Imagine that you, as a refugee from extreme violence in Ukraine, called your family across the border for help — and were flatly told they did not believe you, that there was no war. You’ve witnessed the indiscriminate shelling of your city, including your own apartment building. As the screams of an artillery bomber shake the ceiling, you are hiding in a train station. You’ve seen dead people, soldiers and civilians, left in the street. If this is not real, “real” does not exist. How can your Russian relatives not know that this is happening?
The Washington Post explains:
Ukrainians are still dealing with the destruction caused by Russian aggressions in their homeland. However, many are also facing a bizarre and almost surreal reaction from Russian family members who refuse to believe that Russian soldiers could bomb innocent civilians, or that any war is actually taking place.
These relatives have essentially bought into the official Kremlin position: that President Vladimir V. Putin’s army is conducting a limited “special military operation” with the honorable mission of “de-Nazifying” Ukraine. Mr. Putin has referred to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a native Russian speaker with a Jewish background, as a “drug-addled Nazi” in his attempts to justify the invasion.
These narratives are emerging amid a wave disinformation emanating form the Russian state, as the Kremlin moves against independent news reporting while shaping the messages that most Russians receive.
There are 11 million Russians living with relatives in Ukraine, according to estimates. Russian President Vladimir Putin would be foolish to think that he could keep this many ignorant about the truth of Ukraine. But, this is exactly what Putin has attempted to do. Most of what was thought to be independent media in Russia has been destroyed, and most of the information being provided is from Russian state media. They preach that there is no war. no mass civilian displacement. This is a limited act to liberate Ukraine from Nazi control through precision strikes on military targets, they claim, while Russian soldiers bring food and warm clothing to all the affected civilians.
It is amazing, but also horrifying, that Putin would attempt to stage a gaslighting of this magnitude. Russia is not North Korea. It is not a country that has been ruled over by an all-powerful authoritarian state. Russia is a global power with a booming international oil-and-gas business that has made it globally indispensable, even as Putin hurls war crimes at a neighbor. It is this very energy sector that has kept it from the worst sanctions. Attack Russia’s oil economy and the rest of Europe — which depends heavily on Russian oil — could go darkThis was a major setback for NATO in the face crumbling economies and a restive people.
However, Russia’s disinformation campaign should not look entirely unfamiliar to us in the United States. Let us not forget that, not so long ago, we were led into a long and bloody war under the false pretenses of “weapons of mass destruction,” which reverberated across mainstream media. These official lies continue to echo in certain media sectors.
Then there is the lie-based America Trump and his aides have been trying to create for the U.S. for seven years. Any story that is not in praise for Trumpism is immediately labeled false. It is backed by an antilogic that muddles civic discourse beyond recognition. Even trying to deconstruct a Trumpist’s “fake news” charge is a victory for the one leveling it, because it means you have accepted the premise that it Could beThis is fake news that gives partisans a little bit of a leg to stand on.
A tight enough media bubble and the long-held belief in evil viewpoints and must be rejected as a moral imperative can enable a segment of any population to manipulate and control others in ways that will leave outsiders shocked and amazed. Trump has created a masterwork in disinformation about COVID-19 and other safety measures. While Trump would likely not have been able hide a whole conflict with a neighbor, To the detriment and ongoing success of the COVID fight tens of millions have purchased what he is selling, leaving the country severely fractured and unable escape the gravity well of a pandemic.
We in the U.S. independent media are well aware that attempts by the state to manipulate public opinion can not easily stop grassroots movements. Russia is currently experiencing the same situation. There is resistance where there is war or repression. More than 13,000 antiwar protesters were arrestedThey are still coming to Russia.
The Ukrainian ethos is built on resistance to outsiders. They will not give up on it.
Meanwhile, those of us in the United States, confronting Putin’s disinformation machine, must not assume that it can be torn down by sanctions, our own military and state mechanisms of information warfare. Instead, we should be aware of the fact that even though thousands of Russians protest against massive state repressions, grassroots channels of information continue to be used and new ones are being created. We must do our best to promote our own channels of truth, especially those that support grassroots resistance movements. Khury Petersen Smith wrote in Truthout, “Our challenge is to build protest across borders that stands in solidarity with those facing the violence of war, and is independent — and defiant of — the governments where we reside.”
If Voice of AmericaIt’s possible to do it under the U.S.-sponsored propagandist banner, but we can do so for the truth, Ukraine, and all people suffering from a starvation diet based on lies.
