Media as a Wartime Tool
Media has always been a crucial part of history. The type of communication that media engages with its audience is clear. The sender and receiver of the messages that are being exchanged are apparent. Almost in all cases, the media tool that has been used is the sender of the message and the receiver of that said message is the audience that it is directed at.
Therefore, it is not by chance that media tools are also a part of the evolution of politics.
From the very first tool -and even before that- media has been part of politics. In order to convey their messages to the masses, every political figure needs an outlet. Means of media provide this need. Political leaders and the candidates for the roles of the government, use media as a means to influence society, to affect the way people behave in their daily lives, and their opinions of current ongoing affairs.
As means of media evolved, so did their use for political purposes. Thus, utilizing media outlets as a tool to convey a certain perspective and even spread misinformation about the affairs has become a common practice by states during conflicts and wartime.
To give a very current example to utilizing propaganda, and a failed one at that, we can talk about disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Use of Propaganda During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
A part of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’s territory was the information war carried out by the Russian state and state controlled media. This is not to say Russia was the only state to carry out disinformation campaigns during the conflict. Ukraine has also employed themes such as Ghost oh Kyiv and the Snake Island Campaign. Both states have exaggerated and overstated the damage they inflicted on one another. However Ukraine’s efforts were much more limited when compared with Russia.
At the start of the invasion the first reasoning put forward by Russia was the fact that Ukrainian authorities was committing genocide against Russian speakers living in Ukraine. These accusations have since been proven wrong after Ukrainian authorities brought the case into the attention of ICJ (International Court of Justice) to challenge these accusations. During the proceedings of the case of Ukraine v. Russian Federation, court had not find any evidence to confirm the allegations of genocide. These accusations were also rejected by the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
By utilizing propaganda and fake news stories, Russia imed to undermine Ukraine’s right to exist, claiming that, historically, Ukraine has always been part of Russia, thus this invasion was nothing other than taking back their “rightful territories”. Through this disinformation campaign Russia has also accused Ukraine of being a neo-Nazi state, developing nuclear and biological weapons, and being influenced by Satanism. In addition, Russian propaganda accused NATO, the number one opposing power to Russia, of manipulating Ukraine to build a military infrastructure that could pose threats to Russia’ s sovereignty.
Part of the disinformation was carried out by the Russian web brigades. Also known as Kremlinbots or Kremlin trolls, Russian web brigades are state-sponsored online political commentators. The Kremlinbots have close ties with the Saint Petersburg based company, Internet Research Agency which is runned by a close ally of Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin. These internet trolls have carried out their mission ever since 2003, however, starting in February of 2022, a distinctive effort can be seen towards backing up the Russian invasion starting with Facebook and YouTube and later extending to TikTok, Instagram and Telegram to sow seeds of doubt about the war in Ukraine.
The Russian state officials have denied committing any war crimes and even went as far as accusing Ukraine for some of them. The information war also aims to undermine the international support given to Ukraine and to provoke hostile behavior to displaced Ukrainian refugees in Europe.
These efforts were successful within Russia as a consequence of heavy censorship of the news about the war and state control in most media outlets. However, internationally, due to the amount of disinformation, Russian media has been restricted and tarnished its reputation in Western and developed countries. It is important to note that China is not included in this aspect. The Chinese state media has been seen to be sympathetic to the Russian narrative and has repeatedly censored non-Russian sided war news.
Despite these extensive efforts by Russia to utilize propaganda as a tool to justify the invasion, their success appears to have not reached the aimed outcome, particularly in the international arena. The exaggeration and fabrication of allegations, such as claims of Ukrainian genocide and accusations of Ukraine as a neo-Nazi state, have not gained the intended traction outside Russia. The international community has been quick to challenge and reject these narratives. Consequently, Russia’s attempt to manipulate public opinion and undermine Ukraine’s international support through an information war has encountered resistance, highlighting the importance of a discerning global audience in the face of information warfare.
Photo by Rostislav Artov on Unsplash
