© Alexey Filippov / Sputnik

A US think tank, which notably receives funding from the military sector, has lashed out at Russia's Sputnik news agency, claiming in a new report that the media organization "discredits" Western governments and institutions such as NATO.The Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), which helps the US and central and eastern Europe to shape strategies and policies, has now shifted its focus towards Russia's "modern warfare", shining a specific spotlight on the English-language agency.CEPA has compiled a five-page report , in which it gives a cursory analysis of Sputnik's reporting, focusing on just one aspect - "European Parliament context" - out of all of its global, 24/7, multilingual coverage.He props up his arguments by showing the results of random searches for "Polish", "Czech" or "Latvian MEP" on Sputnik's website and goes on to conclude: it's "a desire to promote their anti-establishment opinions" versus those of mainstream commentators.The report interprets such coverage as deliberately dovetailing with Russia's military doctrine by making a "'wide use of the protest potential' of the legislature to promote the Kremlin's chosen messages."Published in January 2016, the report is just one of the West's recent critical pieces targeting Russian government-supported media.In the case of CEPA, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, however, the interest seems to be supported by sponsors, including the US Department of Defense and corporations connected to the US military sector.Among CEPA's high-profile employees is fierce anti-Russian critic and political expert Zbigniew Brzezinski, and British journalist Edward Lucas, known for his anti-Russian book "The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West."Additionally, in April Poland picked US-made Patriot missiles - manufactured by Raytheon - and Airbus helicopters for a multi-billion-euro military upgrade.The "Russian propaganda" threat has been preoccupying US officials, who perceive it to be "a challenge to the NATO system."Last year Secretary of State John Kerry asked US lawmakers for more money for propaganda and "democracy promotion" programs around the world. His calls were then echoed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee that urged the US government to invest more in media warfare around the world.A less aggressive way, Kramer said, would be to "follow the assets" of RT, Sputnik or any other Russian media abroad.