In the second month of the war unfolding in Ukraine, the narrative gap widens as Russia promulgates disinformation. Information about how the war began, the scale of the conflict, the arrow of causation, and the war’s justifications varies widely according to different sources. Proof of this disparity is apparent in the vertiginous rise of Putin’s approval rating among his countrymen. The News with Shepard Smith reports that Putin’s ratings have risen to 83% this month, up from 63% in November of 2021. While this and other evidence is a testament to the success of Russia’s manipulation of the war to create a tide of pro-nationalist sentiment, Russia’s propaganda machine has also found external outlets.
Facebook and Twitter accounts of Russian diplomats are being used as platforms for the spread of false claims: “Accounts are still active and are disseminating disinformation and propaganda in nearly every nation,” the Associated Press reports. “With hundreds of social media accounts on every continent,” the report continues, “Russia’s diplomatic corps acts as a global network for propaganda, in which the same claims can be recycled and tweaked for different audiences in different nations.” Diplomats from inside the Kremlin have stepped up to fill the gaps where Russian state media has been increasingly blocked from social media platforms and otherwise censored. “But the same tactics that have sustained such propaganda for years are running into a far more complex reality where the claims can be instantly and credibly rebutted on social media,” the AP concludes. The voice of fact-seeking information capitalism issues, as ever, from the same mediums that incubate volatile disinformation.
“Russian embassies and consulates around the world are prolifically using Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms to deflect blame for atrocities while seeking to undermine the international coalition supporting Ukraine,” relays a report from the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Russian state-controlled television broadcasts accuse the West of promulgating fake news about the war; interviews with Russian citizens inside the country show resistance to learning the facts and details of Russian atrocities. Claims of how the West has intervened include fabrications of evidence and stagings of the corpses peppering the streets of bombed Ukrainian cities.
From Channel 5 News with Andrew Callaghan inside Ukraine, reports have come back of civilians’ view of the Russian propaganda machine: “Russia has enough resources to spread propaganda to the whole world,” asserts an anonymous Ukrainian from inside a bomb shelter. “And there is a lot of Western media that listens to what Russia says.” Meanwhile, media outlets in the West prove essential to Russian information strategy. A report by Mother Jones of a leaked memo from the Kremlin to Russian media outlets highlights the role of Tucker Carlson and other right-wing figures in amplifying Russian propaganda.
“The Kremlin views Tucker Carlson as essential in its messaging strategy,” an anchor at MSNBC relays. The disciples of American right-wing discourse seem to echo the sentiments—and suspicions—of Russian nationals, imaging the war and its casualties as fabrications of Russo-phobic Western media. “They can easily fake a war,” a Channel 5 interviewee at a truck rally proclaims.
The control and release of information is a critical component of the continuing play of this conflict. Russia’s strategy hinges heavily on the support it can garner from Russian nationals, the reactive vitriol it can inspire against Europe and the West, and the confusion it can spread with aggressive disinformation campaigns.
