contributor, who is a temporary fill-in host. we know that russian state media is putting out lies about this conflict. i say that as someone who is on the ground in yoix. so why should the united states tolerate having russian state media on its public airwaves? let the american people make that decision. trust the american people to hear what they re saying and make the decision for themselves whether or not they believe that that is the truth happening. reporter: after the 2016 presidential election, the u.s. intelligence community led by james clapper put out a report accusing sputnik of being part of russia s interference efforts. there s this gray area of first amendment protection rights versus an insidious presence in our country that is really there to weaken and destroy our system. that s really what this is about, and it s state-sponsored. reporter: sputnik programming is only broadcast in two u.s.