The Gory Z War against the Godless
Russian propagandists paint the perfect enemy for the barbaric Z campaign by projecting their own image onto Ukrainians.
When not busy committing atrocities in the areas of Ukraine temporarily under their reign of terror, Russian Z-war combatants seek the ideological blessing of their political masters. To do so, they keep inventing fantastical reasons to justify the immense human suffering that follows their footprints on the battleground.
The Prince of Darkness joins the rainbow community and Ukrainian super soldiers
When fighting off the evil ‘Anglo-Saxons’, the EU, the West, or good-old-bad Nazis is not enough, enter Satan.
We reported in March and even before then that fighting the ‘satanic values’ of the West gives Z-war bandits, in particular Chechen forces, the excuse they need to loot, torture, and kill. These allegedly demonic values include respect for the basic human rights of the LGTBQI+ community.
However, fighting off the mighty ‘Gaytan’ is not going well for the ‘defenders’ of ‘threatened values’. A recent conservative Western estimates suggests current total Russian personnel casualties to be between 70,000-80,000 since the invasion’s start, with several thousand armoured vehicles also lost.
If we believe pro-Kremlin outlets and Russian lawmakers, more harm is on its way for already demoralised Z-war marauders. According to lawmakers’ jaw dropping comments, they will soon face genetically modified Ukrainian super soldiers, an apparent masterpiece of US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. Despite its repeated and thorough debunking, the disinformation narrative about biolabs and biological weapons continues to be one of most beloved lies of pro-Kremlin propagandists.
Finland and Sweden can’t have nice things like NATO membership
On 3 August, the US became the 23rd country to ratify Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO. Meanwhile, pro-Kremlin outlets and their amplifiers continued their desperate efforts to stop those countries from joining the alliance.
Their key narratives follow classic Kremlin disinformation tropes such as threatening Finland and Sweden with grave consequences, suggesting that Finland and Sweden are acting under foreign (US, NATO) pressure, and insinuating that the Finnish and Swedish governments are acting against the will of their peoples.
In line with their favoured ‘lost sovereignty‘ narrative, pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets also claim that Finland and Sweden are now about to lose their sovereignty and that NATO enlargement threatens Russia and is part of a Western encirclement strategy. As always, this assertion conveniently ignores that only 6% of Russia’s land borders currently touch NATO countries.
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Guides Advocating (Self) Hatred
Meduza reported earlier this month (more here) about the Putin administration’s messaging guides, which give pro-Kremlin outlets and Russian politicians alike detailed instructions on how to communicate about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Meduza details in a snippet from the Kremlin guides: ‘One of the goals of the “special [military] operation,” according to the document, is to “fight against the godless,” characterized by the authors as “rapists, thieves, and murderers” who “[don’t] believe in anything”’. The guide offers further guidance to push messages such as, ‘Many of the Ukro-Nazis are open Satanists and followers of hateful cults’.
In addition to a flawless projection of self-image of godless rapists, thieves, and murderers onto their adversary, the Kremlin messaging guides also advocate dehumanising Ukrainians in the communications. As we have written before, dehumanisation and hate speech pave the road to remorseless killing.
In other disinformation news
- Zelensky wants to cede Ukrainian territory to Poland. This recurring Kremlin disinformation narrative attempts to exploit difficult issues in Polish-Ukrainian history, and portrays Poland as a state with imperial ambitions. The assertion that any Ukrainian territory could be given to Poland is clearly unfounded. Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders and fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Instead of having imperial ambitions, Poland is one the leading supporters of Ukraine in repelling the Russian invasion.
- Ukraine is preparing a false flag chemical attack to damage the image of Russia. This recurring piece of Russian disinformation has been debunked several times in the context of Ukraine and elsewhere. There is no evidence that Ukraine is preparing a chemical or biological provocation or any other use of weapons of mass destruction. On the contrary, many Western leaders, such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have real concerns that Russia could use chemical weapons. Lastly, Russian leaders do not need a helping hand in tarnishing their own image. They do that the best themselves.
- Sanctions don't affect the Russian economy – Yale University is wrong. This is an old and regularly recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative stating that sanctions barely hurt Russia, or are even beneficial for the Russian economy. However, a recent study from Yale University took a detailed look into the effects that sanctions are having on the Russian economy and concluded by stating, ‘Business retreats and sanctions are crippling the Russian economy’. Or, as EU High Representative Josep Borrell put it bluntly, ‘The sanctions against Russia are working.’
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Belarus: How Independent Media and Activists Keep Risking Everything
The Lukashenka regime’s goal remain painfully clear: there can be no independent media or even a trace of independent thinking in opposition to the regime. August 9th marked the anniversary of the rigged 2020 presidential elections in Belarus. Read the account below of recent acts of repression affecting mass media in Belarus.
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Protecting Freedom of Speech against Information Manipulation
Freedom of expression is vitally important, but it does not mean that governments are free to engage in deliberate disinformation and manipulation campaigns. Interview with Kate Jones
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Kremlin Newspeak Video Series - Food Security
The Kremlin continues to use food exports as a weapon. Single, or a few grain ships a day leaving the Black Sea won't remove Russia's responsibility for growing food insecurity.
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