Putin is weaponizing disinformation to break Ukraine -- here's how

On Thursday, writing for The New York Times, the paper's former Moscow bureau chief Serge Schmemann outlined how Vladimir Putin is trying to use disinformation and propaganda to undermine Ukrainian society — and win his war against the country.

In many ways, argued Schmemman, the West has learned from the "active measures" campaigns by Russia — such as interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election — and worked to combat false information in real time. But that doesn't mean Russia's disinformation machine has been defeated.

"In these first information battles, the Americans and Ukrainians showed that they had learned the lessons of 2014, when Russia had the upper hand in propaganda," wrote Schmemann. "But the information war, like the physical war, is far from decided. Ten weeks into the war, many Russians seem to accept Mr. Putin’s narrative. Around the world, many countries remain on the sidelines or, like China, are on Russia’s side. While Washington’s public comments have served to bolster the Ukrainians and rally their allies, some of those comments have played directly into Mr. Putin’s claims of a malign America determined to neuter Russia, as when President Biden said of Mr. Putin, 'This man cannot remain in power,' and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declared that America’s goal is a 'weakened' Russia."

Examples of the disinformation, wrote Schmemann, include Russia's ongoing lie that the Ukraine war is simply a "special operation" to eradicate neo-Nazis and liberate so-called "independent republics" declared by Kremlin-backed separatist forces, with the Russian orthodox patriarch declaring that "we broke the back of fascism."

"The info war has also reached Asia, Africa and South America, where Russia has mobilized diplomats and state-controlled media like the global RT network to press its case," wrote Schmemann. "The goal isn’t necessarily to win support, but to keep unaligned countries on the sidelines. While some countries, most notably China, have taken Russia’s side, others, like India, have avoided antagonizing Russia so as not to lose Russian military or energy contracts."

Ultimately, he concluded, the war to defend the truth is only going to get harder.

"As the war enters a new phase, as the images and horrors become familiar and the costs rise, it will become ever more difficult for the Biden administration and for Mr. Zelensky to sustain their early lead in the information war," concluded Schmemann. That makes it all the more imperative for the West to press the message that this is not a war Ukraine chose and that the cost of allowing Mr. Putin to have his way in Ukraine would be far higher than the sacrifices required to block him."

You can read more here.