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Russian and African Media: Exercising Soft Power

Cayley Clifford, Steven Gruzd

Johannesburg: South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) (2022), 18 pp.

"[...] in recent years – particularly since the 2014 Ukraine conflict – Russia’s use of media to leverage broader influence campaigns has gained notoriety, both domestically and internationally. Russia’s state-owned media outlets are central to the Kremlin’s strategy and are drivers of its ... more

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Understanding RT’s Audiences: Exposure Not Endorsement for Twitter Followers of Russian State-Sponsored Media

Rhys Crilley, Marie Gillespie, Bertie Vidgen, Alistair Willis

International Journal of Press/Politics, volume 27, issue 1 (2022), pp. 220-242

"The Russian state-funded international broadcaster RT (formerly Russia Today) has attracted much attention as a purveyor of Russian propaganda. To date, most studies of RT have focused on its broadcast, website, and social media content, with little research on its audiences. Through a data-driven ... more

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Así nos habla el Kremlin: Narrativa política y medios de comunicación rusos en América Latina

Johanna Cilano Pelaez, María Isabel Puerta

Montevideo: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2022), 20 pp.

"En tanto ideología presente en medios, intelectuales y élites políticas de Rusia y Latinoamérica, las narrativas iliberales -proyectadas por medios y academias afines- gozan de apreciable presencia e impacto en el panorama regional. A raíz del conflicto entre Rusia y Occidente por la invasión ... more

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Russian Information Warfare 2 Months After the Invasion in Ukraine

Tamar Kintsurashvili, Sandro Gigauri

Media Development Foundation (MDF) (2022), 46 pp.

"During the monitoring period (February 24 – April 24) the following tendencies have been identified: Out of the 160 false information and manipulative content, mainly disseminated in Russian and Georgian sources, the largest share (49.4%) was directed against Ukraine, followed by disinformation a ... more

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Narrative russischer staatlicher Medien über Corona-Impfstoffe im Westen

Daria Zakharova

Russland-Analysen, issue 418 (2022), pp. 2-5

"Die überwiegende Mehrheit der Beiträge in russischen staatlichen Medien über Impfkampagnen im Westen haben eine negative Konnotation. Die Übertreibung der negativen Folgen einer Impfung mit Präparaten von BionTech/Pfizer und Moderna sowie die Überzeichnung der angeblich massenhaften Unzufried ... more

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Mapping the Website and Mobile App Audiences of Russia’s Foreign Communication Outlets, RT and Sputnik, Across 21 Countries

Julia Kling, Neil Thurman, Florian Toepel, Richard Flechter

Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review, volume 3, issue 6 (2022), 17 pp.

"Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, policymakers worldwide have taken measures to curb the reach of Russia’s foreign communication outlets, RT and Sputnik. Mapping the audiences of these outlets in 21 countries, we show that in the quarter before the invasion, at least via their official we ... more

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Projecting Russia in a Mediatized World: Recursive Nationhood

Stephen C. Hutchings

London; New York: Routledge (2022), ix, 197 pp.

"This book presents a new perspective on how Russia projects itself to the world. Distancing itself from familiar, agency-driven International Relations accounts that focus on what 'the Kremlin' is up to and why, it argues for the need to pay attention to deeper, trans-state processes over which the ... more

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Disinformation and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: Threats and governance responses

Paris: OECD (2022), 33 pp.

"The spread of disinformation around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reflects wider challenges related to the shift in how information is produced and distributed. Platform and algorithm designs can amplify the spread of disinformation by facilitating the creation of echo chambers and confirmation bi ... more

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Russian Disinformation Efforts on Social Media

Elina Treyger, Joe Cheravitch, Raphael S. Cohen

Santa Monica: RAND Corporation (2022), xviii, 202 pp.

"We sought to better understand Russia's disinformation on social media and generate recommendations to better meet and counter this evolving threat. We relied on an analysis of Russian military literature, investigative efforts, official reports, academic and policy literature, media reporting, and ... more

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Russian Information Warfare

Russian Analytical Digest, issue 282 (2022), 23 pp.

"Over the past decade, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has employed unorthodox foreign policy tools with increasing frequency, intensity, and success. Perhaps the most effective of these tactics has been the use of information warfare designed to affect decision-making in countries Russia considers to be ... more

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Authoritarians on a Media Offensive in the Midst of War: The Informational Influence of Russia, China, Turkey, Iran and the Gulf States in Southeast Europe

Rumena Filipova, Vladimir Shopov

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2022), iii, 127 pp.

"The publication analyzes the emerging trends of foreign authoritarian-state disinformation in the context of the war in Ukraine in a comparative manner focusing on 7 states of Southeast Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania). It examines ... more

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Media Environment 2022: Threats and Supportive Instruments in Georgia

Gersamia, Mariam, Maia Toradze

Tbilisi: Media and Communication Educational and Research Center "Media Voice" (2022), 76 pp.

"The purpose of this study is to assess the threats and supporting mechanisms present in the Georgian media environment in 2022. Observation of the media environment, similar to the previous year’s research, was based on the evaluation of the participants involved in the research and further compa ... more

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The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming? Russia’s Growing Presence in Africa and its Implication for European Policy

Guido Lanfranchi, Kars de Bruijne

The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael' (2022), 46 pp.

"The growth of Russia’s presence across Africa over the last decade has generated significant international concern, further exacerbated after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s engagement can affect the interests and policies of the European Union (EU) and its member states (MS) in Africa ... . How should European policymakers understand these developments and respond to them? To answer this question, this report looks at Russia’s engagement in Africa, reaching three main conclusions. First, Moscow’s engagement with Africa has so far remained limited as compared to that of other global players, particularly in the economic domain. The current level of (media) attention devoted to Russia’s role in Africa is thus not supported by sufficient evidence of its actual engagement in the continent. At the same time, however, the growth of Russia’s presence is a real trend. Second, Russian actors are guided by a rather loose strategy when it comes to Africa. The Russian state has some interests that act as a broad framework. However, the actual engagement is carried out not only by state actors, but also by state-backed conglomerates and politically connected private businesses. These latter actors have their own specific interests, which are not always fully aligned with those of the Russian state. While state actors are often driven by geopolitical considerations, Russian companies are more interested in economic opportunities. Third, Russia’s engagement in African countries is significantly shaped by the different national contexts and by the interests of African governments. For instance, in a strong state like Ethiopia, Russia’s engagement takes place exclusively at the governmental level. By contrast, in Sudan and Mali (contexts with weaker state structures), other Russian actors like private military companies (PMCs) and private businesses are involved. Yet, in all three cases, Moscow’s presence tends to grow when relations between African governments and their international partners (especially in the West) deteriorate, often in the wake of authoritarian turns. This shows the opportunistic nature of Russia’s engagement, as well as the complex trade-offs faced by EU/MS governments when engaging with African governments." (Executive summary) more

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It is about their story: How China, Turkey and Russia influence the media in Africa

Dani Madrid-Morales, Deniz Börekci, Dieter Löffler, Anna Birkevich

Johannesburg: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2021), 130 pp.

"Looking at media involvement in Africa, one can only state that the continent is more important than ever. Next to traditional actors like the BBC or Radio France International, and to a smaller extent of Deutsche Welle or Radio Swiss International, there are new players. They do not seem to have t ... more

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Tackling Kremlin's Media Capture in Southeast Europe: Shared Patterns, Specific Vulnerabilities and Responses to Russian Disinformation
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Rumena Filipova, Alexander Gerganov, Martin Vladimirov

Sofia: Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) (2021), 124 pp.

"The current report illuminates the scope, means, and reach of Russia’s sharp power influence through the phenomenon of media capture. It traces the regime’s malign impact on good governance and democratic development in eight Southeast European countries (EU members: Bulgaria and Croatia, as we ... more

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Digitale Diplomatie

Russland-Analysen, issue 398 (2021), pp. 1-18

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The Sputnik V vaccine: An international success for Russia? An analysis of the way Russian state-owned media RT and Sputnik/SNA present information and use methods of disinformation in the examples of Germany, France, Great Britain, Serbia, Slovakia and Kazakhstan

Susanne Spahn

Berlin: The Greens-EFA in the European Parliament (2021), 41 pp.

"This analysis examines the methods of disinformation being used to prove Russia's scientific lead, while portraying Western compet-itors in a very negative light. Sputnik V is an instrument of "soft power" through which Russia is trying to gain influence worldwide. In order to evaluate how successf ... more

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Media Environment Before and After 2021 Elections: Threats and Supportive Instruments

Mariam Gersamia, Maia Toradze

Tbilisi: Media and Communication Educational and Research Center (MCERC) (2021), 65 pp.

"The study revealed the macro and micro media threats that come to light in the digital and physical media environments prior to and following elections. The media environment observed during the 2021 self-government elections was representative of the reality seen through the eyes of media workers, ... more

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Information Bedlam: Russian and Chinese Information Operations During Covid-19

Edward Lucas, Jake Morris, Corina Rebegea

Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) (2021), 20 pp.

"Based on a literature review through January 2021, evaluated at an expert seminar, this policy brief provides a baseline analysis of changing tactics, narratives, and distribution strategies in Russian and Chinese information operations (IOs) relating to the covid-19 pandemic. Key findings: China c ... more

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Russian Dominance on Moldovan Media Market Prevails

Hendrik Sittig, Darija Fabijanic

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) (2020), 3 pp.

"Due to its Soviet past, the Russian influence in the Republic of Moldova is still very significant. The country is divided between European integration and Russian convergence. After the government of the pro-European coalition ACUM leaded by Maia Sandu and the pro-Russian Party of Socialists (PSRM ... more

Tackling Kremlin's Media Capture in Southeast Europe: Shared Patterns, Specific Vulnerabilities and Responses to Russian Disinformation Top Insights

Tackling Kremlin's Media Capture in Southeast Europe: Shared Patterns, Specific Vulnerabilities and Responses to Russian Disinformation
Top Insights