How propaganda exploits cognitive distortions
Recently, a video caught my eye. In Yerevan, in front of the Russian embassy, a group of well-educated, neatly dressed Russians protested the war unleashed by Putin, protesting discreetly, without aggression. And a woman, who is not visible in the picture, whose accent can be guessed, her being ARMENIAN, cursed the protestors, shouted “Glory to Russia,” and spared no effort to destroy that modest demonstration. , as much as the woman’s argument: “Ukrainians bombarded Donbas for eight years, and you did NOT make a sound.” That “8 years” is the story that justifies the bloody war, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides. The lie about “8 years” is often repeated by Putin’s Armenian fans, whose primary sources of information are Solovyov and Simonyan.
Does that mean Donbas was never bombed? Not at all. In 2014, Ukraine’s armed forces conducted a so-called “anti-terrorist operation,” during which artillery was also used against Russian troops and local formations that invaded Donbas. I do not doubt that civilians will also suffer during that time, including children. But the thesis about “8 years of bombing” is a propaganda lie. That’s how propaganda works. In 1944, near Nemmersdorf in East Prussia, the Soviet Army shot 11 German civilians. Based on that fact, Joseph Goebbels created an epic canvas of allegedly raping, mutilating, and then shooting 60 German women. In this sense, the “8 years of bombing” of Putin’s propaganda is very similar to the “30 years of looting” of official Armenian propaganda. (Of course, Armenia had a corrupt system that was controlled “from the top,” but to present the three decades as exclusively “years of looting” is again a propaganda lie).
It is necessary to talk to people in an understandable language. As a rule, in simple language and to tell about things related to their inner world. For an ordinary Russian, in the end, it doesn’t matter whether Nazis or social democrats are sitting in Kyiv. Or is NATO expanding eastward or westward? That is why more straightforward stories replaced the theses circulated by the Kremlin in March-April this year. Ukraine bombed Donbas every day for eight years, and all that time, children lived in basements; that story is much more understandable.
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A well-known cognitive impairment can be briefly described as choosing the “lesser evil” in the face of a non-existent, skewed alternative. For example, a Russian mother thinks as follows. If my son avoids mobilization, he can be caught, punished, and tortured for the rest of his life. And if he goes to war, he might survive; maybe he won’t be sent to the front line or lightly get hurt and come back.
The common Armenian has the same twisted “logic.” They make him think, what is worse for me: to be robbed, as they have been stolen for 30 years, or to suffer because of the people in Artsakh? Especially since the looters for 30 years are from that place. And they still “dare” to hold a rally and hand their children posters asking for help.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
