UKRAINE AND THE “IMMINENT” RUSSIAN INVASION: NEW MASS MEDIA AS A MEANS OF PROPAGANDA AND MANIPULATION
https://doi.org/10.18384/2224-0209-2022-2-382
Abstract
Aim. The aim of this article is to identify the types of mass mediated propaganda in Western mainstream media sources before the Special Military Operation began on 24 February 2022.
Methodology. The author used academic literature on propaganda use, and mass media approaches to covering armed conflicts. A critical analysis of mass mediated materials of the topic, in the period from November 2021 until February 2022, was used to derive the communicated and signalled idealised hierarchies in international relations by Western mainstream media sources.
Results. The results of this indicative study suggest that Western mainstream media are engaged in the current global geopolitics of transformation (from Unipolar to Multipolar order), and there is an attempt by the US-led Western powers to obstruct the rise of challenging powers and their influence and hence to preserve US hegemony.
Research implications. New mass media is playing a crucial role in attempting to manipulate the minds of different publics with the use of propaganda in the field of international relations. This trend is likely to continue to increase in the future. The underlying reason for this is the increase in geopolitical tensions resulting from a transformation in the global order. In this article, the 2020-21 Ukraine ‘crisis’ and the Western media’s narrative of the ‘imminent’ Russian invasion shall be used to illustrate how the propaganda is formulated for the effect of obstructing Russian interests and influence.
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