{"id":284554,"date":"2024-02-28T23:03:15","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T21:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=284554"},"modified":"2024-03-05T10:19:09","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T08:19:09","slug":"explaining-propaganda-why-zelensky-s-interview-views-fail-in-comparison-to-putin-s-tucker-carlson-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/explaining-propaganda-why-zelensky-s-interview-views-fail-in-comparison-to-putin-s-tucker-carlson-interview","title":{"rendered":"Explaining Propaganda. Why Zelensky\u2019s Interview Views Fail in Comparison to Putin\u2019s (Tucker Carlson Interview)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Matt Wickham, analyst UCMC\/HWAG<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the hype surrounding the Carlson interview orchestrated by the Kremlin’s propagandists gradually subsides, along with the relentless efforts to magnify its significance beyond reality, Russian propaganda has pivoted to a new strategy: comparing Zelensky’s recent interview with Fox News to those of Carlson and Putin. The Kremlin has sought to frame Zelensky’s interview as a direct response to Putin’s, attempting to draw false parallels between the two. Zelensky’s interview sees ~160 thousand views on YouTube, with the full interview not even published on social media. Whereas Putin’s interview, hosted on Carlson’s own YouTube channel, amassed over 18 million views and millions on X, thanks to the frenzied resharing by Russian propagandists and their foreign mouthpieces. This contrast, however, underscores the fallacy of equating the two interviews. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, in this article, we briefly dismantle the notion that the people are \u2018bored\u2019 of Zelensky and that there is more to an interview than just a view ‘count’, regardless of what the Kremlin’s propaganda army wants you to believe. Therefore, exposing this narrative as nothing more than another facet of the Kremlin’s agenda to portray Zelensky as unfit, yesterday\u2019s news, and unsupported.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Frequency of Interviews<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zelensky frequently grants interviews, having provided a similar interview just 3 months ago to FOX News, albeit to a different host. This consistency in speaking to the press therefore creates a lower level of novelty and public interest compared to Putin’s one-off interview. Putin’s rarity in speaking to Western journalists, coupled with his selective preference for those aligned with Russian propaganda, contrasts sharply with Zelensky’s accessibility. Carlson’s selection as Putin\u2019s \u2018interviewer\u2019 followed two years of the Kremlin\u2019s refusals from major Western media outlets, whereas Zelensky has given countless interviews to them since the onset of the full-scale war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control over the narrative<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Putin exerts considerable control over the narrative in his interviews, dictating questions, locations, and the narrative trajectory. His \u2018Collaboration\u2019, for a better word, with Carlson allowed the Kremlin\u2019s disinformation to freely disseminate with minimal opposition, interruption, or professional redirection to the question at hand\u2014the luxury Putin wouldn\u2019t have been given in an interview with objective journalists, regardless of their stance on the war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Zelensky’s engagements are less controlled, conducted by a range of foreign journalists\u2014both foe and friendly media. Fox News is considered to be guided by a critical attitude to Ukraine, with many Fox viewers voting Republican and siding with Trump, yet Zelensky agrees to the interview. The demands of leading a nation amid a full-scale war limit Zelensky’s capacity or the desire to impose stringent conditions on interviews, unlike Putin. The Ukrainian president\u2019s message from interviews is not to manipulate but to garner support. Conversely, as seen in the Carlson interview, Putin exploits them to disseminate propaganda, distort historical facts, and manipulate narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Carlson Effect<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Carlson’s substantial following, rooted in his controversial tenure at Fox News, amplifies his reach and influence globally. Many watched the interview in anticipation of something \u2018big\u2019. There was much hype artificially created by propagandists pre- and post-interview. Notably, in comparison to the Fox interview with Zelensky, there was no intention to make it a ‘significant\u2019 interview, just \u2018another interview\u2019, a means of reaching the audience. Moreover, Bret Baier, boasting a Twitter following of 1.5 million, pales in comparison to Karlson’s 12.4 million, so mass reach from the onset was never a priority. If so, Zelenksy would have chosen a different, more \u2018celebrity-level\u2019 journalist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timing of the Interview<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The delayed release of Zelensky’s interview with Fox News, two weeks after Carlson’s, diminished its impact amid a competing news cycle. This, in tandem with: the 10 year anniversary of Euromaidan, the 10 year anniversary of Russia\u2019s 2014 invasion of Crimea, the 2 year anniversary of the full-scale war, Ukraine\u2019s retreat from Avdiivka, and the taking down of the second A-50\u2014pretty big news if you ask me. This, therefore, underscored the lower attention and urgency surrounding Zelensky\u2019s interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Views Comparison<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin’s emphasis on views on X as a metric of success fails to capture the \u2018genuine interest\u2019 it portrays it received. If viewers on X watched the video for a mere 30 seconds, this constitutes a “view,” yet it covers only 0.4% of the interview’s duration\u2014hardly indicative of people\u2019s interest in Putin\u2019s interview. That\u2019s not to say people didn\u2019t watch longer than 30 seconds\u2026However, unlikely. Many experts told of the struggle to sit through the interview\u2019s ramblings. Moreover, Carlson’s introduction to the interview lasted a long 1.18 seconds, and so it is fair to say, many could have lost interest in the interview even before Carlson posed his first question to Putin, yet a \u2018view\u2019 would have been counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The attempt to equate Zelensky\u2019s interview with Putin\u2019s Carlson interview is another misguided effort by the Kremlin to manipulate public perception. This narrative is expected to persist, particularly as the hype surrounding Carlson continues and attacks on Zelensky escalate just months before Zelensky\u2019s official presidential term ends (if not for war). His continued presidency is a track the Kremlin is pushing as illegitimate, and so we will see increased attempts to sow societal distrust and dissatisfaction with him. Additionally, the Kremlin will escalate efforts to dehumanize and discredit the Ukrainian President, especially amid anticipated and potentially successful (if Ukraine doesn\u2019t receive US support) Russian counterattacks in the east. As a result, it will further challenge the psyche of the Ukrainian people and their trust in Zelensky\u2019s management of war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Matt Wickham, analyst UCMC\/HWAG As the hype surrounding the Carlson interview orchestrated by the Kremlin’s propagandists gradually subsides, along with the relentless efforts to magnify its significance beyond reality, Russian propaganda has pivoted to a new strategy: comparing Zelensky’s recent interview with Fox News to those of Carlson and Putin. The Kremlin has […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":284555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[700],"tags":[34767,1248,34664,6908],"section":[726],"form":[31936],"yoast_head":"\nExplaining Propaganda. 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