Some of the oldest and most repeated Russian myths about Ukraine-again🦜 🧵
1) "Russian language ban"
Russian language was never banned, it is common in almost all regions in Ukraine (including Kyiv) & in many TV-shows (like Zelenskyy's "Servant of the people" or "Shuster Live"
Language policy in Ukraine tried to strengthen Ukrainian language, to make it possible for all citizens to get opportunities to use Ukrainian language as well.
Before 2014 in some regions, almost everything was in Russian before and Ukrainian language was marginalized.
Ukraine is a "divided country":
Language is not a political statement in Ukraine, people can speak also Russian and still have a strong Ukrainian identity. Ukrainians in Eastern or Southern cities like Kharkiv or Odesa feel more connected and loyal to their country than ever.
...but the Ukrainians "attacked Donbas since 8 years, a genocide".
The aggression was organized, financed and initiated by Russia, Russian war lords and nationalists (Girkin, Borodai) & orchestrated by the Kremlin. Some of the main actors do not even deny that anymore...
There was (is) an "ethnic conflict", "civil war" going on in Ukraine:
People all over Ukraine have different ethnic roots and not only in the East many Ukrainians have Russian roots. Ethnic origin is extremely irrelevant in Ukraine.
"Denazification":
Pres. Zelenskyy is Russian speaking, of Jewish descent, lost ancestors in the Holocaust. Despite the alliance, the far right together did not even reach 3%.
In🇺🇦, as everywhere, there are far-right extremists, but in Russia the scale and impact are much greater
"Ukrainians attacking Donbas" part 2
Radicals, Russian proxies, warlords and the Russian army on "holiday", tried to capture big parts of Ukraine. Ukrainian army was able to at repel their expansion.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Breaking: In Wien werden zwei Friedenskonferenzen stattfinden im April:
Betont wird die Solidarität mit der Ukraine und ihr Selbstverteidigungsrecht, thematisiert werden soll explizit der russische Imperialismus und das Leiden unter russischer Besatzung.🧵
Friedensforscher österreichischer Universitäten in einer gemeinsamen Stellungnahme: "Besatzung ist kein Frieden, Folter und Deportationen durch 🇷🇺Kräfte müssen enden" und "Zwischen einem Eroberungskrieg und Befreiung liegt klarer Unterschied"
Politikwissenschaftler Prof. Heinz Pflanzer stimmt dem zu: "der Kreml rechtfertigt die völkerrechtswidrige, imperialistisch-motivierte und unprovozierte Invasion mit unzähligen Lügengeschichten" und weiters: "nein, nicht die NATO-Absicht der Ukraine ist der Grund für Invasion"..
Russian propaganda comes only from the right: No, very often also from the left.
Russian propaganda is only on social media: No, it also appears in panel discussions, newspaper comments, TV-talk shows, at universities, in schools...
Russian propaganda is only about fake images, videos, biolab stories, or "EU brothels with animals" - no, it also works much more subtly, under the pretext of "peace"; take a look at Solovyov's guests from the West...
Russian propaganda reports are exclusively fake, fabricated information:
no, it can also involve information with a kernel of truth, but in a certain context, using false proportions it becomes an effective propaganda narrartive ---> #Whataboutism.
- Russische Propaganda kommt nur von rechts: nein, sehr oft auch von links
- Russische Propaganda spielt sich nur auf Social Media ab: Nein, auch auf Podiumsdiskussionen, in Zeitungskommentaren und Talkshows, auf Universitäten...
Russische Propaganda sind nur gefälschte Bilder, Videos, Biolaborgeschichten oder "Bordelle mit Tieren in der EU" - nein, sie läuft auch viel subtiler ab, unter dem Deckmantel "Frieden", man weiss, dass dies aus Moskau geschätzt wird, siehe Solovyov Gäste aus dem Westen...
Russische Propagandameldungen sind ausschließlich gefälschte, fabrizierte Informationen: nein, es können auch Informationen mit wahren Kern in einem gewissem Kontext, mit falschen Relationen so verwendet werden, dass es Propaganda ist, siehe #Whataboutism
These are the 15 most favored talking points of the Kremlin's agents of influence and "useful idiots"
Maybe helpful to identify and expose them.
No, it is not 'peace' what they have in mind, let's take a look⬇️
"Russia reacted to NATO expansion" or Russia was "worried about NATO." Well, worried about not being able to invade all of its neighbors maybe, but not about being attacked.
This narrative has been debunked by reality a long time ago. By the way: 🇫🇮🇸🇪welcome to NATO;-)
Again about NATO: "If Ukraine would not have had the desire to join NATO, Russia would not have attacked." I see, was the skirt too short? A little bit of victim blaming anyone? By the way, it is wrong; the Kremlin presented several other "reasons" for his attack...
We need to talk about 'Agents of Influence' and 'useful idiots' when discussing foreign information interference. These individuals not only have a significant reach but also operate undetected by anti-disinformation measures that primarily focus on social media & troll farms🧵
Who are they? They can be parts of (in many cases, former) politics, diplomacy, journalism, activism, business, and academia. What unites them: They propagate (more or less subtly) the narratives of authoritarian regimes like Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, and many others.
In some cases, they spread their narratives quite subtly; in other cases, it is obvious and ridiculous propaganda. In my opinion, the subtle propagandistic, anti-Western narratives are even more dangerous because they reach the center of society as well.
Könnte man bitte aufhören, der FPÖ vorzuwerfen, dass sie irgendwann einmal für den NATO-Beitritt waren, sondern sich eher auf den 2016-Putin-Partei Vertrag konzentrieren? In welcher Welt leben diese Leute?
Bald sind nur noch 4 EU-Mitlieder (von 27) nicht Teil der NATO:🧵
Immer wieder kommt dieses populistische Wahlkampfgetöse, dass die FPÖ ja nur "auf neutral" tut, weil sie ja mal für die NATO waren. FPÖ ist heute genau wie die Neutralisten eben sind: Viel Russland-Apologetik, wenig über für den Westen, die EU dafür eine Menge Antiamerikanismus
Es geht gar nicht darum, ob wir der NATO beitreten, sondern um diese unsachliche Dämonisierung eines Bündnisses, das alle westlichen Demokratien in Europa beschützt, dessen Mitgliedschaft die Ukraine vor Russlands Überfall beschützt hätte.