THE broadcasting watchdog has made a provisional finding against Alex Salmond’s show on a Kremlin TV channel.

Ofcom said it had provisionally found that tweets read by the former First Minister on his debut on RT in November were not from audience members, despite the show giving an impression to the contrary.

Mr Salmond had claimed there had been an “avalanche” of messages from the public.

However it quickly emerged that one was attributed to an account that have never tweeted, and another was one of the workers on the Alex Salmond Show.

To ban or not to ban: Britain’s headache over Russian propaganda

Ofcom revealed the provisional finding as it announced it had launched seven investigations into the accuracy of information on RT, whose staff are referred to as "information soldiers" by their employers.

Ofcom said it was reviewing the station's licence after a "significant increase" in problematic content since the Salisbury poisonings of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The regulator said it believed RT's parent company, TV Novosti, had been broadly compliant until recently. RT's editor has described the channel as an "information weapon."

Oftcom said: "The investigations form part of an Ofcom update, published today, into the licences held by TV Novosti, the company that broadcasts RT.

"Until recently, TV Novosti’s overall compliance record has not been materially out of line with other broadcasters.

"However, since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programmes on the RT service that warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

"We will announce the outcome of these investigations as soon as possible. In relation to our fit and proper duty, we will consider all relevant new evidence, including the outcome of these investigations and the future conduct of the licensee."

It added: “There were no breaches in 2017. However, we have now opened a number of investigations. One of these relates to “audience tweets” in the Alex Salmond Show, which we have provisionally found were not from audience members.”

To ban or not to ban: Britain’s headache over Russian propaganda

The watchdog launched an inquiry into Mr Salmond’s show into December.

Ofcom said it was probing whether the November 16 broadcast breached guidelines on accuracy and “materially misled” viewers.

After a complaint, Ofcom is now investigating whether the show breached rule 2.2 of its broadcasting code, which says “Factual programmes or items or portrayals of factual matters must not materially mislead the audience”.

The Alex Salmond Show is made by Slainte Media Ltd, a company set up by Mr Salmond and his fellow former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.

Mr Salmond has previously said he has complete editorial control over its content.

He has also defended his decision to host a show on RT, which is registered in the US as an arm of the Russian government, by saying it is regulated by Ofcom.

Ofcom can apply a range of sanctions if it considers there has been a breach of the code, including warnings and fines, and, in the most extreme cases, taking channels off air.

In November, the Alex Salmond Show insisted the tweets were “clearly genuine” and accused the Herald of losing “all sense of journalistic perspective and objectivity” when it questioned their authenticity.

However Slainte Media now says the tweets were not from the public.

A spokesperson said: “Ofcom are still in the process of investigating a single complaint about 'viewers' tweets in the very first edition of The Alex Salmond show from last November.

“However, it has never been Slainte Media’s contention that the tweets, emails or messages from the first show were from viewers or audience members of that first show given, by definition, the very first edition of a pre-recorded show (unlike every single Alex Salmond Show since that time) could not possibly present any messages or reaction from those viewers. This point is not in dispute.

“There have been no complaints about the content of any show since. Until Ofcom complete their procedures their rules prevent us from disclosing further details”

To ban or not to ban: Britain’s headache over Russian propaganda

Last week the press watchdog, IPSO, rejected a complaint from Mr Salmond that the Herald has inaccurately reported the controversy over his debut show, when it referred to the programme being caught in a “‘fake news’ row”.

RT in the last 24 hours announced Russia had "irrefutable proof" that the chemical weapons attacks on April 7 of this year were "staged". It has also suggested that the UK "staged" the Salisbury attacks.

READ MORE: David Leask on Syria's information war

Several politicians have called for RT to be banned in recent weeks. Nato and Western allies regard the channel as part of a disinformation campaign by the current Kremlin government.

The SNP, which takes a hardline on Russian propaganda and has warned its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has been attacked online by Kremlin trolls masquerading as 'cybernats', has been boycotting the channel.

READ MORE: SNP renews attacks on TV channel hosting its ex-leader

However, the party has previously warned that an outright ban could give Russia a pretext to crack down on the BBC's Russian Service, a key provider of reliable information across the former Soviet Union.

Mr Salmond, meanwhile, has stick firmly to the view that RT is not propaganda. He has said: "I hold no brief from the Kremlin, nor am I required to have. No-one has tried to influence the contents of this show in any way, shape or form whatsoever.”

His recent pronouncements on Salisbury and the chemical attacks in Syria have co-incided those of pro-Putin outlets, but also with other Western sceptics about the events.

Speaking in a video message for The Herald's sister paper, The National, he said: "We don’t know for certain which chemical weapons were used in Douma last week and certainly not by whom.

“Assad, jihadis and Daesh have all used them in this Syrian civil war. They all have form in the grisly book of war crimes.

“The Syrian government certainly has the means but the motivation could lie elsewhere.

“Two weeks ago, Assad was winning the civil war hands down and the president of the USA was publicly declaring his intention to withdraw from the theatre.

“Now Assad’s conduct is under fresh international scrutiny and the Yanks are not just coming but they are staying."

Labour MSP James Kelly said: "This is humiliating for Alex Salmond, as it turns out his tweets were as made up as his White Paper. Alex Salmond is no longer even a useful idiot for the Kremlin. Nicola Sturgeon must be desperate for him to stay out of the headlines for a change.”

LibDem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said there should be a swift investigation by Ofcome into RT.

He said: "RT's coverage of the Skripal poisoning, as with so many other issues, has been a campaign of disinformation and muddying the water so I look forward to a swift investigation from Ofcom.

"It's disappointing that a former First Minister would unapologetically associate with Putin's propagandists for so long.

“I have filed a motion in the Scottish Parliament urging all groups and individuals in Scottish public life to take a stand by refusing future invitations for interview and to end any commercial relationships with Russian state backed media outlets immediately."