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Just five blocks from the Zócalo, in Mexico City’s Historic Center, a three-story neoclassical building houses the Club de Periodistas, a nonprofit that claims it has “promoted journalistic excellence since 1952.”
But a Factchequeado investigation, carried out with support from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and published in partnership with Animal Político, reveals that the Club currently operates as a front for Russian disinformation and Kremlin-aligned narratives. Those include claims that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was caused by “NATO’s eastward expansion,” and repeated use of the phrase “special military operation,” the term used by Vladimir Putin’s government.
Its website amplifies Kremlin-driven narratives
The Club, led by Celeste Sáenz de Miera and Mouris Salloum George, says its website Voces del Periodista promotes “freedom of expression and journalistic rigor.” But an analysis of its content shows that it now functions as “a conduit for pro-Kremlin and anti-Western propaganda.” That conclusion comes from a review by the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the nonpartisan German Marshall Fund, conducted at Factchequeado’s request.
Since April 2025, nearly three-quarters of the site’s content (72%) consists of republished material from state-run outlets, primarily Russia’s RT and Sputnik (53%), followed by the Cuban state agency Prensa Latina (18.6%). The publication volume –an average of 136.9 articles per week– suggests an automated system designed to amplify Russian content.
Through this large-scale republishing operation, Voces del Periodista boosts Russian and Cuban state narratives while publicly presenting itself as a “genuine, national journalistic project,” the analysis found. In reality, it acts as “a propaganda front” for both governments.
When contacted by Factchequeado, Sáenz de Miera and Salloum George said Voces del Periodista “operates as a communication system” that is “autonomous from the Club.” They did not explain why nearly three-quarters of its content comes from Russian and Cuban state media.
Its biweekly magazine receives Mexican public funds and also promotes Russian interests
The print magazine, called Voces del Periodista, operates under Salloum George, the Club’s national director and Sáenz de Miera’s husband. It publishes global commentary that frequently advances Kremlin narratives.
For example, the magazine does not refer to the invasion of Ukraine as an “invasion,” but as a “special military operation,” mirroring the terminology used by Putin. It also states that “NATO expansion” caused the war — another point aligned with Kremlin messaging.
The magazine has also published pieces by Russia’s ambassador to Mexico, Nikolay Sofinskiy, and by Dmitry Medvedev, vice chair of Russia’s Security Council. In Sofinskiy’s case, the magazine does not disclose to readers that he is Putin’s top diplomat in Mexico.
Using official documents available on Mexico’s National Transparency Platform, Factchequeado found that the Mexican Senate — controlled by the Morena party since 2018, to which President Claudia Sheinbaum and former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador belong — spent 951,000 pesos (about $51,000) on advertising in Voces del Periodista between 2020 and 2023. It is unclear where the magazine is distributed or how to obtain a physical copy. Its Facebook page has about 2,600 followers.
Inside the Club’s building, Russian propagandists “train” Mexican journalists
In January 2024, senior executives from Russia Today (RT) traveled to Mexico City to lead a five-day “content creation” course. The event was held in the Club’s Neoclassical Patio and included Victoria Vorontsova, director of RT en Español; Karina Melikyan, RT’s director of International Cooperation and Distribution; and Mirko Casale, from the Russian propaganda program “Ahí les va.”
The workshop was free for participants. The Club told Factchequeado it also charged RT nothing for using the venue. “The spaces were absolutely free for RT, since renowned journalists generously offered a course on technological and journalistic updates with academic validity,” Salloum George and Sáenz de Miera said in a letter. Based on the rental cost of the Neoclassical Patio for weddings and events, using it for six days would normally cost about 431,000 pesos (roughly $23,300).
Factchequeado contacted RT for comment, but received no response before publication.
The Club annually honors Kremlin propagandists
Every year, the Club holds the “National and International Journalism Contest” to “uphold the profession.” While hundreds of Mexican journalists have been recognized over the years — often with support from senior federal government officials — Factchequeado found that the Club now also uses these awards to legitimize international disinformers and Russian propagandists.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Club has awarded nearly all of its international prizes — including medals and diplomas — to Russian propagandists, Russian state media, and one private outlet (Tsargrad) funded by Moscow. Tsargrad was founded by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, who faces criminal charges in the United States.
In 2023, the Club hosted Jackson Hinkle to give him an award for “best international analysis.” Hinkle is known for promoting Russian disinformation, maintains close ties with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and even has a California-registered company called “Fake News Media LLC,” where he lists himself as “chief propagandist.”
In 2017, the Club awarded Alex Jones its “international multimedia and multiplatform journalism prize.” Jones, founder of the U.S. site InfoWars, was ordered in 2022 to pay $965 million in damages for defamation after years of falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was staged and that the victims’ parents were “actors.”
Disinformers have also served as judges for the awards. In 2024, the panel included Spanish writer Guillermo Rocafort, who that same year was convicted by a Madrid court for spreading false statements about journalist Ana Pastor, founder of Newtral — another member of the LatamChequea verification network, like Factchequeado. Rocafort, who also received a Club award in 2023, promotes Kremlin narratives and conspiracy theories on X.
All this takes place while Sáenz de Miera publicly claims that “the deliberate violence of lies” must be denounced and that her organization defends “truth as an ethical obligation and the backbone of journalism.”
The Club’s directors told Factchequeado that the contest “does not accept any sponsorship.”
The Club de Periodistas is the “Mexican home” of Russian diplomats
Sáenz de Miera called the Club de Periodistas “the Mexican home” of Russian diplomats in 2023, when she presented an award to the Russian propaganda outlet Tsargrad for its coverage of the Ukraine invasion. Malofeev did not attend the ceremony, but Russia’s ambassador Viktor Koronelli accepted the award and delivered a speech: “We have other media in Russia, and I think that in the coming years all of them will receive these types of awards.”
The Club and Russian diplomats also show a close relationship on social media. Russia’s Foreign Ministry frequently celebrates when the Club honors its propagandists while boosting statements Sáenz de Miera gives to Russian outlets.
The Club has also lobbied on Russia’s behalf. In December 2024, the Russian Embassy praised Sáenz de Miera for asking UNESCO to revise a report the UN agency published in 2024 on risks faced by journalists. Sáenz de Miera claimed the report excluded “our Russian colleagues who were killed.” In their letter to Factchequeado, the Club’s directors said they are “independent” of any political power.
Factchequeado reached out to Russia’s ambassador in Mexico and to the communications director of the Mexican Senate, Abelardo Martín Miranda, but received no responses before publication.
Factchequeado is a fact-checking outlet building a Spanish-speaking community to counter mis- and disinformation in the United States. Want to join? Send us the content you receive through WhatsApp at +1 (646) 873-6087 or visit factchequeado.com/whatsapp.
