By Mariana Bahlai (MITAC intern at CRRIC)
The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for almost a year. In that time, Russia has committed war crimes,
Ukrainians have faced pain that is hard to describe with words, and the world has seen pictures that are difficult to forget. Nevertheless, death and infrastructure destructions continues for months. The fighting on the front lines is not abating, and every day the world reads news about new wins and losses from both sides. Similarly, the information field is full of breaking news, sensational headings, and forecasts. Thus, it is a unique struggle not only for the rest of the peoples in the world but also for the Ukrainians, who should keep fighting in the information field – a new frontier.
The informational war was always one of the most important components of Russian politics. The government constantly pays huge attention to this aspect. Recognizing that it would be impossible to achieve political goals without a mis/dis-information-aware society, Russia has deliberately spread propaganda not only since February 24th, but also for a long time before that.
By way of illustration, in 2014, Russian propagandists started to spread thoughts and opinions that were suitable and acceptable for governance according to its politics in those days. The main narratives justified the occupation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in Eastern Ukraine, even though years before that, Putin stated that the territory of Ukraine was sovereign and indivisible. Likewise, now we find similar approach during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since the first days of the war, extensive disinformation has been spread as the government feels a constant need to explain its actions. Moreover, it is the only way to keep people favourable to Putin’s political and genocidal agenda.
Another problem that propaganda creates is that its borders are not set only in Russia; many media in Europe or other parts of the world are also affected by Russian propaganda, both intentionally and unintentionally. Not only do they let themselves quote Russian media and make comments on Russian politics (which mostly spread their imperialistic views and desires), but they also create anti-Ukrainian articles or publications. Such a tendency is beneficial for the Russian government and at the same time dangerous for Ukraine, as it forces the world to believe in Russian narratives, somehow support its politics, and oppose the provision of arms or any other support to Ukraine.
This constant flow of disinformation has an impact not only on Russians or Europeans but also on the Ukrainians, as their information fields are poisoned with such narratives. Admittedly, it is known that some percent of people in Ukraine are pro-Russian because they are watching or listening to Russian media outlets. In particular, it builds their anti-Ukrainian views even though they can observe what is going on with their own eyes. Still, it only proves that constant propaganda and disinformation are very powerful tools, and it is crucial to define these during the war.
Because of the constant need to fight disinformation, Ukrainians should only consume checked and verified information and be able to distinguish propaganda and keep the information field clean. For the most Ukrainians, it becomes a daily routine to read the news all the time, so it is hugely important to check if the media are authentic. It is enough to have a look at the sources they use or the way they write headlines. People know that news cannot be fair if there is no reliable source of information. Comments are often taken from anonymous sources or from people who are not competent in a certain field. It also occurs that some headings in a newspaper article could be sensational, yet it might not provide new information and contain only propaganda.
But the most detrimental part of this informational war is the media outlets in Ukraine that publish information that could be threatening not only to civilians but also to the Ukrainian Army. Usually, internet publications publish prohibited information, such as the locations of missile strikes, information about the Ukrainian troops, or their subsequent actions. Unfortunately, such channels have millions of readers, even though the younger generation neglects them yet elders in the society might not have adequate media literacy.
Consequently, in this war, it is vital to remember that paying attention to media literacy and fighting propaganda is no less important than fighting on the battlefield, as it is a war for both independence and the truth.
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Mariana Bahlai is a third-year student at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine, Faculty of Journalism. Her area of interest includes research about disinformation, media literacy, observance and violation of journalistic standards, as well as propaganda, both in its historical origins and nowadays ones, caused by the Russia-Ukraine War. Currently she is an Erasmus Exchange student at University of Jyväskylä, Finland. There she also studies Communication Sciences, Marketing and Management. Mariana enjoys writing journalistic materials and has experience in working in media.