When Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin called it a military operation and the reason was that the country is ruled by Nazis. Using obvious lies is a propaganda strategy that has its roots in the 30s and was used by Hitler and Donald Trump, among others. – Big lies tend to attract a lot of media attention. That is a purpose in itself, says Anna-Karin Selberg, doctor of philosophy. Putin uses the same lies over and over again, that the West and NATO are behind the aggression while Russia uses military means only “to stop the war”. Anna-Karin Selberg researches how Putin uses lies and propaganda in the Ukraine war. – It is a special type of lie and it is part of a larger propaganda strategy that Russia has. With a traditional ordinary lie, you want to hide the fact that you are lying. But this is an open lie and when it is directed internationally, an obvious lie, she says. The goal is not for people to believe the lie The expression “big lie” has flourished in the media in recent years, partly to describe Putin’s lies about the war but also in connection with Trump’s campaign about the stolen election. Anna-Karin Selberg tells us that it was Hitler who coined the term in his book “Mein Kampf” where he wrote about a propaganda strategy that he then used himself. And the purpose of big lies is not always to make people believe that it is true, says Anna-Karin Selberg. – When you talk about Russian propaganda, you usually say that it looks so unprofessional and inept, that it almost looks ridiculous. But the purpose of big lies may not always be to be believed. Big lies tend to attract a lot of media attention. That is a purpose in itself. She believes that it is easy for the media to pick up on and write about the lie that has been told when they want to dispute it. – This means that the lie is widely spread and repeated many times. The lies must be faced, but when they are faced, you also run the risk of spreading them and repeating them so that they are reinforced. How effective is Russia’s propaganda strategy? Anna-Karin Selberg tells us that there is more to Russia’s strategy than the big lies. She cannot answer exactly how well they succeed, but she points out that there are no large protest movements in Russia against the war. – Their purpose seems to be to create doubt, to create division. Make people wonder if there are any facts about the war at all in order to make people passive. If you don’t believe there are any facts about the war, there’s no point in resisting it.
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