As Ukraine successfully pushes back invading forces, OAN is staying faithful to the Russian state propaganda edifice.

OAN is spoon-feeding its viewers Kremlin-backed war propaganda and reports from the state-owned network Ruptly. Recently, the far-right network portrayed the sham referendum and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories as legitimate; accused the U.S. and Ukraine, without evidence, of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipeline and bombing Crimea’s Kerch bridge; aired antisemitic conspiracy theories about Western globalists trying to control Russia; and claimed Ukraine is dangerously escalating the war simply by defending its territory. 

This pattern of pro-Russia coverage follows OAN’s notable history of acting as a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda. Both a former correspondent and a more recent hire of OAN's previously worked for Russian state-owned media outlets. After the invasion of Ukraine, OAN hosts promoted Kremlin-sponsored conspiracy theories about Western “biolabs” and Ukraine bombing its own hospitals while guests claimed that “Ukraine is not a real country” and that it’s just “a giant money-pot laundering scheme for the elites.”  

The network’s more recent coverage is part of a right-wing effort to defend Russian President Vladimir Putin by convincing viewers Russia’s invasion is not actually an invasion:

OAN coverage relies on Russian state-owned outlet Ruptly

OAN has relied on reporting and footage from Russian state-owned network Ruptly on numerous occasions. Although Ruptly maintains that it is an independent organization and merely a sister agency of now-defunct Russia Today, or RT, Ruptly and its subsidiaries lack an independent news charter and have a history of publishing manipulated reports and sourcing from journalists backed by Russia’s state security agency. The U.K. recently sanctioned Ruptly’s founding station, Tv-Novosti, for pushing Russian state propaganda. 

• OAN cited Ruptly in at least 7 reports about the conflict in September, which it repeatedly re-aired for audiences. The network has also cited Ruptly in reports about European foreign policy tangentially related to the conflict, including an update on the ISIS Kabul terrorist attack and a report about Serbian President Vučić’s speech to the U.N., which “supports ‘territorial integrity’ of Ukraine but it did not respect territorial integrity of Serbia when NATO bombed Belgrade in 1999.” [One America News, One America News, 9/5/22, 9/22/22]
• OAN played Ruptly footage while reporting that Putin “is not bluffing” about nuclear strikes after “top NATO officials said it would be acceptable to carry out nuclear strikes on Russia.” In doing so, OAN legitimized the Russian president’s vague allegation against top government officials in several unnamed NATO countries. [One America News, One America News, 9/21/22] [Ruptly, 9/21/2022]
• OAN claimed that “the Biden administration is bolstering its anti-Russia position” by nominating Armenian Ambassador Lynne Tracy to be Russian ambassador. The report, which contained footage from Ruptly, claimed that the White House will do “whatever it takes to help Ukraine topple the larger Russia.” [One America News, One America News, 9/21/22]

OAN defended Russia’s illegal referendums and subsequent annexation of Ukrainian regions as legitimate

Late last month, Russia organized sham referendums in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions in order to annex them and claim that the invaded regions are now legally Russian territory. OAN privileged the Kremlin narrative that these elections were free and legal over widespread reporting and testimony from residents of the occupied territory revealing a hastily organized election devoid of ballot secrecy and marred by the threat of violence — including video of poll workers flanked by armed soldiers going door to door collecting votes.

Some of OAN’s so-called news reports pushed claims that countries that are refusing to recognize the illegal referendums and annexation of an anti-Russia bias. This narrative ignores international condemnation of Russia’s ongoing invasion and annexation of Ukraine and promotes Putin’s increasingly antagonistic framework that this invasion is part of Russia’s existential battle against the West. 

• One America News reported, “According to [a] local mayor, polls show residents of Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine are supporting the proposal to join Russia.” The report relied on Ruptly footage of civilians positively discussing the illegal annexation. The host repeated Russia’s warning that if these areas join Russia, “any attacks on them will mean an attack on Russia and its national security.” [One America News, One America News, 9/24/22]
• OAN claimed the Biden administration and Ukrainian president are “denying the election results” by not legitimizing the illegal referendum. OAN took the suspicious results of the referendum at face value, noting that “officials say residents overwhelmingly support annexation, with one territory garnering the lowest support at 87% and another collecting 99% support.” [One America News, Breaking News Live, 9/28/22]
• One America News reported, “The U.S. and its allies did not recognize the results of the vote, but Russian officials say that such statements are based off anti-Russian bias in the West." The report, which aired after the “majority of local residents voted to join Russia,” failed to mention the vote violated international and Ukrainian law, was overseen by armed guards, and lacked ballot secrecy. Instead, OAN reported that the speaker of the Russian parliament said annexation “is necessary to defend their Russian population from the Kyiv government.” [One America News, Breaking News Live, 10/3/22]

OAN blamed the West for the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage and Kerch bridge explosion without evidence

Three separate ruptures in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines sparked an international blame game between Russia, Ukraine, and Ukrainian allies, including the United States. Online conspiracy theorists and right-wing outlets like OAN parroted the Russian narrative and pointed fingers at the United States and its allies with no evidence. Some programming even used the allegations to validate Putin’s threats of nuclear war. 

OAN’s reaction to an explosion that damaged the Kerch bridge, a strategic connection between the Crimean Peninsula and Russia’s mainland, followed a similar pattern. The network advanced a Kremlin allegation that Ukraine was behind the explosion without evidence, which Putin used to justify airstrikes across Ukraine. OAN unquestioningly promoted Putin’s claim as fact.  

• OAN guest Douglas Macgregor said the U.S. “probably approved this or had a role in” the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. Asked by host Dan Ball about “this sabotage thing,” Macgregor added, without evidence, “Well, we know with absolute certainty that the Russians did not do it.” Macgregor, a retired U.S. Army colonel, has a history of pushing pro-Russian talking points in right-wing media. [One America News, Real America, 9/28/22]
• Tipping Point guest Pedro Gonzalez reacted to the pipeline explosion: “It really does look like the West did this.” Gonzalez, a senior writer at far-right Chronicles magazine, also framed nuclear warfare as a legitimate response to “an escalation that involves NATO,” saying that “Russia really has no other alternative. … The only option it has is to escalate to nuclear warfare, right?” [One America News, Tipping Point, 9/30/22] 
• Host Kara McKinney inferred that the U.S. might have sabotaged the pipeline because Biden once said he wanted to end the Nord Stream pipeline. The Tipping Point host also claimed it would have been too hard for Russia to attack the pipelines itself. [One America News, Tipping Point, 9/29/22]
• OAN’s Addison Smith said it “does not make sense to the rational mind” that Russia would sabotage Nord Stream pipelines: “What does make sense is that the United States might be responsible.” Smith also cited Biden’s comments about ending the pipeline, claiming, “We have evidence that the U.S. could be behind this Nord Stream sabotage — definitely more evidence than anyone has of Russia being responsible.” [One America News, In Focus, 10/6/22]
• After the Kerch bridge explosion, One America News reported that Russia “targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a move Russian officials say was in retaliation against Ukraine's attack destroying the Crimean bridge over the weekend.” OAN moved on without clarifying there is no definitive evidence Ukraine was behind the explosion or mentioning that global leaders condemned Putin’s so-called retaliatory strikes, which killed at least 11 people. [One America News, One America News, 10/11/22]

OAN absolved Russia of blame for the war, faulting “globalists” instead  

OAN’s quest to absolve Russia and justify its invasion has in some cases devolved into antisemitic conspiracy theories. Network hosts pushed claims that “globalists” provoked Russia and plunged the world into Armageddon in order to seize power and targeted the right’s favorite Jewish boogeyman, Holocaust survivor and pro-democracy philanthropist George Soros. Putin has referenced the conspiracy theory in speeches meant to court right-wing populists, justify the invasion, and reduce support for Ukraine. OAN’s coverage follows suit. 

• Correspondent Pearson Sharp: “This war was manufactured from the beginning by the globalists and the tyrants in Washington and designed specifically to cripple our economy and plunge the world into a massive depression, which would help centralize the globalists’ power.” Sharp used out-of-context clips from the “globalist puppet master himself, George Soros,” to trying to prove that “they are trying to provoke Russia into starting Armageddon,” even though “none of this has anything to do with Russia invading Ukraine.” [One America News, One America News, 10/13/22] 
• OAN host Chanel Rion: “The left needs a world war. It's the only thing that can save them at this point. Biden's approval numbers and in turn the entire leftist globalist agenda is in burn-in-hell territory.” Rion told viewers that “the globalist left have been begging for this World War III showdown,” perhaps partly because they want to “divide and plunder Russia.” [One America News, Weekly Briefing, 10/9/22] 
• OAN guest Dave Brat warned: “The big-money folks, right, who you don't know — the globalist forces — want to rule and they don't care at all about the American people.” He continued by saying that globalists want to get rid of Russia and the United States. Host Addison Smith responded by pointing his finger at Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), saying, “Of course people like Dan Crenshaw want a war in Ukraine to go on. They want us to get involved in the war. It all comes down to money.” [One America News, In Focus, 10/11/22]

OAN promoted Russian allegations of Ukrainian aggression, justifying Russia’s violent invasion

OAN uncritically advanced Russian propaganda demonizing Ukrainian attempts to take back illegally seized territories while depicting Putin as defending Russian lands and their inhabitants against Ukraine. Though Putin has issued nuclear threats, escalated global tensions, and mythologized Russia’s own history of state-based repression, OAN falsely claimed Ukraine is a totalitarian state run by a dangerous warmonger, President Volodymyr Zelensky, dead-set on dragging the world into nuclear Armageddon.

This coverage serves no purpose aside from helping Putin turn his unpopular military incursion into a defensive war and poisoning support for Ukraine by muddying legitimate criticism about reckless military spending with Kremlin conspiracy theories. 

• A day after Ukrainian officials clarified that Zelensky’s comments about “preemptive strikes” against Russia were about sanctions, not nuclear strikes, OAN host Addison Smith said, “I don't think he misspoke, William. I think he meant what he said.” Smith’s guest then used the miscommunication to paint Zelensky as an “irresponsible” warmonger. [One America News, In Focus, 10/7/22]
• Relying on Ruptly footage, OAN news hosts reported that “authorities in Donetsk People's Republic said the Ukrainian government is targeting civilians with Western weapons” adding that they say this is “an attempt to convince local residents that Moscow cannot protect them.” Russian state propagandists have promoted false claims about Ukraine attacking its own civilians in order to rationalize the invasion. Four days after this report aired, United Nations investigators concluded that “war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” including Russian attacks carried out “without distinguishing between civilians and combatants.” [One America News, Breaking News Live, 9/19/22]
• OAN legitimized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s claims that Ukraine “has become a completely totalitarian, Nazi-like state” and “Western supporters of Ukraine are trying to extend the conflict for as long as possible in hopes to weaken Russia.” The report, which contained Ruptly footage, failed to mention that far-right neo-Nazis are not politically strong in Ukraine, rarely exceeding 3% of the popular vote. [One America News, One America News, 9/22/22]