New study shows how propaganda instilled war and hatred of Ukraine in Russians

Novaya Gazeta (New Newspaper) Europe, a Russian socio-political newspaper known for its opposition liberal-democratic and human rights stance, has been investigating the Russian propaganda mechanisms that convinced Russians of the need to go to war against Ukraine, or at least its inevitability.

Source: research by Novaya Gazeta Europe and Süddeutsche Zeitung, a major German daily newspaper

Quote: "To many people, the war began with Putin's address early on the morning of 24 February... Ever since, [Kremlin-aligned Russian news agency – ed.] RIA Novosti has put out dozens, if not hundreds, of news stories every day about the 'special military operation' or 'the situation in Donbas' - two euphemisms used by Russian propaganda to describe the war. Many of these news items feature identical sentences, but in different combinations. Day after day. Month after month."

Details: The newspaper’s analysis showed that no matter what RIA Novosti is reporting on, readers will always encounter the same text – over 10,000 times.

The investigation revealed that for any event directly or indirectly related to the war, there is an ideologically-loaded explanation. "Repeated thousands of times, it generates what's known as the 'illusory truth effect' – essentially a cognitive bias that makes you start to believe something after you’ve read it over and over again," the study says.

The vast majority of the recurring sentences in RIA Novosti's news items are about Ukraine. Many of them do not merely explain the context of the news story, but rather shape a very specific vision of what is happening. This prepared Russians for the war against Ukraine.

The study also suggests that after the war began, Russians sought answers from official information sources such as RIA Novosti as a way to make it fit into their world view and to find rational reasons for what had happened. At the same time, when they talk about the war, Russians tend to predictably parrot propaganda narratives.

RIA Novosti stories repeat the sentence about Russia launching a "special operation" [as Russian propaganda calls the war against Ukraine - ed.], worded in various ways, no fewer than 18,031 times. They also repeatedly claim that "Russia is only targeting military infrastructure and civilians are not in danger".

At the end of March 2022, the Russian army retreated from Kyiv and Kharkiv and it became clear that the war would be confined to the southeastern front. At this point, RIA Novosti adjusted the goal of the war: now the main objective of the "special operation" was to "liberate Donbas". Another objective, "security guarantees for Russia itself", was added later.

Towards the end of March, the guidelines for covering the war seemed to undergo a radical revision. In the crooked propaganda mirror, the "first stage of the special operation" had been successfully completed. "Success" was defined as "a significant blow to Ukraine's military potential".

Meanwhile, the war as depicted by RIA Novosti has been gradually becoming "defensive" - but against NATO, not Ukraine.

The study points out that RIA Novosti has repeatedly had to adapt to shifts not only on the battlefield but also in the decisions made by the country's political leadership. The most striking example of this was the change in Putin's stance on the fate of the territories Russia eventually managed to occupy. From February 2022 onwards, RIA Novosti frequently repeated the claim that "the occupation of Ukraine is out of the question". By August, slogans like this had ceased to exist. Within a month, a string of sentences about the "new regions" becoming part of Russia emerged almost simultaneously.

Propaganda will have to adapt to the changing reality many more times in the future. Each time, the goal will be the same: to create a credible version of what is happening to ensure that readers can overcome their moral conflict - or eradicate it altogether.

"Admitting to yourself that your country is killing opposition activists, waging wars of aggression, and annexing territories, and is complicit in the massacre of hundreds and thousands of civilians, is challenging and painful. It’s far easier to believe the opposite – that other countries are doing that and that our nation stands for truth and justice. That is exactly what the propaganda says," the study concludes.

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