The perception war between Russia and NATO
The West or the NATO nations employed several tactics of the perception warfare to tackle Russia when it started the special military ops in Ukraine in February, 2022. The perception war between Russia and NATO is at its peak and following are some of the tactics employed by the two sides.
Zelenskyy: a hero
The USA led block portrayed Ukrainian President as a hero and a perfect leader using current and past images and videos of him. It resonated with a lot of people.
Ukraine’s resistance is amplified
Russians are against Putin
Putin is suffering from a terminal disease
Attacks misinformed/amplified
Misinformation campaigns on the Russians soldiers
It was portrayed that only Putin wants the war and Russian soldiers are against it. Clips of Russian soldiers looting/crying/praying were circulated on social media sites.
Gestures at the UN
Standing ovation for Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and walkout for the Russian diplomats
The age old “Posters War”
Russia’s response
Meanwhile, the Russian responses in the perception war were also interesting. Here are some of the noteworthy tactics.
Genocide Theory
On 23 Feb, 2022 during a televised speech Putin said, “The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime,”
Cyber Attacks
Firstly, Russia conducted cyber attacks on Ukraine’s banks, its defense, foreign, and cultural ministries. After that, Russia conducted the special military operation.
Ukraine is joining the NATO
Reminding the world of USA’s history of invasions
Russians and Chinese social media handles built an anti-US narrative. These handles include bots, normal handles and some verified handles.
Countering the age old “Posters War”
Denazification
Across state-controlled TV, presenters and correspondents use emotive language and images to draw “historical parallels” between Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany. “They behave like fascists, in the very sense of this word: neo-Nazis put their hardware not just next to residential houses but where children take shelter in basements,” adds the correspondent in a video report captioned “Ukrainian fascism”.
Putin’s lifestyle glorified
Ukrainians are racist
Russian handles and diplomats pushed that Ukrainian forces are using Indian and African students as the human shield.
Ban non-Russian influencing platforms
To sum up, the war of perceptions is still going on and certainly nobody knows who is winning it.
The source of all the content is Social Media Handles (for review and analysis and not for monetary gains).
John Mark compiled and curated this report
