In Italy we have a problem with Russian propaganda
7 clichés to dispel on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine From Putin's unbeatenness due to gas to the inaction of the European Union, here's how to dismantle some clichés circulating about the crisis in Eastern Europe Old friends About the presence of pro-Russia propagandists in our country they also dealt with it abroad. Newspapers such as Politico or Le Monde have stigmatized our media for hosting journalists close to the Kremlin, for the interview with Foreign Minister Sergej Lavrov, but also more simply for the presence of figures such as the Luiss professor Alessandro Orsini, whose views on warfare are not considered too orthodox. After all, we have already seen that we were the soft underbelly of Europe where Putin's propaganda can sink.
The fake news of the troll factory, as the Internet research agency of Yevgeny Prigozhin has been defined, in the recent past had an easy life in our country to pass conspiracy and racist issues, also favoring political exponents who caught the ball. We were not immune to Russian soft power even during the pandemic, with a lot of fake news being put around to undermine trust in Western institutions.
In Italy, many people do not believe in the atrocities that Russia is committing in Ukraine According to a survey conducted by Demos per Repubblica, one in four people believe that the images of the massacres in Ukraine are false. Among these, many vote for Brothers of Italy and some Lega or 5 Star Movement The "left" shore Today, however, the war is entering a much more sticky dimension, because if many figures close to Russian propaganda were already known - sovereignists and conspiracy theorists - for its geopolitical dynamics, Moscow can count on the involuntary support of an unexpected and culturally more prepared ally: the radical left. A phenomenon that is not only Italian but worldwide. If in Italy the case of Zagarolo rightly caused a sensation, with the manifesto of the Italian Communist Party that promoted the local feast of liberation from Nazi-fascism, graphically underlining the Z emblem of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, "softer" opinions on the sins of Moscow yes they can meet in almost the entire Communist galaxy.
Although Putin's Russia is quite different from the Soviet Union, the former enemy is the same. The unusual side therefore comes from what we could define as a campist principle: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend". And who is the enemy in this case? The United States, NATO. Here then is that the primal guilt, original sin, is in any case of the West. A pervasive thought in certain radical American circles that has already led opponents to coin yet another "plaining": westplaining. Everything that happens in the East is explained as a consequence of what the West did.
Taking a Marxist network like Mr Online, an offshoot of the legendary socialist magazine Monthly Review at the center of Senator Joseph's terrible witch hunt Mc Carthy, it is enough to read a few articles posted on the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war to find many stories that seem to come directly from pro-Russian propaganda: from crimes against Russian speakers in Donbass to the sins of the United States and NATO, to end with Ukrainian pro-Nazism. It is not excluded that even the "denazification" cited by Putin himself as one of the reasons for the invasion of Ukraine has made its way into the redest of hearts, calculating that on the other side there is a nation that despite being part of the Soviet Union it has never been close to Bolshevik thought, and indeed has seen episodes of Nazi collaborationism explode during the Second World War, as well as having framed the well-known Azov battalion founded by neo-Nazi sympathizer Andriy Biletsky in the regular army.
Sites that published pandemic hoaxes now spread disinformation about Ukraine NewsGuard organization, which fights against fake news, has identified hundreds of repeat web portals Horseshoe No journalist or intellectual in the West he is obviously crazy enough to declare himself pro-Putin, but many ask to look for the motive for the invasion outside of Russian expansionist aims. To be exact at the border. That border garrisoned more or less secretly by the United States which after 2014 (Russian annexation of Crimea) began to train Ukrainian troops. Hence the accusation "proxy war", the war by proxy against the eternal Russian enemy, a kind of Ukrainian re-edition of what was done in Afghanistan with the Soviets in 1979-1989.
Even in the latest conflict in Syria, the anti-imperialist left seemed soft on Bashar al-Assad (and with Russia supporting him) because it opposed the US empire and Zionism. An attitude that the writer Leila Al-Shami has called the "anti-imperialism of idiots", as she recognizes imperialism only when it comes to US military or political actions, but seems to close her eyes to the aggression of others regimes. The original sin of the West seems to justify the answers of all the others. And never mind if these political views sometimes converge with the interests of the far right. The French philosopher Jean-Pierre Faye with his criticized horseshoe theory argues that the extremes of left and right curve towards each other rather than being at opposite ends of a straight line.
What do they think in Ukraine of territorial transfers and NATO, according to an internal survey The most authoritative analysis institute in the country has conducted a series of interviews. The no to concessions of parts of the country is clear, while opinion is divided with respect to joining the Atlantic alliance Witch hunt If the contributing causes provided by NATO expansion or American interests can represent a good dialectical exercise, the real battle of those who start from the left, however, is on the answer to be adopted to end this war. Under a virtual pacifist flag, many are wondering whether it is appropriate to continue sending weapons or whether a diplomatic agreement is not a better solution than a potential escalation. A question that is actually legitimate, but which Orthodox thought is branded as specious and therefore covertly pro-Russian. This is how "pro-Russian puppets" in America become the various Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, Matt Taibbi. In Italy we find similar contents in Michele Santoro, Massimo Cacciari, Luigi Bersani or the historian Luciano Canfora. Controversy over controversy has also aroused for the same reasons the requests of organizations such as Stop the War Coalition, Democratic Socialists of America and Young Labor, admittedly far left.
If the motto "I do not agree with what you say but I would give my life so that you can say it" has been in recent years the favorite motto of conspiracy theorists, opposed by profession, simple social media cazzari who have sought refuge behind a literary invention (Voltaire never said it, it is taken from The Friends of Voltaire by Evelyn Beatrice Hall) to defend their freedom to shoot nonsense, it is also true that on a political strategy there may be conflicting opinions. Seeking a diplomatic solution rather than a military escalation or asking for a stronger Europe instead of more Europe in NATO - in fact a remnant of the Cold War that today finds a second youth - are not thoughts to be stamped without Russian ifs and buts. , even if they could make it into the game.
Many of these are close to that more pacifist left counterculture which today has almost died out, and which looks with concern, for example, at the escalation of armaments in favor of the war industries or at the possibility of a conflict world with unimaginable consequences. They would have their reasons, especially if they avoided typical platitudes such as equating a Russian invasion of Ukraine with the Chinese repression of the Uighurs.
The outpost towards the Arctic where Russia amasses nuclear and submarine weapons It is the Kola Peninsula, with which Moscow aims to ensure control of the north of the planet. But also a piece of land functional to keep the NATO countries in check An Italian question As for the investigation of the Italian services on pro Russia, if this will demonstrate direct funding or support from Moscow, then we could say that we are facing a national security problem to be tackled in the most severe way, but we cannot do a whole bunch of things. To think that behind every non-compliant voice, perhaps simply pacifist, there is a Kremlin funding would be a bit too naive reasoning, worthy of a conspiracy theorist. It would also be questionable whether it is more pro-Russian to have personal doubts or to host propaganda spokespersons directly on broadcast, whether it is appropriate to go to Moscow begging for peace like a child, whether the interviews lying down with members of the Russian government are the result of little preparation, awe or other (for a comparison in terms of tone, here is the CNN interview with Kremlin spokesman Dmitrij Peskov).
In the fog of war there are also objective realities: they are called destruction and death. Their parts are broken lives, cities and towns razed to the role. The horror that the Ukrainian people are experiencing cannot leave anyone indifferent who still has a shred of humanity. Starting from this common condemnation, between total adherence to the Western response and pro-Putinism there are however galaxies of thought and figures so heterogeneous that it would be really difficult to match or slip into Moscow's paychecks. And asking that the Pope too be in favor of an escalation of arms is perhaps a bit too much.
