Posted on 10/03/2022 6:17:48 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
And can Vladimir Putin survive without them? The Kremlin has relied on manipulated narratives of Russian success in Ukraine — as well as outrageous propaganda against Ukrainians and the West — sourced mainly through milbloggers and nationalist front-line reporters. Those have fed Putin’s state-run media since the start of the war, especially after Putin outlawed any true independent reporting in February.
Now that Russian troops are running from Kharkiv and getting overrun in key strategic locations like Lyman and Kherson, the milbloggers have turned on their masters. ISW reports today that “dramatic changes in the Russian information space” took place over the weekend after Putin’s forces abandoned Lyman and rumors of a collapse in Kherson floated out late yesterday.
Now the propagandists aren’t just questioning Russia’s military performance, but also Putin’s annexation — his key political maneuver (emphasis mine):
(snip)
Disillusionment creates all sorts of political dangers, especially in a society with top-down control of information and debate. Until now, Putin had used these milbloggers as a kind of expert class to replace actual reporting by independent media. And in the beginning, with the impact of the war far from the lives of most ordinary Russians, they bought into the propaganda. It fit their own perspective, perhaps especially Putin’s long list of grievances against the West for the destruction of the Soviet form of Russian imperialism.
The so-called partial mobilization stripped away those fantasies of Putin’s propaganda. Suddenly, the war had arrived on their doorsteps, and with it the realization that Ukraine was actually besting Russia’s supposedly mighty military. The milbloggers, who went along with Putin for political/ideological reasons, have now realized that Putin’s military is woefully incompetent at all levels.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Maybe the Russian troll farm is worried that they will be sent to the front next? That would explain a lot. Maybe our resident Russian trolls can enlighten us on this point, or will they just continue with the B.S. and propaganda that the Ukies are all homos?
Enough months of following coverage have passed that by now, it is clear that accuracy seems to come from Western sources.
A person reading the Western sources for the last 7 months can see that they are following the actual trends, wins, and losses, of the war, with the rare reporting mishap.
A person relying on the Russian reporting must see by now that they have been being misled for at least the last 5 months or so and have a totally distorted view of what has actually been transpiring in the war and is currently happening.
Yep fpr months we were lectured by Putards here that what was in the western media was all lies and the “truth” was to be found in pro-Russian media..They then ran with this “truth” and made stupid predictions and statements that are all turning out to be wrong. So whose media was more correct?
ISW has been very good right thru the whole conflicts.
Sonar21? Not so much. Scott Ritter? Not so much. MCGregor? not so much...
Yep, we were thinking the same thing!
Yeah, it’s all fun and games when you sending folks from Dagestan to the front, when they start coming for the kids in Moscow and St. Petersburg, that’s a whole other kettle of Borscht.
Maybe they have been mobilized? Other than the site crank they have been non-existant this morning.
I am puzzled. If Putin manipulates through microbloggers, how can he lose them? Aren’t they on payroll like the author of this piece? Or maybe they represent some real journalism, unlike Western media?
“Or maybe they represent some real journalism, unlike Western media.”
Putin has assassinated most of the real journalists in Russia. The rest have learned that real journalism is a trade with a short life expectancy.
So there’s that.
L
What Biden did to American journalists that they lie all the time? Regarding Russian situation thr article doesn’t support your story.
But but Trump pushed Russia away...the Russians are fighting Nazis ..the US blew up the pipeline...and on and on.
You disappeared from FR for almost 5 years, spanning the entire Trump administration and almost another year (at least under ‘Timber Rattler’).
Did your government assignments preclude your participation until you received new orders, or did your 3-letter agency software inadvertently disable access to this account?
Your post is ironic; see my #14.
what if the truth is exactly as it is presented, msm would lie and not publish it? of course not, they would multiply it by 10 fold. while the other side would be silent. but since we can’t trust russian’s narrative, the truth is somewhere in the middle, and the middle looks good for Ukraine right now.
The Putinist troll farm has given up. It’s all cut and paste now. They’ve proven to be as fake as Russia’s Potemkin army.
Or not.
I don't want either side to win.
Trouble with that is, if one side doesn't win, the war doesn't stop.
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