Valentina Bykova commented on Russian propaganda in Telegram for a Czech website

The head of analytical projects of the International Center for Countering Russian Aggression (IC CRA), Valentina Bykova, gave a comment to the Czech news portal E15.cz regarding Russian propaganda in Telegram.

“The strategic goal of Russian propaganda work on the Ukrainian audience is to paralyze the will of the armed forces and the people of Ukraine to victory, to create a feeling of doom and horror, to force them to stop resisting and surrender. As for Telegram, it is about the coordinated activities of a large, extensive network of propaganda sources working for the benefit of the Russian Federation. This network is focused on disinformation campaigns against Ukraine with the aim of destabilizing the domestic political situation. These are, for example, Telegram channels Legitimny, Plitkarka, Kartel, Resident, MediaPost, Woman with a scythe and many others,” said Valentina Bykova.

Telegram easily spreads news, for example, that Nazi Ukraine has taken over itself, or that Ukrainians want to be part of the Russian Empire and are waiting to be liberated by the Russian army. According to some Telegram channels, the West, which is the initiator of the entire conflict, is contributing to the tension, says the article, authored by Czech journalist Yaroslava Petrova.

One way to spread misinformation is through the use of photographs. “Choosing a manipulative perspective or a false description under a real photo, Russian propagandists repeatedly depict the alleged war in Donbas through photos from Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and other Russian conflicts,” Valentina Bykova explained.