As War Drags On, Fight Over Ukraine Increasingly Becomes Battle Of Disinformation, Propaganda, Too
Russians must now contend with an "Iron firewall" banning them from popular social media
As his unprovoked invasion of sovereign and democratic Ukraine enters it's second week, and Vladimir Putin faces both unprecedented unity in the opprobrium and the sanctions wielded to demonstrate that harsh censure in response to the attack, there are signs that the Russian leader has begun to take steps to regain some measure of control over a narrative around his aggression, even if it amounts to censorship and apparent government disinformation.
Not only has a surprising amount of the world community come out to condemn Putin's lawless aggression and imperialism, but he, too, has had to contend with ongoing protests from his own people in cities across Russia who have been coming out into the streets despite efforts by his government to arrest those who speak out against the invasion.
And evidence is mounting that Putin is taking even more autocratic steps to overcome dissent.
Despite the news that more than 6,500 Russians have been arrested for participating in the massive anti-war demonstrations that the world has seen blossom in Russian cities large and small, there are signs that pro-Putin propaganda seems to be having an effect.
A reporter showed Russians pictures of bombed out buildings in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Kyiv, but “The reactions are depressing,” according to Glenn Kate's, a Kyiv-based journalist.
“I’m not even going to look at the photos. I’m for Putin in all respects,” and “Sure they’re our brotherly nation but it’s not we who are at fault,” are but two comments by average Russians.
It's a position confirmed by independent journalist Olga Tokariuk.
“One of the most chilling things for me is watching and reading comments by Russians to what their country is doing in Ukraine. They either think these are all fakes, or are convinced that Ukrainian army is bombing its own civilians.The level of hate to Ukrainians is mind-boggling,” Tokariuk tweeted.
It's not only propaganda which Putin has apparently begun stepping up.
Putin's government, for the first time, is taking Chinese-style censorship actions aimed at limiting the access to social media by average Russians.
This includes government-imposed limits on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
“An Iron firewall is going up around Russia’s Internet,” Bloomberg News reported, using a term related to the old “Iron Curtain” which was said to have existed around the old Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Correction: An earlier version of this story used the incorrect tweet from Olga Tokariuk. The story has been updated with the correct tweet and quote.
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