Media Chum: Russia Sets the Mood for War

Shark cage diving operators prepare for their clients to see lots of sharks by chucking out a bucket of fish scraps, in a process called “chumming.” In the same way, it makes the public more likely to tolerate your mood if you first stir up a frenzy in preparation for war.

Putin has been laying a base for Russians to accept his re-colonizing Ukraine for many years. He continued with the old invective against Ukraine as unstable, unruly, ungrateful, and dangerous neighbors—not to mention dangerously sympathetic to NATO, the old foe of Russia.

The majority of the Russian population had to be won over. Generals are mobilized by politicians, and politicians have to be careful to prepare their fickle followers to approve of their actions, although Vladimir Putin has shown a Stalinesque skill in manipulating approval.

Even Putin, though, has to beware of the ambitions of his internal Communist Party competitors. The political leadership, therefore, also needs to be prepared for war. Every political leader under Putin has three difficult tasks—to not alienate the boss (extremely dangerous) and also to recruit support for the boss’s schemes, while at the same time pleasing their own supporters.

So, the majority of the Russian population has to be convinced that war would be justifiable—or that it is not actually a war. The signs of this build-up have been clear, and secret services and journalists have been reading the signs in an analysis of Russian propaganda.

Propaganda is not as simple as it used to be. There are too many cracks through which to glimpse alternative points of view. However, news consumers can still either apply filters of their own, or live contentedly under filters imposed by their governments.