News Media—Information on a Mission
There is a fierce competition for the Ukrainian and Russian audiences. The role of “news” in the sort of situation that is currently engulfing the region is always broadcast as “information with a purpose.”
| ● | It claims to be a truthful representation of facts—Russian news agency Pravda faces the Ukrainian news agency also called Pravda. The pro-Russian RIA News observes that Russia has blown up 145 Ukrainian armored vehicles and more than 1200 tanks in the 2022 war between Russia and Ukraine. The 9GAG pro-Ukrainian website says that Ukraine only had 8 armored vehicles and 800 tanks to start with (9GAG, 2022). They cannot both be right (although they might both be wrong). Consumers of data make their own decisions based on pre-existing commitments. |
| ● | It reassures people that their opinion is correct. The much discussed “echo-chamber effect'' refers to people consuming viewpoints with which they already agree. Broadcasters can thus nudge audiences to more extreme positions. One needs opinions to be as polarized as possible to sustain war. |
| ● | It encourages people to continue fighting. The motivational crisis-emotions of revulsion, hatred, fear, and rage need to be fed narrative fuel. The opposition is blamed for anything lurid and grisly, such as a child crucifixion or multiple rapes, to keep tempers flared. |
| ● | It confirms people’s trust in their leaders’ decisions. Favorable public opinion is essential to politicians, so one of their prime tasks is to boost the perceived validity of their leadership. |
| ● | It seeks global support for one side of the conflict. Global alliances are key in support of one’s cause. |
The TV channels, radio stations, online news channels, and newspapers are the nodes of information for which both sides contest. In 2021, Putin fired almost half of the staff of news outlet RIA Novosti, installing his own hand picked management team. An immediate priority of Russian invaders in Ukraine is to switch off Ukrainian news and replace it with Russian news. Ukrainians do the same when the war goes the other way. War is media war.
But does a media blitz persuade Ukrainians to accept Russian intervention? The Ukrainians have been playing the resistance-to-media game for centuries. Then again, the domination of the news-space is not necessarily aimed at Ukrainians, but at Russian public support for war.
If the 2022 war in Ukraine is truly a proxy war between Russia and the West, then who has not already picked an “echo chamber”? In terms of understanding what’s happening in Ukraine, neither side is listening to the other. A breakdown of communications could almost be the definition of “war.”
More on the topic News Media—Information on a Mission:
- More Bad News
- Vehicles
- Western Media Coverage
- The information age
- Mykhailo Drahomanov and His Mission
- CONCLUSION
- CONCLUSION
- What role has the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe played in monitoring the conflict?
- A guide to sources
- Onto Center Stage: Warfare in the Western World