I didn't expect to find this kind of topic here on steemit, but you actually surprised me. Here in Czech republic it is well known that Russia is paying fake news to have an influence on czech politics. The biggest problem, I think, is that reporters are pushed away from actually giving relevant news about Russia, Crimea or Ukraine. Reporters who give relevant news have to expect houndreds of mails and phone calls every time they post an article so yeah, Putin's propaganda is actually here, in a democratic country in the middle of Europe going hand in hand with president Miloš Zeman and other politicians.