Propaganda differs importantly from average fake news, which we discuss on our website all day. Propaganda content is frequently not based solely on false information, but alternatively on facts that are subsequently exaggerated, distorted or overly promoted on the web to make the impression that the problem is far more serious than in reality. specified narratives prey on emotions, primarily fear, fueling it to excessive size and causing it to disrupt a sober assessment of the situation. That is why Kremlin propaganda is peculiarly harmful.
Our weekly analyses (available Here.) are intended to present to readers current trends and changes in pro-Russian disinformation in Poland and Europe monitored primarily in the Telegram communicator and fewer websites and groups/pages on Facebook. Each analysis presents the most popular narratives of pro-Russian propaganda in the monitored period and discusses its most interesting aspects. It presents a full number of views of disinformation content and utilized by propaganda of the Russian Federation (for each country for the 3 most popular narratives).
Reports appear with any hold due to the request to process and compile data. They are open and are simplified versions of more detailed publications within the Open Information Partnership network. They can be utilized freely by readers, media and analytical centres with a clear indication of the source.
Analysis
More about our evaluation system:
The most popular narratives of pro-Russian propaganda in 12 countries of Central and east Europe (the highlighted narratives besides occurred in the erstwhile monitoring period):
- The country is Russian-phobic/Russian culture is attacked in it;
- Ukrainians are Nazis;
- Western government supports Ukraine at the expense of its own citizens;
- The government of Ukraine declared war on the Orthodox Church;
- The West will fight in Ukraine to the last Ukrainian;
- Importing Ukrainian products destroys the economy;
- NATO/USA/WHERE guilty of causing war in Ukraine;
- NATO/West will be drawn into direct military conflict with Russia;
- Ukraine's military support is illegal;
- The country afraid is at hazard of war or will be drawn into it;
- Ukrainian leadership is corrupt/incompetent;
- Russian troops decision forward/achieve crucial successes.
On the second front, no change.
The repeated communicative of the beginning of the “second front” against the Russian Federation, allegedly arranged by the West (or global elites, as we read in a series of conspiracy narratives), remains a major origin in the ecosystem of disinformation throughout the geographical area covered by this report. This narrative, having achieved its apogee during the period 20-25 March, is powerfully present in the information space of Armenia and Georgia, where the ruling Georgian Dream organization intensified its promotion as part of ongoing attempts to discredit independent media and opposition as Western agents conducting the hybrid war. This communicative has persisted in Georgia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and is inactive gaining importance – mostly thanks to the rhetoric of the Georgian government of Dream.
Source: Freemedia.netReligious War
Narrations focusing on the fact that the Ukrainian authorities are “anti-Christian” and restrict freedom of religion were utilized by channels spreading misinformation throughout the monitored geographical area. This communicative appeared in the erstwhile monitoring period on 20-25 March and gained considerable popularity in 4 countries; Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine themselves. It has a strong possible to weaken support for Ukraine due to deliberate omission of information about the complexity of the spiritual situation in this country and the links of the local Orthodox Church to the Russian Federation.
Source: TelegramIn addition, pro-Russian and far-right sources depict the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as the only legal Orthodox church in Ukraine, which is allegedly brutally pacified by the Ukrainian authorities. The accusations focus on the Kiev-Pecherska Lavre, 1 of the most crucial temples in Ukraine, which was passed under the control of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Additional tensions related to this subject brought Easter celebrations.
The Conspiracy of the Elites
A noticeable trend is besides the increase in the importance of conspiracy theories in monitored channels in Poland. We already wrote about direct links between conspiracy channels and Russian propaganda in 2021 – our texts, including fresh analyses, can be found Here., Here. and Here.. After a dynamic growth between 20 and 25 March, narratives specified as "war in Ukraine is part of a global conspiracy organised by the West" were established between 25 March and 1 April. In addition to conspiracy theories, average fake news reign in monitored channels, usually based on imaginary statements by influential politicians.
Source: TelegramIn a akin way to another conspiracy theories observed under this project, including the aforementioned Western concept organizing the beginning of the “second front” against Russia, this message is based on the thought that global elites act insidiously and secretly to exert influence and control over countries around the planet in order to destruct Russia (which is to be the last bastion of conservative values). utilizing specified narratives in Poland is logical, given the deficiency of sympathy of Polish audiences for openly pro-Russian content. If the current trend persists, the increased focus of Russian propaganda on specified narratives, and not, for example, on developments in the battlefield or Ukrainian refugees, will be a noteworthy (in the monitoring period) precedent.
Contaminated ‘technical cereals’
With a comparatively tiny increase in economical misinformation, which uses mainly the ongoing crisis of surviving costs, a fresh communicative has emerged in Poland: Ukrainian cereals delivered to the country are contaminated and dangerous, or, at least, that its imports origin farmers to endure utmost poverty. The same communicative was circulated in Bulgaria, where it was noted that the import of Ukrainian grain in large quantities proves that the government supported Ukraine at the expense of its own people.
These narratives prey on the real economical challenges faced by farmers throughout the monitored region, and indeed the crisis in Poland related to the free import of Ukrainian grain and another products. Russian propaganda takes advantage of the situation by constantly commenting on the subject of grain, which thus seems even more serious than in reality. From Russian propaganda channels emerges a image of the Polish farmer fallen – destroyed by Ukrainian grain and decisions of the European Union, which has lost all income overnight. Poultry farmers, beekeepers and, in principle, any another food manufacture are to be others.
The pejorative word "technical cereals" promoted by prokremlian sources deserves attention, which was neither known nor utilized before the current crisis and it is not rather clear what it actually means. We analysed the question of ‘technical grain’ thoroughly Here..
Source: Google TrendsUkraine – the country has fallen
The channels monitored in Ukraine dominated narratives focusing on revealing alleged corruption and incompetence of the Ukrainian government or on the fictitious (or dramatically exaggerated) successes of the Russian army in Donbasa. Both combine with another dominant narrative: Russia's triumph is inevitable, and opposition only brings pointless losses.
Pro-Russian disinformation sources in Ukraine clearly focus on undermining the morale of civilians and supporting the Zelensk administration, which complements the conventional Kremlin tactics of hitting civilian targets and critical infrastructure in order to sow fear and intellectual breakdown of society.
Poland – 206 1000 views
Ukraine – 18.1 million views
Armenia – 223 1000 views
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – 780 000 views
Belarus – 390 1000 views
Bulgaria – 20 000 views
Georgia – 20,000 views
Hungary – 590 1000 views
Moldova – 43 1000 views
Slovakia – 190 000 views
Source:
Ukraine War Disinfo Working Group, Monitoring study March 26 – April 01, 2023
This study provides insights from the monitoring of narratives appearing on procremlovian websites and on social media in 12 countries of Central and east Europe, related to Russia's war in Ukraine. The data was collected and analysed by a number of NGOs, think tanks and researchers, and subsequently compiled by the Open Information Partnership (OIP) to advance the exchange of cognition across the OIP network and throughout the region.
