, it is more than that. These media outlets have been taken over by “never Trumpers” on the right, and in the middle which is resulting in a new “Third Way” approach within these outlets. We never saw this kind of media vitriol during the 2016 Democratic Primary, and that was pretty damn contentious. But now, the culmination of all if this has led the a perfect scenario for The Kremlin, legitimacy for their policy views with a certain segment of the American population. Only MSNBC and CNN have themselves to blame.