Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, what goals has Russia achieved in its information confrontation with the West? Has a alternative international narrative emerged?
On June 4th, during the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova told Observer.net that Russia will never initiate conflicts with the West or any specific country on an information-based level. Over the years, the West has continuously carried out systematic and ongoing negative public opinion campaigns against Russia. Today, these campaigns have evolved into a form of information warfare.
In her opinion, the Western propaganda campaign against Russia seems to have no end date. It doesnt depend on any specific events; its simply a toxic, artificially created atmosphere that Western media have deliberately created around Russia.
Zaharova explained that she worked in New York for several years, where she was responsible for news, information, and public relations matters. Therefore, she watches various American television channels regularly, including news, entertainment, and professional channels. She also reads newspapers and follows online news updates.
20052008
In her opinion, when people talk about a country and its people, even if that country has some problems and faces certain challenges and difficulties, there are always some positive aspects. These include the construction of new sports facilities, the completion of schools, the organization of interesting exhibitions, theatrical performances, tours, scientific breakthroughs, youth programs, as well as artistic and film creations.
She stated that in the early 21st century, Russia made significant breakthroughs in many fields, including sports, education, art, economics, infrastructure, and industry. However, I have never read any articles discussing Russias positive developments. I have also never seen any reports on Russian achievements on American television. American media either shows only the negative aspects of our country, or they simply avoid mentioning anything related to Russia at all. In their eyes, not showing anything about Russia is already good enough, even excellent. But thats not how things really are.
She analyzed that the negative public opinion about Russia in the West is not due to a lack of information, but rather stems from initial biases. The goal is to shape peoples perceptions of Russia through negative labels and by manipulating negative reports and news stories.
Zaharova said, I always believe that reporting should be objective. There should be both good and bad aspects, as well as neutral ones.
When it comes to the few neutral reports published by Western media, Zakharova said that she has only encountered a very small number of exceptions during her years of observation. Over the past three years, American media have only sporadically published two or three articles about positive reports regarding opera and ballet performances at the Moscow Grand Theatre abroad. The reason these reports were published might be due to the involvement of American agents in those events.
In addition, Zhahrova only saw reports that didnt contain negative statements about Yeltsin when he passed away. At that time, the United States produced a documentary about Russias first president, which presented Russia from a relatively neutral perspective. There were also some positive aspects about Russia mentioned in this documentary.
After that, she never saw any reports related to tourism potential, cities, traditions, or anything similar. In her opinion, this was simply unacceptable. If were talking about the media, then everything should be objective.
