Vatnik Soup
Soup number20
Date16.11.2022
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Ukraine vs Russia propaganda war

In today's #vatnik soup, I'll discuss propaganda. Why is πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ winning the propaganda war? What happened to πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί as a propaganda/disinformation powerhouse?

Here's my take:

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πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί established their disinformation machinery a long time ago, and a big part of their modus operandi comes already from the KGB era. Their propaganda focuses on putting a negative spotlight on other actors, for example the political opposition, πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ or the West.

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This "bashing of foreign actors" is a very effective propaganda method,and many countries have taken a similar approach after they've seen how well it has worked for πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί. Previously most countries were focusing on praising their own policies, but this method changed the game. 3/12
At the beginning of 2022, πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί still had a big lead on the disinformation effectiveness. Their troll farms produced propaganda around the clock, and some of it - especially the antivaxx and racial tensions kind - seemed to be working well on fringe groups around the globe.

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Then, after πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί's full-scale invasion in πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦, everything changed. What happened? My theory is that πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί had been pushing their luck for too long with Crimea and Donbas, and the collective West simply said "Enough".

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Western democracies and prominent politicians decided that it's time to aid πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ in their defense and started providing aid packages worth billions of dollars. Media caught up and started defending πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦, too. After this, all πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί statements fell on deaf ears.

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Biolabs, deadly pathogens, neo-nazis, NATO's proxy war... All of these narratives were ridiculed in the Western media and in social media. Individual claims were quickly neutralized by OSINT experts such as the @bellingcat.

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In May, #NAFO swooped in and started battling the online disinformation with their Shiba Inu memes. We also shouldn't forget πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦'s propaganda, which was constructed brilliantly. First of all, it was all REAL (except for that Ghost of Kyiv guy and a few others): ...

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... We saw children in bomb shelters, soldiers dancing on fields,πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί tanks used as a flower bed, demolished civilian buildings, and most of all: we saw their courageous leader. Already on 25th of Feb, 2022,Zelenskyy and his posse recorded a short clip from the streets of Kyiv.9/12
Early March, 2022, πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί disinfo suggested that president Zelenskyy had fled to πŸ‡΅πŸ‡±. After this, Zelenskyy recorded even more material, directly from the war zone. At the same time, frail Putin was seen sitting at long tables, far away from his military advisors.

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This is just one example how πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ emphasizes individual tragedies and especially HEROISM.Their propaganda tells a David vs. Goliath story, and everybody loves an underdog. πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί propaganda focuses on their military POWER and attempts to DENIGRATE πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ as a nation and as a culture. 11/12
To conclude, it is worth mentioning that πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί propaganda probably works really well in πŸ‡·πŸ‡Ί. Two-thirds of Russia relies on state TV for their news. Their top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov spews out propaganda and outright lies daily, like this:


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