This blog isn’t meant to be political, and that’s something I’ll continue to hold to. That being said, the current war between Ukraine and Russia has been an interesting case of propaganda in the age of mass media. An initial barrage of reports suggested that Russia had seized the Kiev airport with paratroopers, taken out the Ukrainian Navy, conducted an amphibious assault in Odessa, destroyed the entire Ukrainian air force, etc. In other words, an attack that would be basically the most successful blitzkrieg assault ever. It appears that what actually happened was a targeted cruise missile barrage against airports, government buildings, and military targets, including one missile that landed in an apartment complex, and artillery barrages in the areas closer to the borders. This was the prelude to the ground invasion that is currently happening.
The stated Russian goal, enunciated by Putin himself, is to de-militarise and de-nazify Ukraine, i.e. change the regime and create another Belarus. He’s essentially threatened nuclear conflict should outsiders intervene. The Russian army is the largest in Europe, while the Ukrainian army is the second largest.
From a journalistic perspective, this may well be the first extensively livestreamed war. Because of that, the amount of propaganda and misinformation (i.e. old videos from the splitoff regions, etc.) will be very high. You’ll see false footage reported on by uncautious media sources, and misinformation will spread quickly around social media. A youtuber by the name of Rimmy has been going through the information on social media and sorting the truth from lies. He is currently on as of the time of this post, but you can also go to the earlier parts of the video to see the popular videos he’s already debunked. It’s good journalism, so I’d recommend that you check it out.
Part 2
Kotharian Lightning 