I don't think JA is as naive as to believe that he was going to get a free pass for organising whistleblowing. I think he also knows the fate of Russian real jo

I don't think JA is as naive as to believe that he was going to get a free pass for organising whistleblowing. I think he also knows the fate of Russian real journalists. The cold war has ended but we still get the same justification that what is happening in Russia is worse. It is both true and irrelevant. You can justify litterally anything saying that it's worse elsewhere. It is the most common argument raised in favor of accepting the current state of "democracy". I think it deserves a name at that point. Let's call it the North Korea argument. A strong defense against authoritarianism is not another strong state, it is a well fed, well informed, educated people whose rights are enforced by independent institutions.