HOW TO TELL A RUSSIAN PROPAGANDIST

Know Your Useful Idiots, Paid Agitators and PR-addicts

A mafia state gets legitimized and normalized by mass media and authority figures.

Several people wrote to me this week with questions about a previously unknown author touring the Bay Area with a book about Putin. The author and the book are not worth anyone’s time or attention but I used this example to put together a quick, practical guide to navigate our virtual and physical public space without stepping on the Russian propaganda mines. Many Western celebrities, political leaders, scholars and public figures normalize Russian policy. The Kremlin recruits them by using financial incentives, career opportunities and publicity. Their names, books, articles and social media profiles are propelled by numerous Twitter bots and FB trolls. Willingly or not, these people work in the interest of the Kremlin. If you choose to consider their opinions, keep the following in mind. The check should take about 10–15 minutes.

1. Google the “expert’s” name to see if he/she appears or is covered by pro-Russian propaganda outlets like Infowars, Sputnik, RT (former Russia Today) and Russian Insider. [John Doe+Infowars]

You can search “All,” “News” or “Images” sections.

2. Check the “expert’s” Twitter and FB accounts. If he/she retweets news from the above news channels, note the reciprocity and consider spending time and energy differently. Retweeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia is a special bonus.

3. If you are still in doubt, use Google Translate to translate the name of the title into Russian/Cyrillic; then do a search. If the name pops up in more than 10 major Russian news sites you might rest assured that the Russian government strongly supports the “expert” in question. You can use the same Google Translate option to read the content of the articles.

“A book on conspiracy about Putin is published in the US,”etc.

4. If you want to be really thorough, Google their names with the names of some “alt-right” figures. If their work and, say, KKK David Duke’s shows and articles, are shared by the same site, it’s a red flag.

5. If you still want to give them a chance or you are simply curious, watch for the favorite tricks and strategies of spetz-propaganda: rotten herring (a false accusation like child molestation or murder is used to create negative associations with the accused, example: Clinton/pizzagate etc); Goebbels 40/60 method (reporting 60% truth and having earned the opponent’s trust, the “expert” uses the remaining 40 percent for delivering misinformation that becomes extremely efficient due to this very trust, example RT (former Russia Today); and more (described at length here).

Also, keep in mind the neurolinguistic tools described in details and with an example here. Sample: “Today, America is in danger. There’s a civil war. (Strong start to incite the sense of panic and fear. The choice of visceral words “danger”, “war” cause the immediate emotional and physiological response.) The leftists use the media and do not shy away from the most dirty methods (the word “dirty” makes the reader feel distaste for the leftist) in their attempt to carry on coup d ‘ état and remove the legitimately elected president. Hatred spills over America (“hatred” adds to the already existing anxiety and animosity.) The situation reminds Germany in the 30’s when the fascists started provocations, (most readers are Russian Jews and “Germany in 30’s” and “fascists” result in deeply rooted fear and disgust) trashed and burnedstores, beat people up (strong verbs “trash”, “burn” and “beat up” escalate the physical tension and sense of danger.)

Last, but not the least, watch out for flipping the concepts and “whataboutism.” While not necessarily exclusive to the Russian propaganda, it is a signature move. Example of flipping the concepts:

Antifa=Communists. Communists=Stalinists. Stalin=killer. →Communists=killers.

+Alt-left=Antifa. →Alt-left=killers. →Opposition=killers.

→Trump supporters fight “alt-left” (killers.)

The resistance is demonized by the association with the monstrous figure of Stalin AND equaled to the very social evil they are resisting — fascism and Hitler. The resistance is turned into fascists, killers, terrorists and thugs. The concepts are reversed. The Neo-Nazis are “fine people” fighting “bad guys.”

And watch out for the images of dictators hugging cute animals.

We are in the midst of a cyber war. You are targeted. Be mindful.

Read more about RUSSIAN CYBERWAR AND PROPAGANDA here.

RUSSIAN CYBERWAR AND PROPAGANDA

*All facts and photos are in public domain and available through Google. Links to the original sources are included.

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