Vladimir Putin’s name cropped up in US media more than that of almost any other foreign leader in 2024, according to a Sputnik count. The Russian president has been mentioned 16,300 times so far, outstripped only by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (19,900 times) amid his government’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
By comparison, Putin’s name was brought up only 6,000 times in 2020, yet the ongoing NATO proxy war in Ukraine has prompted Washington-manipulated outlets to pounce on his name in a media frenzy. Whether it was the Russian leader's inauguration following the presidential election in March or his whirl of diplomatic activity that put paid to the West’s attempts to isolate him – Putin has been a dominant headline-maker.
The same survey shows that while Chinese President Xi Jinping’s name was cited 3,400 times in 2024, US media have been on a roll when it came to mentioning America’s oft-demonized adversary – the People's Republic of China (PRC).
China was mentioned 245,000 times in the US media in January-July of this year, followed by Israel, which was mentioned 123,000 times, and then Russia, which cropped up 79,000 times.
Ukraine was referenced 64,000 times throughout this US election year as the West's puppet regime in Kiev angled for more weapons and cash from its patrons.
Generally, there is a trend for US media to flog the "China" narrative more than that of any other country every election cycle, with almost 400,000 mentions of China in 2020 and more than 210,000 in 2016.
Another go-to US adversary, Iran, appeared in the American media 6,600 times in 2000, almost three times more often in 2004, 21,500 times in 2008, and 46,000 times in 2012. However, its mentions were down this year to 36,000 times.
The survey used data ranging from US state media and official press releases to scientific outlets in cases where the search word (country or person) was mentioned at least three times.