TheOldGuy @TheOldGuy@qoto.org
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 72 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
I have been splitting wood just to keep it full
OK schools head makes teachers play video of him praying for Trump
https://open.substack.com/pub/meidastouch/p/ok-schools-chief-orders-teachers?r=70k1h&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
5 Common Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Narratives.
The concept of “narratives” often comes up in the context of Russian and pro-Kremlin disinformation and influence efforts.
- A narrative is an overall message, communicated through texts, images, metaphors, and other means. For example, repeatedly portraying individual politicians as crooks will eventually establish a narrative that politicians in general are corrupt and deceitful;
- Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets use a set of narratives that work as templates for particular stories and can be adapted to a target audience.
- Different narratives are used for various audiences;
- Some of these narratives have been in use for hundreds of years. Variations of the narrative of “The Decaying West” are documented since the 19th century.
- Narratives can be combined and modified based on current events and prevailing attitudes.
Here is an overview of the five most common narratives that consistently appear in Russian and pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets.
1. The "elite" vs the "people"
This narrative, broadly based on the idea that “evil elites” are out of touch with the needs of the “people”, is a common populist trope that can be especially powerful during election cycles. We have seen it many times before: a party or a candidate, claiming to be the “voice of the people” or “the silent majority”, deploys this narrative to attack the political establishment and offers voters easy solutions to complex problems.
This narrative can be very successful as it provides a scapegoat for the target audience to blame for any grievances: bankers, Big Corporations, Jews, oligarchs, Muslims, Brussels bureaucrats. Russian and pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets heavily exploited this narrative.
Questioning the legitimacy of the electoral process is also a common characteristic of this narrative. Sputnik, for example, frequently “reports” about alleged election fraud, underscoring the idea that elites manipulate elections.
The Elites vs. People narrative has a long, over hundred-year history. Its purveyors claim to be a voice of reason and to advocate on behalf of disenfranchised citizens, speaking truth to power against elites that seek to hide the “truth” at any cost.
The “truth” can relate to a broad variety of issues, including migration, politics, and the economy; while the particular elites deemed “guilty” of hiding the truth are strategically selected to suit the grievances of the target audience. Indeed, this narrative can be adapted and applied to a seemingly infinite number of issues: “The migration crisis is caused by big corporations in order to obtain cheap labour“; “The Global Warming Hoax is used by bankers to divert public attention from real-world problems “. The list goes on and on…
Ultimately, while this narrative appears on its surface to sympathise with ordinary people, its roots are in fact strictly authoritarian.
Evidence is rarely provided to substantiate the claims made and, following the principles of conspiracy thinking, the very absence of evidence is sometimes used as proof. Typically, this narrative also demands that the reader rely exclusively on the word of the narrator: “I know the truth, trust me!” Indeed, like all narratives based on conspiracy theories, this one requires its audiences to accept the claims on the basis of faith rather than fact.
2. The "threatened values"
Read more (text from 2015, but still blazing current)
@freerussia_report
Queues for water are forming in Odesa
Following the ruzzian attack, most of the city has no electricity, water or heating. Electric transport is stopped.
I am a Democrat who supports Ukraine in their battle against The Russian Z fascist invaders.
I am a 72 year old Covid hermit who
lives on 10 acres in a sparsely populated area of the Ozarks. I heat with wood that is leftover by the lumber industry. When cutting oak for lumber only the trunk is used.
The largest town is population 2992. The county is 13k people scattered over 713 square miles.
Joined Dec 2022
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