But let’s remind ourselves that this indictment was made after February 24, after the assault was launched. In early March, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed it had uncovered “traces of the military biological program in Ukraine” financed by the US Defence Department.
Two days later, a Twitter post on WarClandestine went viral. Until the account was suspended, it had been disseminating QAnon conspiracy theories, that oftentimes seeped into mainstream media.
Did it gain traction? Not amongst Western media who aim to report facts. But predictably, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson repeated the Russian claim on air. When US officials actually acknowledged that diagnostic biodefence laboratories had US assistance and were involved in research, Carlson dismissed the explanation.
Was Carlson battling for or against the truth? Russian falsehoods gain substantial credibility if they are said to come from established Western sources. As expected, Carlson’s commentaries were masterfully exploited to disguise such misinformation with Western authenticity. A RIA Novosti posting on Telegram generated one million views with the US reference.
Domestically, the Kremlin’s lies have reached a mostly receptive audience. In the weeks before the invasion, Russia rejected any accusations that its military was gearing up to attack Ukraine, when the massive deployment of troops and equipment was clear proof of the opposite.
Multiple lies for justifying the unprovoked assault were rolled out one after another. It was a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of drug-addled Nazis. (Even though Russia made it illegal to call the Ukraine conflict “war”, Putin, in a speech recently, violated the law.) Then Russia’s attack was to counter “genocide”. After that, biological weapons became the falsehood theme, which Moscow claimed involved the breeding of birds and reptiles that would spread pathogens across the border into Russia. Added to this was Russia’s claim of preventing the Ukrainian army from bombing its own cities.
Perhaps one of Putin’s most formidable lies is insisting that people who live in Russian-controlled Ukrainian regions are eager for Russian rule. Numerous reports indicate the opposite. Russian occupation authorities are known to deny food, water and medical aid to Ukrainian civilians until they have accepted Russian citizenship.
The lying apparatus utilizes state media which depicts residents voluntarily lining up to apply for Russian passports. Applicants who conveniently offer pro-Kremlin observations accompany the footage. The Russian disinformation shows how eager the residents were for Russian governance.
However, opinion polls have debunked these Russian claims. In May 2022, the National Democratic Institute poll found that only 3% of Ukrainians would like the country to join the Russian-controlled Eurasian Customs Union. Fully 90% would opt for the European Union. Even in the Ukrainian east and south, where Russian speakers dominate, the levels didn’t fall below 84%. Russia recognized a “re-education” program was needed to “correct” the situation.
Russia’s message has proved relatively successful domestically where its oftentimes outlandish falsehoods have established an alternative reality, one in which the Kremlin is at war not with Russia but with a more pernicious enemy within the west.
It’s this multi-story narrative that pro-Russia Western groups are actively amplifying. The following is an example of Canada-based Global Research’s recent online postings: “America’s diabolical plot to subjugate and break up Russia”, “Some of us don’t think the Russian invasion was aggression”, “The US is leading the world into an abyss”, “US rejection of Moscow’s offer of peace talks is utterly inexcusable”, “Unable to defend his country, Zelensky asks to launch a nuclear war”.
Messaging originating in Russia has become increasingly bizarre starting from claims before the attack that a “truly sovereign Ukraine” was possible only under Russian rule, to migratory birds carrying bioweapons into Russia. This type of messaging goes unchallenged at home. But giving it gravity by useful Western idiots or fellow travellers makes it tenacious, even in places with a free press and open debate. (A fitting parallel is Trump’s unrelenting mantra about the stolen election – a gross falsehood – having the approval of a significant section of the Republican Party and unaffiliated voters.)
It’s not only the Western far-left messaging online that fights the truth of the Ukrainian invasion but also much of the far right. With Trump’s admiration of Putin’s “savvy” Ukrainian strategy and other denizens of the far right lionizing autocratic rule and the crude power of the strongman, it’s not far-fetched to say it helped embolden Putin to order the reckless invasion of Ukraine.
Even though much of the Western far right has withdrawn their initial approval of Putin’s policies, their fighting against the truth initially exposed their true political substance. It’s vital we be cognizant of lies, both far left and fringe right.
