this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2024
174 points (94.4% liked)

Europe

8324 readers
1 users here now

News/Interesting Stories/Beautiful Pictures from Europe ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ

(Current banner: Thunder mountain, Germany, ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช ) Feel free to post submissions for banner pictures

Rules

(This list is obviously incomplete, but it will get expanded when necessary)

  1. Be nice to each other (e.g. No direct insults against each other);
  2. No racism, antisemitism, dehumanisation of minorities or glorification of National Socialism allowed;
  3. No posts linking to mis-information funded by foreign states or billionaires.

Also check out [email protected]

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] books 7 points 8 months ago (5 children)

Dumb question, but if it's so effective why dont we don't in Russia? Or if we do, why doesn't it work as well?

[โ€“] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago

Idk, but the Russian propaganda blames everything on the "Collective West". Like E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Even the recent murder of Navalny, who was contained in a highly isolated prison in the Arctic Circle was attributed to the US spies.

Jokes aside, I think such news was elevated externally, and it was a big deal in Russia: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/16/7437453/

[โ€“] cygon 3 points 8 months ago

I'd like to believe that our intelligence communities do, but I don't know.

What I do know that that Russian propaganda tries to "immunize" their marks against mismatching views. One method is to pull them out of the shared media ecosystem by seeding distrust against non-aligned media. Another is to associate any undesirable viewpoints with weakness, idiocy or perversion.

Last but not least, Russia already tested a complete internet disconnect of their country so they could isolate their own population from anything not state controlled, should the tide turn or an emergency happen.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

People don't have access to social media in Russia like they do in most democratic countries. They don't have as many devices, slower access, language barriers, and much bigger risk of serious problems from the government.

Also, democratic governments run by committees are less able and less willing to use this kind of tactic.

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

People don't have access to social media in Russia like they do in most democratic countries.

We do. About 70% of the population admit that they use VK, less use Telegram, youth uses TikTok. When Instagram wasn't banned, about 15 millions used it at least once a week.

They don't have as many devices,

We have about 300 millions of registered mobile devices - more than 2 per citizen, including newborns and elderly people.

slower access,

While it's true for now due to governmental restrictions, the monopoly of Rostelecom, and sanctions, the internet access in Russia have been developing rapidly. Ookla says that Russia has an internet speed of about 85 Mbit/s on average. This number is pretty useless in the current context when the huge amount of the traffic to Europe routes via USA servers, but still it's a good number.

language barriers, and much bigger risk of serious problems from the government.

You got this part correct!

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

Yes I'm not saying Russia is still in the stone age, but

Those are significant differences. People in Russia are actively protected from foreign propaganda (like banning Instagram), whereas in the US there's a heavy emphasis on free speech and access to information.

Divide and conquer, a very old tactic now possible in an entirely new way via the Internet and social media. As with many things in life, it's complicated. There are many factors... but I think we already agree anyway.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

This is what we do. The USA/CIA does this every day and they are the best. Any time a South or Central American or Middle Eastern state elects someone who puts that state's interests above those of the United States, that person is doomed.

Their reputation will plummet as long as they maintain freedom of the press. And if they decide to defend themselves by restricting press freedom in a trial to stop the media from lying, they are even more doomed to fail.

Only a dictatorship like China can defend itself against American opinion-forming. But of course, life under a dictatorship has its own shortcomings. But perhaps it's better than being another piece of prey in the American portfolio, unable to counter Western arrogance and racism. There are only a few countries on earth that can be seen as accomplices of American imperialism and not as its victims.

Unfortunately, Eastern Europe was not smart enough to hold on to the changed Soviet Union under Gorbachev and become its own economic power like China.

They simply switched sides and became a bargain for Western interests. The Spoils of the Cold War. Just a market for western companies and products. Helpless at the mercy of the Americans. This is what professional propaganda can do to peoples.

While Putin tries to turn back time. Also pathetic. He will be able to destroy a lot but his country will never benefit from it.