"The most effective propaganda resonates with audiences’ underlying worldviews and personal experiences. In order to fight it, one has to understand the mindsets that it preys on. This paper sets out to do exactly that. We first track a set of Kremlin-aligned propaganda narratives across Ukrainian
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media, then measure their overall traction through a representative national survey conducted by the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich, and finally use focus groups to understand their deeper appeal and impact. This gives us a uniquely holistic view of contemporary propaganda: from its sources, dissemination, and impact on society right through to how it is received and perceived from the point of view of audiences. The narratives in question include accusations that George Soros’ minions run Ukrainian politics, that the US is building secret bioweapons in Ukraine, and that shadowy “Western curators” secretly control the government. CSS survey data shows that approximately 40% of Ukrainians believe these narratives. They are in turn part of a larger message that sees Ukraine as perpetually under attack from nefarious Western forces. While individual narratives can change over time, this meta-narrative remains. Outright disinformation, conspiratorial thinking, and anti-Western messages combine in a toxic mix. The overall aim is to undermine refo rms, strengthen vested economic interests, alienate Ukraine from its Western partners, and push the country back into Russia’s orbit. While explicitly pro-Russian narratives have become a harder sell in Ukraine since the Kremlin opted to invade the country in 2014, these narratives don’t so much boost Russia as try to make the rest of the world look just as malign. They resonate outside of the usual “pro-Russian” bubble in Ukraine and spread among audiences that are often viscerally opposed to the Kremlin." (Exeuctive summary)
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"This project has explored the ways in which an independent, public service-spirited media could create content about historical issues that avoids playing into propaganda-driven divides, fosters a more constructive discourse around history and brings Ukrainians into a common national conversation.
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The results of our project will also be of use to public diplomats, civic actors and educators, as well as to media outlets that share our aim of reducing polarisation in Ukraine and other countries, and building resilient societies with a full, free and evidencedriven public debate. Arena began the project with polling and segmentation analysis that investigated Ukrainians’ attitudes to history, political beliefs, identity and social values. We then held focus groups designed to identify the common concerns that unite Ukrainians. Using various insights from that analysis and the advice of prominent historians, we worked with Hromadske, an independent Ukrainan online media outlet, to create 16 pieces of video content. Finally, we explored polarised audiences’ reactions to these videos by measuring levels of online engagement and carrying out opinion polls, focusing in particular on the levels of trust." (Executive summary)
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"Following months of mass antigovernment demonstrations in Belarus, this report widens the focus beyond the protesters and takes stock of the views and preferences of Belarusian citizens at a critical moment. A new ZOiS survey conducted in December 2020 among Belarusians aged between 16 and 64 revea
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ls rare insights into the political and social mood across the country, trust in its institutions, the dynamics of the recent political mobilisation, and the domestic and foreign policy preferences of Belarusian citizens [...] The survey confirms the extent to which the protests were carried by private citizens, rather than organised civil society, trade unions, or churches, which played only peripheral roles. Social and online media dominate society’s news consumption, with over 70 per cent of respondents using these media as their main source of information. Belarusian state television, Russian media, and international media are used as well but are significantly less prominent as primary information sources. Trust in Belarus’s political institutions in general remains weak. Confidence has not eroded completely, but trust in all institutions is on balance negative, with very similar scores for the executive, the legislative, the judiciary, and the security apparatus. In absolute numbers, the opposition Coordination Council and the Orthodox Church are the most trusted institutions." (Executive summary)
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"These are the findings of an Ipsos online survey conducted between 23 April and 7 May 2021. The survey was conducted in 28 countries around the world, via the Ipsos Online Panel system in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary,
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India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States. The results are comprised of an international sample of 19,570 adults aged 16-74 in most countries and aged 18-74 in Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and the United States. Approximately 1,000 individuals participated on a country by country basis via the Ipsos Online Panel." (Methodology, page 25)
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"In our nationally representative survey, respondents were asked which values from a list they felt were most important to their lives. The three that came out top were health, education, and support from parents. Keeping their family in good health (62% very important) and having an education for t
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hemselves or their family (60% very important), are priorities for young people aged 15-30 years old. This is closely followed by having support from parents – 59% said it is very important to them." (Page 1)
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"BBC Media Action surveyed 2000 young people (aged 15–29) in four regions and the city administration of Addis Ababa in May 2021. The study highlighted differences in young Ethiopians’ attitudes towards work and saving, education, traditional gender and cultural norms, and youth participation in
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decision making and in community life. Analysis was used to split the sample into five groups, reflecting the different profiles of young people in Ethiopia. Each group differs in how far they participate in civic life, their attitudes towards traditional gender and cultural norms, and the barriers that they face around employment and accessing various services. BBC Media Action researchers conducted further analysis to understand the key demographics of each group, as well as their motivators and barriers to employment, accessing services and civic participation. They then used data from qualitative research to create illustrative profiles for each group." (Page 1)
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"El retroceso económico causado por la pandemia no define a la región, sino simplemente acentúa sus características. En otras palabras, en América Latina se han robustecido las razones por las cuales sus pueblos han estado en las calles de sus ciudades, como refleja esta medición 2020 de Latin
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obarómetro, realizada en plena pandemia. Los resultados muestran que no hay ilusión, no se ha disipado el malestar anterior, sino que parece reafirmarse la decisión de no ceder en la demanda de una vida mejor. En este escenario, todas las demandas se vuelven más inelásticas. La pandemia puso en el celular de cada persona, las redes sociales y a través de las pantallas de la televisión, la imagen del mundo, como viven y son tratados los ciudadanos en otras partes del planeta. Se universalizó la demanda de “¡Dignidad Ya!”. El aumento de la conexión de Internet produce una revolución social al enseñarle al más analfabeto de los ciudadanos de la región, que lo tratan mal, que es discriminado, que tiene derechos y que puede reclamarlos. En ese sentido, la pandemia termina siendo una lección de humanidad y de democracia, del derecho a ser tratado como igual, toda vez que cada persona observa cómo funcionan las sociedades en otras latitudes. Por primera vez masivamente, el ciudadano toma consciencia de su condición y aprende qué hacer con ella." (Página 5-6)
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"El hallazgo más importante de este estudio no tiene que ver con el uso del lenguaje cuando se habla de la migración, sino con la representación del venezolano en los medios nacionales. Se trata, pues, de un estudio pionero que prueba la criminalización de las personas venezolanas en los medios
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de comunicación, ya que la delincuencia es el tema principal con el que se los asocia: el 70% (televisión) y el 80% (diarios populares) de todas las notas que se referían a venezolanos y venezolanas trataban de temas policiales y de crimen. En estas notas, los ciudadanos venezolanos cumplían el rol de victimario en un 65% y en un 15%, el de infractor de la ley. Esto significa que en cuatro de cinco notas o reportajes en las que un lector o televidente en el Perú lee o escucha de una persona venezolana, es porque se la relaciona con un tema de delincuencia, muchas veces violenta. Esto genera en el lector o televidente la impresión de que la migración y las personas migrantes están asociadas con un supuesto incremento de la inseguridad ciudadana. Así el 86,3% de los encuestados opinó que la migración venezolana había contribuido a la inseguridad ciudadana en el Perú. La asociación de la persona migrante con la delincuencia produce, además, distancia, temor o hasta rechazo para con los migrantes. Por su parte, en las personas venezolanas genera un estigma que les dificulta la inserción en la sociedad." (Conclusiones, página 97)
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"Magdalena Obermaier untersucht in ihrer Studie, welche Faktoren das Vertrauen in journalistische Medien erklären. Dazu greift die Autorin insbesondere auf die psychologische, politologische und kommunikationswissenschaftliche (Vertrauens-) Forschung zurück und systematisiert mögliche Erklärgrö
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ßen des Vertrauens in journalistische Medien. Deren relative Bedeutung prüft sie im Rahmen einer für die deutsche Bevölkerung repräsentativen Befragung. Die Befunde zeigen, dass Vertrauen in journalistische Medien und Mediengattungen sowohl durch soziopolitische Merkmale der Rezipienten, als auch durch auf die mediale Performanz bezogene Erklärgrößen, wie Mediennutzung und Bewertungen journalistischer Qualität, bedingt werden kann." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Popular support for media freedom continues to decline, dropping to below half (47%) of respondents across 34 countries. More Africans (49%) now say governments should have the right to prevent publications they consider harmful. Twenty-five of 31 countries tracked since 2011 experienced declines i
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n support for media freedom over that period, including steep drops in Tanzania (-33 percentage points), Cabo Verde (-27), Uganda (-21), and Tunisia (-21). Yet more Africans see the media’s freedom to investigate and criticize government as increasing (43%) than declining (32%). Countries vary widely in their assessments, from 80% of Gambians who see more media freedom to 66% of Gabonese who see less. Africans are generally dissatisfied with the state of the media. Of those who say freedom is increasing in their country, a majority (54%) support increased government regulations. However, among those who assess freedom as decreasing, a majority (54%) support media freedom over government regulations. Radio remains the top source for mass-media news, though its dominance is declining: 42% report using it every day, down 5 percentage points from 2011/2013. Television is a daily news source for about one in three Africans (35%), and is the top source for news in nine countries. Only 7% read newspapers daily. Reliance on the Internet and social media for news is increasing rapidly. Almost one in five Africans say they use the Internet (18%) and/or social media (19%) daily for news. Use of the Internet and social media for news is significantly higher among younger, urban, and better-educated populations, and there are important differences between countries and regions regarding access." (Key findings)
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"Somalia is facing a protracted displacement crisis. Since the new wave of displacement as a result of the 2016/2017 drought, 2.6 million people - one in six Somalis - have been forced to flee their homes.1 Displaced groups in Somalia are extremely vulnerable - lacking in sustainable livelihoods, pe
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rmanent housing and access to basic services. Their arrival and continued presence in cities and towns, such as Mogadishu, Baidoa and Bossaso, are straining services and infrastructure in municipalities that already struggle to deliver for the host community [...] In response to the context outlined above, AVF proposed and deployed an innovative social accountability and public opinion gathering intervention that is designed to meet the following objectives: 1. Devise a methodology for consultations with communities that uses radio shows and targeted SMS adverts to participants in previous radio series as a means to engage with communities, establish feedback loops and generate data; 2. Conduct data analysis in order to inform the elaboration of area-level outcomes supporting the attainment of durable solutions in the target locations, based on the perceptions of residents and people affected by displacement [...] It is important to note that this is a survey of perceptions and therefore does not always represent objective facts on the ground. Any social change initiative must however be based on a strong understanding of the populations’ perceptions, given that they guide their behaviors and attitudes. This also allows having a better grasp on challenges encountered, which enables work towards improving the situation, particularly taking into consideration age and gender specific experiences." (Introduction, page 6-7)
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"The degree that the public trusts journalists varies widely across 144 countries and territories included in the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor study. Worldwide, the percentage who express at least some trust in journalists ranges from a low of 12% in Greece to a high of 93% in Uzbekistan. Median glo
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bal trust in journalists stands at 59% — the trust level in the United States. Median trust in journalists is notably similar in democratic and non-democratic countries — at roughly 60%. Yet, attitudes vary significantly within these categories of political systems. Among democratic countries — as designated by 2017 Polity IV democracy rankings — at least four in five respondents in Finland, Myanmar and Norway trust journalists "a lot" or "some," while fewer than one in four do so in Taiwan, Serbia and Greece. In non-democratic countries, roughly nine in 10 adults in Uzbekistan, Tanzania and Rwanda say they trust journalists, but about one in three say the same in Mauritania, Gabon and Yemen. Trust in journalists is also not associated with media freedom as measured by Reporters Without Borders. In fact, the relationship between trust in journalists and media freedom is weak and goes in the opposite direction that may be expected, where greater media freedom is associated with less trust." (www.gallup.com)
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