For years, the mainstream media rejected claims the 2020 U.S. presidential election could have been stolen from President Donald J. Trump, dismissing such ideas as “conspiracy theories.”
From CNN (May 2021):
Most Americans reject QAnon-linked conspiracy theories and believe that Donald Trump lost legitimately in 2020, a set of new polling finds. But a substantial minority within the Republican party endorses some of those theories, and most continue to baselessly question the outcome of last year’s election.
From Reuters (Jan 2021):
Social media users have shared a video detailing a conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election and the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
From Politico (April 2022):
Green Bay has turned into an example of how Donald Trump's unfounded conspiracy theories about the 2020 election have eroded faith in local government.
But as President Vladimir Putin just signed treaties declaring once-Ukrainian regions now belong to Russia after those blocs voted in favor of doing so, the mainstream media are the ones calling the annexation “illegal” and the votes held in the regions “rigged” and a “sham,” but without explaining exactly how the votes were falsified.
From The Associated Press:
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties Friday for an illegal annexation of occupied Ukrainian territory in a sharp escalation of his seven-month invasion of Ukraine.
From CNBC:
Condemned by Ukraine and its Western allies, the votes showed a resounding majority voted to join Russia, although the elections were widely seen as rigged and many irregular voting practices were reported.
From The New York Post:
Russia confirmed on Thursday it will formally annex four regions of Ukraine — about 15% of the war-torn neighboring country — after declaring victory in Kremlin-backed sham referendums.
From The New York Times:
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is set to sign decrees on Friday to declare four regions of Ukraine to be part of Russia, as the Kremlin seeks to solidify its tenuous hold over parts of the country through a widely denounced illegal annexation.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed treaties formalizing the inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation.
From RT:
The heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, as well as the leaders of Kherson and Zaporozhye, Vladimir Saldo and Evgeny Balitsky, signed the documents together with Putin. The move follows official requests by the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the two southern Ukrainian regions, which had declared independence, to join Russia. All four territories held referendums on the issue between September 23 and 27, which saw overwhelming support for the move, according to results announced earlier this week by local election committees. In Donetsk, 99.23% of the people voted to reunite with Moscow, with Lugansk showing a slightly lower figure of 98.42%. Zaporozhye Region highly supported the idea of splitting from Ukraine and joining Russia, with around 93% of voters backing it. Some 87% voted in favor in Kherson Region as well. The treaties will now be submitted to Russia’s Constitutional Court, which will assess them to ensure they do not violate Russian law. Once they are cleared, the agreements will have to be ratified first by the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – and then by the Federal Council, its upper house.
From Sputnik:
Vladimir Putin has expressed his full support for the incorporation of the Donbass and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions into Russia, and signed a decree to that effect. "Dear residents of Russia, residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, the people of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions...you know that referendums have taken place. The results have been calculated. The results are known. People have made their choice, an unequivocal choice," Putin said, speaking at a ceremony in the Kremlin on Friday.
The Biden administration responded with new sanctions against Russia.
From Fox News:
The U.S. announced fresh sanctions in response to Russia annexing four Ukrainian territories Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally agreed to the annexations of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, after referendums the West labeled a "sham." "These sanctions will impose costs on individuals and entities -- inside and outside of Russia -- that provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory," President Biden said, adding that the U.S. will not recognize the new borders. The Treasury Department named hundreds of members of Russia's legislature, leaders of the country's financial and military infrastructure and suppliers for sanctions designations. The Commerce Department added 57 companies to its list of export control violators, and the State Department added more than 900 people to its visa restriction list.
