49
Half of Ukrainians Want Quick, Negotiated End to War
(news.gallup.com)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2024
49 points (96.2% liked)
World News
2315 readers
213 users here now
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
I recall watching an interview with Jacques Baud where he pointed out that propaganda in the west serves to create a narrative that's divorced from reality, while propaganda in Russia is used in service of what's actually happening materially. Russian propaganda might spin things in a particular way to present them in a favorable light, but it's not fundamentally at odds with what's actually happening on the ground. Meanwhile, western propaganda aims to create a whole alternate reality that ignores the material world.
Both try to do the same thing, there's no conceptual difference. However, as it so happens that the US/NATO are the global aggressors, Russia does not actually need to spin things that much. The Empire's actions speak for themselves, for the Global South to see, all they need to do is perhaps, MAYBE spice up things a bit here and there. Honestly, a lot of the times Russia can just lay back and only give factual information - it would be more than enough.
That's when it comes to the proxy war in Ukraine. In other things, like LGBTQ, climate change or anti-communism - they are definitely using similar patterns of manufacturing consent among the population.
Of course, the goal of propaganda is to create a narrative for the population in both cases. However, the nature of propaganda is different. I would even go as far as to argue that it stems from respective ideologies that are prevalent in the west and Russia. The idealist mindset places the realm of thought at the forefront, this leads to the notion that you can just will reality into existence. I think therefore I am. Meanwhile, the mindset in Russia has been shaped by materialism over many decades and people see material reality as having primacy.
I agree that it's easier for Russia to simply acknowledge reality because it aligns closer with Russian point of view and objectives. However, the fact that Russia finds itself in this position is itself an outcome of materialist thought.