In November 2019, the T4U set off for the tenth time in Ukraine. Our project, in which we once again traveled almost the entire frontline and conducted information and cyber security courses for local government, police and the general public, was supported by the International Visegrad Fund www.visegradfund.org
We see that the population of regions in close proximity to the conflict zone is not getting objective information from Kiev and independent sources, and therefore becomes easy prey to Russian information warfare and manipulations of local media dependent on the Ukrainian oligarchy.
Kiev is not fully aware that the war waged against Ukraine by hybrid methods is deepening, that thanks to the systematic work of Russian disinformation media, Ukraine is losing its appeal not only in the uncontrolled territories, but also in those it liberated after 2014 at the cost of great blood and losses. Now, more than five years after these events, it risks losing them.
The territory near the front line remains polluted by Kremlin disinformation even in the sixth year of the Russian-Ukrainian war. At a distance of 60-100 kilometres from the occupied territories, the entire information space is infected with the Russian propaganda virus, which affects the population whether they want it or not. This is just subconscious stuff. The further away the problem gets, the deeper it gets.
Russia is increasing its influence - it operates on several levels simultaneously: on the frontline, on the national level and, it has recently emerged, on the regional level. There are many websites and other media platforms that present themselves as regional but are administered from occupied territories or from abroad. They pass themselves off as pro-Ukrainian and have a patriotic, almost 'nationalist' appearance and are in the Ukrainian language. But it is through them that a huge percentage of propaganda is disseminated. The situation in the Ukrainian information space further from the front does not look much better. The Russian fighters on the front of the hybrid war have managed to take control not only of the agenda of many national channels that are controlled by the oligarchs, but also push their narrative in the media that are considered independent. Independent media, partly financed by Western structures, often also have a destructive impact on Ukrainian society. They exaggerate Ukraine's problems or describe them without taking into account the real situation in the country - outside a realistic context. For example, they compare the situation in Ukraine not only with the situation in rich European countries that are not at war, but even with some ideal situation that does not exist even in the most exemplary democracies. Disinformation campaigns are more sophisticated, increasingly based on manipulation and concealment rather than on primitive lies. When propaganda uses a primitive lie it is easily recognizable. It is much harder to recognize manipulation. A piece of information is presented, emphasis is placed on a particular point, and something else is completely omitted. It is very difficult for a layman to navigate in such a space. This is where special institutions at the state level should work to help understand this "disinformation cauldron" into which the Ukrainian information space has transformed. Waiting tactics will not be successful. If other states can watch and learn from Ukraine's experience, then Ukraine is on the front line, "learning as it goes" and from its own mistakes. Action needs to be taken as quickly as possible. But this is a very difficult thing to do. You need to think about what to do immediately and what to do in the long term. The problem will not go away by itself. You need to be realistic that these problems will not be solved quickly. It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed systematically. And systematicity is what is sorely lacking in Ukraine.
Ukraine must face not only the propaganda coming from the East, but also from the West, from those with whom Ukrainians should share common values and goals.
When a Ukrainian listener or reader hears what the President of a European country says, he may feel that Ukraine is abandoned, that nobody cares, that the European Union and the West will not help Ukraine, that they are salesmen, etc.
The worst thing about this situation is that the spreaders of this 'news' are often the so-called independent media and independent Ukrainian journalists. The question is what is the motivation for such behaviour. Maybe they are just reacting emotionally to this kind of statement, maybe they have other motivations. In any case, they overwhelm and infect Ukrainian space with information and statements that do not arise at random.
The situation has worsened in the last months of 2019-2020 due to the presidential elections and political scandals. So far, our conclusions are based only on observation not analysis, but we can see - that even very serious media and journalists allowed themselves to be used in this presidential election for various reasons. And even on independent respected media, there was infected information that of course took hold in the society. Now we are seeing the results. It should not be overlooked that Ukraine is not in an ordinary situation and that the war has been going on in the country for six years, and not only on the front line.
Partners:
-Maidan Monitoring Information Centre, https://maidan.org.ua, Ukraine
-Slovak Society for Foreign Policy www.sfpa.sk, Slovakia
-Slovakia-Poland-Ukraine Research Centre, http://www.polukr.net/en/, Poland
Full text: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/ukrajina-maje-posylyty-infomatsijnu-polityku/30410424.html
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