Let me begin, first off, by stating quite plainly, that I am not putting the attacker and the victim on an equal level; the former is the guilty partner.
I point this out because we are getting bombarded with propaganda from our own ‘side’ as well as from Russia, although we don’t hear much from the latter and even if we do, we dismiss it as propaganda out of hand.
When a country wants to go to war and carry out an invasion, they first have to convince their general public that the war is justified because, quite frankly, nobody wants to go to war.
Even the Nazi regime had a hard time selling the Second World War to the German people because they, just like everybody else in Europe who had been sucked into the Great War, didn’t want to go through all that again.
For this reason, the propaganda coming out of Moscow nowadays is mainly for domestic consumption.
Then, at the opposite end, a country that is being attacked needs to motivate 100% the populace to resist an invasion and will use any tool to hand, especially propaganda, not only for domestic consumption, but also for world opinion because they will need help.
So, just the same as you cannot take at face value everything coming out of the Kremlin, you cannot believe everything coming out of Kiev – when you’re fighting for your life, you will say and do anything.
Propaganda is very effective – you think you can spot it but sometimes it is too subtle and gets past your ‘radar.’ If you want a clear and recent example, think Brexit. The British public was bombarded via social media with lies and half-truths, which is why most people got up that morning and couldn’t believe the result – not even those that had voted in favour.
As for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, thanks to the US administration’ campaign to market the war to its citizens, 85% of Americans were overwhelmingly convinced that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
Within this Ukrainian War we are getting about 80% Ukraine’s message and 20% Russia’s one; we automatically discount the latter but do not put the same filter on Ukraine’s
Social media is the perfect platform for propaganda or ‘misinformation’ as it is called nowadays and that is where a different front in this war is being fought.
Take the following clear example: there is (supposedly) a video of “the Ukrainian President and his wife singing Endless Love, originally sung by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross in 1981. Yes, they do look like President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, but the singers are in fact English Singer, Connie Talbot and Alejandro Manzano from Boyce Avenue.
Even the way we call things is a manifestation of propaganda: The Troubles (Northern Ireland) the Falklands Conflict (only later known as the Falklands War), and more recently the Coalition of the Willing and the Iraqi liberation.
Many have the tendency to ‘like and share’ things that we see on facebook etc without checking it, and fall into the trap of liking and forwarding clickbait.
I’ll finish as I began: I am not putting Russia on the same level as Ukraine because we all know who invaded whom but they are both pumping out propaganda to win the World-Opinion battle and motivate their own people.
Who do I think deserves our support? Ukraine. Has Putín badly miscalculated? Yes, and a quasi-dictator who loses face is a very dangerous man so if somebody ‘drops the ball’ and commits a border incident through accident or intent, then this could go global.
(Editorial: Propaganda)
Very good comment Martin. Thank you for publishing this
Patrick, it was not necessary to call WW2 “the emergency” instead of a war to pass emergency legislation. If it were, then the recent pandemic would need to be called “the emergency”. It wasn’t. War, especially when close, results in taking sides (at least, verbally). Neutrality is 100% valid in general (and, with hindsight, the best policy for Ireland during WW2). No dispute and irrelevant. However my point about the euphemism and manipulation is valid. You don’t think the Irish censored the news during those years? They did and the war toned down.
At last, a critical comment! Thanks, I agree completely. And for the list, I can add: The Dutch war in Indonesia (1948) which ended in Indonesia´s independence was sold to the Dutch at home as a ¨police action¨.
Welcome to the post truth world
HyperNormalisation: A new film by Adam Curtis – BBC iPlayer
“HyperNormalisation is a 2016 BBC documentary by British filmmaker Adam Curtis. It argues that governments, financiers, and technological utopians have, since the 1970s, given up on the complex “real world” and built a simpler “fake world” run by corporations and kept stable by politicians. The film was released on 16 October 2016 on the BBC iPlayer”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperNormalisation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUiqaFIONPQ
Jeremy, totally incorrect. The Emergency was declared to enable the passage of Emergency Powers Act in Sept 1939 to enable the Irish government pass national legislation in response to the outbreak of war. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the neutral position of the country. The Emergency only refers to internal conditions within the country during the war.
You are entitled to your opinion on Ireland’s neutrality but it is entirely within the sovereign right of any country to declare itself neutral.
Well said
You may want to verify this independently, but according to this source a whopping
43 per cent of unleaded 95 petrol is tax!
https://murciatoday.com/spanish_government_considers_lowering_taxes_to_reduce_petrol_prices_1749283-a.html
Your point is very valid Martin. There is a continuous attempt to manipulate our perspective on events, especially now Ukraine-Russia. It is difficult to get through the chaff to find the truth. Some of the TV video footage is not even from this invasion but is used as a background to a current story. But IMHO Vlad P was an a-hole before the invasion…and still is.
Nothing to do with the topic. Maybe you will cover the unprecedented orange skies and dust in a different
article, so please delete this comment.
Even the New York Post lol
https://nypost.com/2022/03/15/dust-from-sahara-dumped-on-spain-coloring-sky-orange/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnY4P_wPBEI
The fuel price increases cannot be attributed to the Russian invasion alone. The EU would have negotiated prices with Russia before the conflict imo. The Spanish and other Governments are now seeing major increases in fuel duty and in these time of hardship for many people should reduce this tax. If the EU are truly concerned about the invasion of Ukraine, then why will it take five years to cut ties with Russia?
Europe sets 2027 deadline to end reliance on Russian oil and gas
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/11/energy/europe-russia-energy-end-date/index.html
I don’t like to see ordinary Russians being targetted by social media and the MSM. Facebook
announced it’s OK for its users in eastern European countires and the Baltic States to openly call for the death of Russian soldiers. Isn’t that hate speech? I am not an apologist for Russia and in my opinion Putin has committed war crimes and should face the International Criminal Court. I also believe Tony Blair should do too for his part in the carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan. But some war criminals are more evil in the eyes of media?
Finally, if this story is true because it’s becoming more difficult to ascertain truth from fiction these days, then this is not be encouraged.
“Daniil Medvedev’s chances of playing at Wimbledon could depend on whether he gives an assurance he is not a “supporter” of Russian president Vladimir Putin, according to UK sports minister Nigel
Huddleston”
https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/wimbledon-men/2022/daniil-medvedev-may-need-to-give-vladimir-putin-assurances-to-avoid-wimbledon-ban-sports-minister-ni_sto8845360/story.shtml
I’d like to add “the emergency” to your list. It was from 1939 to 1945 in Europe. It’s the name Ireland gave, and still occasionally uses for WW2. Pure propaganda as “world war” would have meant taking sides.