Potemkin suffrage: The media should call out fake elections

Putin's duped and terrified subjects went through motions that looked a lot like voting – but an election it was not. Language should be respected.

Photo by Annie Spratt via Unsplash

All over Russia this past weekend, subjects of Vladimir Putin travelled to places called polling stations where they went through motions that looked a lot like voting. There were ballots with names on them, one of whom was Putin – but an election it was not. As a longtime journalist, I’d like to propose that language be respected.