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 the most interesting aspects of it. We besides present 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;
- The West intends to open the second front of the war with Russia;
- Ukrainians commit war crimes;
- Ukrainians are Nazis;
- The EU/NATO are weak and will shortly fall apart;
- The government of Ukraine declared war on the Orthodox Church;
- Importing Ukrainian products destroys the economy;
- Ukrainian leadership is corrupt/incompetent;
- Russian troops decision forward/achieve crucial successes.
War crimes and the assassination of Tatarski
The assassination of Pro-Russian war blogger Wałdlen Tatarski, which took place on April 2, 2023 in St. Petersburg, resulted in a crucial intensification of popular communicative accusing Ukraine of attacking civilians and committing war crimes. The murder-based message gained peculiar popularity in Armenia, the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine – all these countries combine the presence of a large Russian-speaking part of society. In countries specified as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia (where the number of Russian-speaking people is much smaller), this communicative was not very popular.
Source: Michael D. Weiss/TwitterOne of the most striking changes that have taken place during this monitoring period is the change in the information space of the Baltic countries. For the first time in a fewer weeks, the communicative about Russian culture being attacked and Russian-speaking communities being discriminated against did not take first place in terms of the number of publications (although it maintained considerable popularity and found itself second). Instead, most of the publications focused on the mentioned bombing of Władlen Tatarski and, like the Russian authorities, attributed the blame to Ukrainian peculiar services.
Anti-Western rhetoric is inactive popular
Disinformation related to events on the battlefield and the ongoing battles for Bachmut reduced its intensity, while anti-Western narratives (with peculiar emphasis on the claims that the West provoked the conflict between Russia and Ukraine) stay an crucial part of disinformation campaigns throughout the monitored geographical area. Conspiracy theories are increasingly intertwined with false information discrediting NATO and the European Union. The Western countries are portrayed as being controlled by secret influence groups that have sparked war to make billions in the sale of Ukraine's weapons. The people and organisations behind the alleged global conspiracy are selected according to the recipients to whom the message of pro-Cremlian propaganda channels is sent. Recipients of this kind of content do not head the contradiction of messages, for example, erstwhile reports about conspiracy causes of war mix with theories that war is not going on at all and is simply an staging.
Source: dense Artillery/TelegramIn addition, ongoing discussions on the possible counter-offensive of Ukraine became the subject of conspiracy explanation in Armenia, where 1 of the most active pro-Russian bloggers stated that the offensive could be “coordinated” with a possible Azerbaijani attack, as Western governments allegedly proceed to implement various options to open the “second front” against Russia.
Poland – conspiracy theories and banners
In Poland and Bulgaria, anti-Ukrainian conspiracy theories hit mainly Ukrainians surviving in these countries. They are to be part of the “Ukrainianisation” plan or in another messages of depopulation by spreading various diseases created in secret biological laboratories in Ukraine. In Poland, the issue of "technical cereals" remains highly popular in the Pro-Russian propaganda channels, although it is inactive not full known which cereals are expected to be "technical".
In addition, anti-Ukrainian sentiments based on narratives about “banderists” and “Ukrainian Nazis” are intensifying in the right-wing environments. Individual cases of Ukrainian utmost nationalism and the display of symbols of totalitarianism are widely distributed, which are expected to attest to the corruption of the full Ukrainian society. In fact, social support for this kind of ideology is marginal in Ukraine – in the 2019 parliamentary elections a coalition of extremist and ultranationalist parties achieved 2.15%. specified content is usually fueled by Polish utmost right-wing environments and frequently straight based on narratives of Russian propaganda. The question of why the Kremlin bases all its rhetoric on the story of Ukrainian Nazis, We discussed January of this year.
Source: MFA Russia/TwitterAttack on Orthodoxy and "Ukrainian Ineptitude"
Due to the ongoing celebrations of Easter and the unresolved dispute around the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra in Ukraine, the misinformation associated with the religion and alleged war of the Ukrainian government with Orthodoxy maintains popularity. It was peculiarly visible in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, where spiritual issues related to Orthodoxy are highly sensitive.
Source: CHP/TelegramW Ukraine's pro-Russian sources proceed to devote much time to trying to lower the overall morale of Ukrainian society by discrediting local leadership with accusations of corruption and incompetence, which remains the leading disinformation communicative in the country for respective weeks. Efforts are besides being made to advance Russia's eventual triumph on the basis of exaggerated successes under Bachmut, which is allegedly to be full controlled by Russian troops and Wagner Group.
Poland – 226 1000 views
Ukraine – 7.3 million views
Armenia – 44,000 views
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – 30,000 views
Belarus – 395 1000 views
Bulgaria – 166 1000 views
Georgia – 16,000 views
Hungary – 40,000 views
Moldova – 132 1000 views
Slovakia – 33,000 views
Source:
Ukraine War Disinfo Working Group, Monitoring study April 01-07, 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.
