To be clear, by deflecting are you implying that Bellingcat is not closely aligned financially and operationally with the NATO intelligence/media apparatus?
I don't see where he said that. He said basically that it's questionable to try to prove one entity is "aligned financially and operationally" with a bad actor by citing another entity that is "aligned financially and operationally" with a different bad actor. If they are so obviously bad, your case would be better made by not citing a source that is an unabashed and uncritical mouthpiece for a particular government.
You don't need to trust the Grayzone, or the Russian government (or Syrian or Iranian or Venezuelan or Chinese, whichever one is the most convenient to pin Grayzone to today) to see the though the smokescreen of Bellingcat's claim to being an independent "intelligence agency for the people". It's a total farce.
