CUENTOS RUSOS, CENSURA Y ATAQUE AL PERIODISMO PARA TAPAR LA CORRUPCIÓN DEL GOBIERNO DE MILEI

·49 min·4 clips

Manuel Adorni's 15-19 trips as a national official spark an illicit enrichment investigation.

1. Pandemia Digital covers two connected Argentine political scandals involving government corruption and a disputed 'Russian disinformation campaign' used by the Milei administration. 2. The host is the primary presenter; no named guests appear, though audio from Open Democracy publisher Diana Cariboni and commentary from researcher Ari (full name not stated) are included. 3. The episode's core argument is that the Milei government's corruption scandals are being obscured by a narrative about Russian media interference, itself funded and promoted by US-aligned institutions. 4. Manuel Adorni, Milei's government spokesman, faces investigation by attorney Gerardo Polisita for 15-19 official and private trips since December 10, 2023, under a cause of alleged illicit enrichment. 5. The Adorni scandal escalated in layers: first a presidential flight to Punta del Este paid by businessman Grandío (who receives public television contracts), then four properties over 200 square meters in Caballito acquired through apparent testaferros for $400,000+ and sold for $200,000. 6. A luxury stay at the Hilton Embassy Suite Aruba Resort was exposed after Adorni's family posted New Year's vacation photos publicly tagged as 'Vancouver' — a discrepancy that identified the actual location. 7. The notary (escribana Adriana Nechevenko) who signed the suspicious property transactions had visited Casa Rosada seven times and previously worked for drug traffickers; she is now being summoned by justice. 8. The host also presents a list of Milei government officials and legislators who received favorable UVA mortgage credits from Banco Nación, including Felipe Núñez (adviser to Economy Minister Luis Caputo, 475 million pesos) and Federico Furiase (Secretary of Finance, 80 million pesos). 9. Lorena Villaverde, identified as a subsidiary named in one of the credits, had been embargoed and prosecuted for fraud in a real estate lot scheme before someone at the central bank approved her credit anyway. 10. The host then pivots to the 'Russian campaign' narrative: The Continent, an African WhatsApp-distributed newspaper, published spreadsheets allegedly showing $280,000 in Russian payments to 25 Argentine critical media outlets. 11. The story was immediately amplified by US Ambassador Peter Lamela and by Chequeado, a fact-checker the host identifies as receiving funding from the US Embassy and National Endowment for Democracy. 12. The Guardian had previously published a Marco Rubio directive ordering US embassies to fight foreign propaganda using local influencers and media to make US messaging appear organic — timed closely to Lamela's public tweet. 13. Ambassador Lamela's Twitter account routinely retweets Diario La Derecha, owned by Fernando Cerimedo, who is under Brazilian prosecution for the Bolsonaro coup attempt and publicly boasted of working with Trump's campaign team. 14. The Continent itself lists as partners the Ford Foundation, National Endowment for Democracy, Open Society Foundation, Luminate, Mott Foundation, and Pulitzer Center — all US-aligned. 15. Open Democracy (which republished the investigation in Spanish) is similarly funded by the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundation; researcher Julian Macías Tobar documented the overlap in a Twitter thread. 16. Open Democracy publisher Diana Cariboni states in audio that no payments can be confirmed, no amounts verified, and that most of the flagged articles are normal critical journalism rather than disinformation. 17. The host argues the timing — the story emerged when the Adorni corruption scandals were peaking — and the source chain (spreadsheets → African outlet → US-funded fact-checkers → US Ambassador tweet) suggest a coordinated deflection effort. 18. The host notes that the 'disinformation' example cited by Chequeado was a story from an obscure Dominican outlet (Cachicha News) that had never been shared on any social network before its inclusion — making it implausible as a real disinformation campaign. 19. The episode suits listeners following Argentine politics, media funding transparency, US foreign influence operations, and the Milei government's corruption cases. 20. Listeners seeking non-political content, a neutral presentation of the Russian campaign claims, or content outside Argentine and Spanish political affairs will not find this episode relevant.

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