The Russian media Weibo apology statement: "159 countries will adopt the new BRICS payment system" has been verified to be fake news!

Russian media outlet RT (Russia Today) issued a statement on its official Weibo account on Thursday, August 22, admitting that the news it published on August 17 claiming "159 countries will adopt the BRICS new payment system" was found to be false. RT expressed deep regret for the dissemination of inaccurate information.

RT stated that it has removed the false news from all its platforms and will strengthen its news publication review mechanism to prevent similar incidents in the future and maintain the credibility of RT news.

"We sincerely apologize for the confusion caused to our readers and humbly accept the criticism from our media peers and scholars. RT will take this as a lesson and ensure that in the future, we provide true, accurate, and high-quality international news reports.

Thank you for your understanding and support," the post mentioned.

Earlier this year, in January, a report indicated that the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, stated that "159 participants from 20 countries" had joined the related system.

In December 2023, the European think tank "Modern Diplomacy" published a research article on the BRICS payment system.

The article pointed out: "The BRICS payment system itself is based on blockchain, which means it operates on a distributed ledger. It is not a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or cryptocurrency. It is designed as a digital service without a single accepted currency—it is designed to use the currencies of any BRICS member countries. The main goal is to reduce dependence on Western financial systems like SWIFT by bypassing the U.S. dollar and euro, facilitating trade and financial transactions among BRICS countries."