ANATOMY OF PROPAGANDA: TOP 3 EVENTS OF THE WEEK
21/08/2023, 12:00
The main challenges for Kremlin propaganda during the reporting week were the lunar-25 space fiasco, the turbulence of the ruble exchange rate, and constant attacks of unmanned aerial vehicles on Russian territories. Media technologists are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a virtual picture of stability in the country.
"Roscosmos" reported the crash of "Luna-25". The propaganda deliberately inflated this project's significance, symbolising Russia's greatness as a space power. This is the first launch of a Russian lunar station in almost 50 years (the previous one, "Luna-24", was launched in 1976 by the USSR). The consequences of the accident were even more painful. The exaggerated propaganda load caused the crash - the creators of "Luna-25" made hasty changes in programs and drills due to the desire to outpace the Indian Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which has to land as per the plan on August 23rd.
Imprisonment will be imposed for publishing drone attack videos in Russia. The intensity of drone attack exchanges between Russia and Ukraine has reached such a level that Russian authorities can no longer ignore or interpret them as episodic emergencies. Therefore, a group of senators has proposed a ban on disclosing such facts. This was announced by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on state construction, Klishev. However the materials, provided officially by the Russian Ministry of Defense will be an exception. Changes are planned to be made to the laws "On Mass Media" and "On Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection."
The rapid devaluation of the ruble has prompted the Russian authorities to demonstrate activity in taming the currency exchange rate. The information field has been saturated with various solutions, initiatives, and insights allegedly capable of significantly influencing the situation. The combination of actions has led to a slight strengthening of the ruble, however society is sceptical regarding the long-term effectiveness of such measures.
