Russia’s fake news and troll factories are already notorious; however, our research analyzes their narratives, which are a key element of Russian propaganda. Russian media fundamentally changed the whole paradigm of news: facts and events are used to support the pre-prepared narratives. Once established narratives are supported by fake news in smaller part, but mainly by a deliberately manipulated interpretation of real events.
This is why understanding the image of Ukraine such narratives create for their audiences is crucial to combating the disinformation about Ukraine Kremlin media spread in Russia and abroad.
In our study we found there 6 main narratives Russian TV outlets employ when talking about Ukraine, which are structured in a way that is meant not to inform, but to challenge the reality of something that has happened.
