Original Title: Jason Miko published a secret document: Memorandum for “North Macedonia”
For quite some time some of the Macedonian media have built a narrative of a Western conspiracy against the Macedonian people, identity, history and culture, as well as against the Republic of North Macedonia. In that propaganda, every material that could be claimed to belong to the great conspiracy is used, without taking into consideration whether there is truth in what is published. Certainly, it is better and more convincing if something looks like an official document. Such was the last column of the dismissed honorary consul of North Macedonia in Tucson, Arizona, USA, Jason Miko, who has been also engaged as a lobbyist of VMRO-DPMNE in USA when this party was in power.
Miko has written his column in a form of a Memorandum from a certain Lewis Siffer, sent to the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, where a “demonization” of every one who fights for the name Macedonia and the Macedonian identity is being asked for. Of course, the column is a satire and a form of critique towards the Government and the Prime Minister Zaev for the Prespa Agreement and the constitutional amendments for changing the name of the country. This is also clearly stated by Miko at the end of his column.
However, some of the Macedonian media, the same ones who for quite some time have spread propaganda based on disinformation about certain foreign conspiracy against the country, published this column as an original, “secret” document received by the Government. The form of a Memorandum was used in order to give “the document” visual importance, which part was as also published as a picture. The following media published this article: Vecher, Republika, Javno, Markukule, and Infomax.
The publishing of the picture shows that these media had access to the original column and have intentionally omitted the last paragraph which clearly states that the document is fiction and satire, written in the style of the 20th century British writer, C.S. Lewis.
The intentional spreading of such serious disinformation shows that this is propaganda, designed as a part of the wider narrative which blames the Western countries of a conspiracy against the Republic of North Macedonia, while the Prime Minister Zaev is presented as their collaborator for realization of such a plot.
The publication of such disinformation, with such headline and visualization misleads many Macedonian readers, especially in a time of passive consummation of information without checking its credibility. The conduct of those media is totally unprofessional, since they use the journalist profession for spreading political propaganda based on drastic distortion of facts and misinformation of the public.
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