WaPo Prints Advert Section by Russian Paper Skewing Georgian Conflict

A Russian newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, has an advertising section in today's Washington Post that looks very much like newspaper copy (although it does bear a disclaimer), notes Matt Lewis of Townhall.com.

Of course the above-the-fold front page story presents a decidedly pro-Russia skew to the conflict in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia. The headline and subhead: "Georgian Bombs Rained on Us: South Ossetians awoke to find their villages under siege."

Another story along the same lines inside the section comes with this headline: "How Could Rockets Be Used Against a Peaceful City"? The subhead complained that the casualties in the conflict were "staggering."

Lewis added in an update the observations of Heritage Foundation's Rob Bluey, who also blogs at RedState:

1) . This comes on the same day when the Washington Post put a story on A1 about Russia supporting the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. I know there are lines between editorial and advertising, but most people probably won't pay attention to the fine print.

2) . I've seen the Washington Post run these supplements before for Russia and several other countries. I'm sure they're paying a pretty penny to advertise. But it must be effective, otherwise we wouldn't see so many doing it.