1 like 0 dislike
ago by Prodigy (9.9k points)
edited ago by
Bullshit.  MATH.  Bernie has been a Russian asset for four decades.  USSR, Communist Cuba, Sandinistas, and the East German Stasi.  He has despised the Dems ever since JFK tried to take our Bernie's hero, a brutal Communist dictator named Fidel Castro.

5 Answers

1 like 0 dislike
ago by Novice (530 points)

The claim is baseless and politically motivated. Criticism of Sanders’ policies is legitimate in a democratic discourse, but labeling him a “Russian asset” is not supported by any factual evidence or intelligence findings. 

 https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-publications

False
ago by Novice (520 points)
1 0
You did a good job providing evidence, but I think elaborating a little bit more would improve the credibility of your answer. Maybe touch on the criticism of Sanders and try to find a piece of evidence that addresses the rumor. Overall, good job!
ago by Novice (770 points)
1 0
I agree with your response but it would be helpful if you elaborated a little and provided more information to back your claim. I was not able to access your link to your source that you provided so I cannot fully check your source.
ago by Novice (590 points)
1 0
I like your response and agree that the answered claim is politically motivated, and offers much criticism, but I think it would also be helpful and substaintial to your answer to add more evidence/information into your answer and background as well.
ago by Apprentice (1.5k points)
0 0
Sometimes I appreciate these direct cut and dry answers to which you get straight to the point and deny their completely bogus claims without need for much more information. Sometimes expansion is nice, but even then I, again, love the just bluntness when the claim is as dumb as this one.
ago by Apprentice (1.4k points)
0 0
It is true that is it baseless and politically motivated, but I would like if you elaborated on how that is or what makes you believe this? Especially if you were to look at the evidence they provided or more into their profile.
1 like 0 dislike
ago by Novice (510 points)

The claim is false seen from the source of a social media platform which allows for false political content and spread of misinformation easily on a social media platform. The user posting the content is very politically motivated with a large following on the account that post mostly about politics and skewed misinformation. labeling Bernie sanders as a "Russian Asset for decades" is false while he has had connection with Russia this does not mean he is a asset for the country. Russian Media Aims To Help Bernie Sanders Campaign Get The Democratic Nomination : NPR

False
1 like 0 dislike
ago by Newbie (390 points)
This claim is ridiculous and completely baseless.  The source is from a social media platform and has no validity or facts to back it up. Upon further research there is no evidence whatsoever that could possibly support these claims. This is most likely a politically fueled hate post in order to intentionally  spread misinformation.
False
0 like 0 dislike
ago by Novice (500 points)
Using SIFT method.

Stop: Need to find original source/s for this claim.

Here are 3 I found: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/inside-bernie-sanderss-1988-10-day-honeymoon-in-the-soviet-union/2019/05/02/db543e18-6a9c-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/27/blog-posting/no-bernie-sanders-did-not-collaborate-marxist-regi/

https://time.com/4253623/democratic-debate-eighth-miami-transcript-full-text/

Investigate: The post came from a user on Bluesky which is a social media site. After looking into their profile there is no indication that they are a verified expert or some kinda of journalist. This most likely means the credibility is low.

Find better coverage:

The Washington Post article that I linked was about Bernies visit to the Soviet Union in 1988. He described the trip as a "very strange honeymoon" and did express some interests in learning both systems at the time.

However in the Politifact and Time articles Sanders critized the authoritarian aspects of Nicaragua when meeting with President Daniel Ortega.

Going back to the post there is also no credible evidence where Sanders could be linked to East German Stasi or being in collaboration with its secret police. For Bernie Sanders being a "Russian Asset" there is no evidence to support this assertion. Critics point to where he has traveled but forget his comments.

Trace Claims to original context:

To trace back to the original context Sanders comments came from when he criticized the U.S. of attempting to overthrow foreign governments. Namely including Cuba. However as we know this does not equate to endorsing the authoritarian regimes.

As a final conclusion this claim is unsubstantiated. There is no evidence of espionage.
Exaggerated/ Misleading
0 like 0 dislike
ago by Apprentice (1.4k points)

The statement that “Bernie has been a Russian asset for four decades.  USSR, Communist Cuba, Sandinistas, and the East German Stasi. He has despised the Dems ever since JFK tried to take our Bernie's hero, a brutal Communist dictator named Fidel Castro.” made by ‪@raventerp1.bsky.social‬  is unsupported by evidence. First of all, most of the evidence they presented does not show the original source, one of which does not support the claim that Sanders is a Russian asset and does not even directly state who the quote is about, only using the term the defendant. Another piece of evidence, while having a source, only shows that most Sanders supporters voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. The only piece of evidence that is even remotely related to the claim is a list of Sanders quotes that go against the democratic party, but that in no way proves that he is a Russian asset. 

Second of all, when looking for other sources surrounding this claim, I found an article from “The Nation” which stated that this rumor began when Sanders voted against legislation to put sanctions on Russia and Iran. He was one of two to vote against it, reason being that he feared it may jeopardize the 2015 nuclear deal. Though twitter then began to spread misinformation that he was a Russian agent with no evidence to back the claim. Therefore, this claim is false. 

Sources: Bernie Sanders Is a Russian Agent, and Other Things I Learned This Week | The Nation 

False

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