Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation
Moscow claims the prime minister's address stoked anti-Russian sentiment and was short-sighted.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation
Photograph: The Independent (embedded from source)
What this story says
- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the establishment of a National Centre for Information Defence at the UN General Assembly.
- Burnham accused Russia of spreading lies and disinformation during his speech.
- The Kremlin stated that Burnham's speech stoked anti-Russian sentiment and would not ease European tensions.
- Moscow described the prime minister's approach as short-sighted and fundamentally flawed.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 3 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
72/100
Craft
87/100
Hype
30/100
3 sources · methodology
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced the creation of a new National Centre for Information Defence during an address at the UN General Assembly. In his speech, Burnham accused Russia of spreading lies and disinformation, stating that the UK and its allies had faced an "industrial-scale assault" by hostile states.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Burnham's speech, stating that the prime minister's comments stoked anti-Russian sentiment and would not ease European tensions. Peskov described the approach as "utterly short-sighted" and "fundamentally flawed", adding that it would not lead to de-escalation on the European continent. The Kremlin also noted that Burnham had said nothing new.
Disagreement on the nature of Burnham's speech
The Independent reported that Burnham accused Russia of spreading falsehoods and singled out Moscow over disinformation. Reuters stated that Burnham accused Russia of spreading lies and disinformation. CGTN's headline stated that Burnham's comments stoked anti-Russian sentiment and did nothing to near de-escalation in Europe.
What the coverage left out
No reports mentioned the specific date of Andy Burnham's UN General Assembly address. The full reports from The Independent and Reuters did not include the Kremlin's specific claims about Russian interference in the 2019 general election or falsifying newspaper articles, details that were present in The Independent's full report.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 24 Sept 2026, 07:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
2 rated outlets
- Both left-rated reports highlighted the Kremlin's reaction to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's UN General Assembly speech. The Independent quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that Burnham's comments would do nothing to ease tensions across Europe and that stoking anti-Russian sentiment was what Britain was doing. The Independent also detailed Burnham's announcement of a new National Centre for Information Defence to tackle Russian information warfare and his accusation that Russian agencies interfered with the 2019 general election. CGTN's report, based on its headline, focused on the Kremlin's assertion that Burnham's comments stoked anti-Russian sentiment and did not aid de-escalation.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from Reuters focused on the Kremlin's statement that British Prime Minister Andy Burnham had unwisely chosen to stir up anti-Russian sentiment in a speech to the UN General Assembly. It noted that the Kremlin said this would do nothing to ease tensions in Europe and described Burnham's decision as short-sighted.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation?
- Of the 3 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 33% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 3 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation biased?
- Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation is one event reported by 3 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Kremlin criticises UK PM Burnham's UN speech on disinformation?
- 3 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Andy Burnham announce at the UN General Assembly?
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the creation of a new National Centre for Information Defence. This centre is intended to combat disinformation and information warfare.
- What was the Kremlin's reaction to Andy Burnham's speech?
- The Kremlin stated that Andy Burnham's speech stoked anti-Russian sentiment and would not ease European tensions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the prime minister's approach as short-sighted and fundamentally flawed.
- What did Andy Burnham accuse Russia of in his speech?
- Andy Burnham accused Russia of spreading lies and disinformation. He stated that the UK and its allies had faced an "industrial-scale assault" by hostile states, including Russia, to "prey on people's fear".
Read it at the source
3 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
2- KREMLIN SAYS UK BURNHAM'S UN COMMENTS STOKED ANTI-RUSSIAN SENTIMENT AND DID NOTHING TO NEAR DE-ESCALATION IN EUROPE (opens CGTN in a new tab)
- Kremlin accuses Andy Burnham of ‘stoking anti-Russian sentiment’ (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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