Photo: EUCYS
Authors: Pille Säälik and Triinu Visnapuu, Editors of the Journal Akadeemiake
Annika Moppel, a student at Hugo Treffner Gymnasium, analyzed Rossiskaja Gazeta‘s coverage of the October 8, 2022, Kerch Strait Bridge attack in Crimea. Propastop is publishing a research summary, originally featured in the journal Akadeemiake. The author is now studying medicine at the University of Tartu.
The War Has Moved to Social Media
In past centuries, wars were determined by what happened on the battlefield. Today, however, warfare has evolved into hybrid warfare, with one of its key components being information warfare. Information warfare, or propaganda battles, refers to disseminating distorted, or false information aimed at influencing public opinion, manipulating the behavior of adversaries, or creating widespread confusion.
In a narrower sense, propaganda is a political communication technique characterized by crude simplification, the establishment of a monopoly on “truth,” and constant repetition.
Information warfare is typically initiated by states with political or military objectives. It is an especially dangerous form of warfare because, unlike traditional weapons, it is not perceptible to the senses. Instead, it relies on outsmarting human cognition and conveying subliminal messages and attitudes, making it difficult to guard against. Emotional, provocative, and contradictory messages are used to sow despair, fear, and panic in the adversary, leading to distrust in the government, leaders, or the media.
A prerequisite for the spread of propaganda is an overwhelming flow of information, which makes navigation and the identification of fake news a challenging task. Often, it is easier to believe the presented information than to scrutinize its reliability in detail.
Today, the primary battleground for information warfare lies in easily accessible and quickly modifiable online platforms. These platforms allow users to post information, share images, videos, news, opinions, and memes. Social media platforms such as TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook are among the most common tools used.
An equally significant role is played by online journalism, where information warfare is conducted through biased, censored articles based on unreliable sources. These articles can be published, distributed, and shared rapidly through the web, amplifying their reach and impact.
A Toolkit of Influence Techniques
When Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it was preceded by years of intense propaganda across various information channels. This propaganda has continued throughout the war and likely with a much greater and broader impact than commonly understood.
Annika Moppel aimed to uncover how Rossiskaja Gazeta, a media outlet controlled by the Russian government, employed propaganda techniques in its coverage of the first explosion on the Crimean (Kerch Strait) Bridge on October 8, 2022. She chose this event because it was one of the first significant Ukrainian counterattacks following Russia’s full-scale aggression in 2022.
Annika analyzed 121 articles published in the five days immediately following the attack and two weeks after the event. Her research primarily focused on psychological warfare as one form of information warfare.
She found that Rossiskaja Gazeta articles employed a wide array of well-known propaganda techniques, including terminological propaganda, decontextualization, dehumanization, and labeling. She also observed manipulation of history, the use of the “big lie,” appeals to patriotism and nationalism, adherence to the rule of simplicity, and the promotion of oppositional narratives.
Rossiskaja Gazeta, screenshot.
Terminological propaganda was primarily used to reinforce the perception that the occupied Ukrainian territories belonged to Russia. It also employed terms and wording designed to shape readers’ negative views of the Ukrainian government, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and NATO. Additionally, this type of propaganda was used to frame the explosion on the Crimean Bridge as a terrorist act orchestrated by Ukraine. Such a portrayal provided Russia with a narrative to justify its subsequent attacks as retaliation against “terrorists.”
Quotes from Western media and posts by Ukrainian officials on the social media platform Twitter were taken out of context, distorted, and tailored to fit Russia’s narrative. When quoting Western media outlets, parts critical of Russia were often omitted, leaving only statements or fragments that supported Russia’s perspective. In other cases, claims from Western media were manipulated to create the impression that the West supported Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. From Ukrainian officials’ social media posts, quotes expressing schadenfreude over the Crimean Bridge explosion were specifically highlighted.
Dehumanization and labeling were among the most frequently employed propaganda techniques in the newspaper, particularly targeting Ukrainians, the Ukrainian government, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Labels were often used to create a negative image of Ukraine as a serious threat to Russia and its citizens. Parallels were frequently drawn with historically notorious groups or figures, such as radical Islamists or Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator internationally associated with crimes against humanity.
A consistent theme of historical manipulation was blaming Ukraine for attacks that were, in fact, orchestrated by Russia. This provided propagandists with yet another opportunity to portray Ukraine as a dangerous country that must be destroyed. Additionally, the news articles analyzed included manipulations of historical facts to justify Russia’s extensive attacks on Ukrainian territory, both before and after the Crimean Bridge explosion.
The big lie propaganda technique involves presenting information that is factually correct but includes partial falsehoods. Alternatively, it may involve creating an entirely fabricated narrative that appears truthful. An example of this in Rossiskaja Gazeta was the claim that massive strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure began only after the explosion on the Crimean Bridge. This narrative was repeated frequently to reinforce it.
In reality, Russia’s extensive unprovoked invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, not after the Crimean Bridge explosion in early October of the same year. Thus, the big lie technique was primarily used to justify and downplay Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian territory.
By highlighting Russia’s strengths and Ukraine’s losses, the newspaper emphasized nationalism. Additionally, it portrayed the destruction caused by Russia in a downplayed manner while presenting the bridge repair efforts in a grandiose light. Simplification and strong polarization were evident, particularly in narratives claiming that the West was behind the Crimean Bridge explosion and that Ukraine was merely a puppet of the United States.
Annika Moppel’s student research project, “Russian Propaganda Techniques in Information Warfare: The Case of the Crimean Bridge Explosion and Rossiskaja Gazeta”, won first place in the 2024 National Student Research Competition for high school students. It also received special awards from the Ministry of Defense and the University of Tartu Library, as well as the Transform4Europe Special Prize at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). The research was supervised by Monika Piirimäe (Hugo Treffner Gymnasium) and Olga Einasto (University of Tartu Library). The full version of the study is published in a special issue of the student science journal Akadeemiake.
The summary of the research was prepared by Pille Säälik and Triinu Visnapuu (Akadeemiake) and was originally published in Novator.
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