Pressure mounts for radio station in suburban Kansas City to stop broadcasting Kremlin-funded propaganda

"As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, so do broadcasts of what critics decry as Kremlin-funded propaganda on KCXL, a radio station in Liberty, Mo., a Kansas City suburb of 30,000. Pressure is mounting for KXCL to end broadcasts that have kept the station in business," Kavahn Mansouri reports for Kansas City's KCUR, a PBS affiliate.

KCXL frequently airs content from Radio Sputnik, which is produced in Washington, D.C., and funded by the Kremlin. A handful of other U.S. stations air the programming too, including WXHF-FM in Washington, D.C., KCUR reports. The content includes shows such as "Fault Lines," which features political commentary from Jamarl Thomas. "The week of March 7, Thomas spent a large portion of the three-hour program painting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the instigator of the Russian invasion, pinning responsibility for it on Ukrainians and the United States," Mansouri reports. Thomas said Zelenskyy "isn’t the brimming, shining hero the West has made him out to be. . . . That’s the narrative that’s required in order to solidify this idea this is unprovoked."

National Association of Broadcasters chief Curtis LeGeyt called on U.S. broadcasters to stop airing all Russian state-sponsored content. KCXL owner Pete Schartel "called the NAB’s request a 'knee-jerk reaction' that trampled KCXL’s freedom of speech and led to a maelstrom of angry calls to the station, labeling Schartel and his wife Jonne as 'traitors'," Mansouri reports.

Schartel was once struggling financially, KCUR reports, but nets $5,000 a month to air Radio Sputnik programming since a 2020 deal with Kremlin-run media agency Rossiya Segodnya.