Around the globe, during the last days of the year, people customarily spend some time reflecting and trying to divine what the New Year might bring. Usually this is a time of sombre self-reflection, when people make an honest inventory of past successes and failures to chart out the year ahead. In line with previous […]
Smoke, mirrors and gas: the Kremlin deflects blame for the energy crisis
The phrase ‘smoke and mirrors’ refers to a 19th-century illusion that magicians used to project an image in the air. Since then, it has come to mean chicanery and deception. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russian state and pro-Kremlin outlets have been active in spreading disinformation related to energy – […]
Key Narratives in Pro-Kremlin Disinformation: ‘The Hahaganda’
A defining feature of pro-Kremlin disinformation is its repetitiveness. For all the outrageous claims they make, pro-Kremlin outlets often sound like a broken record sticking to just a handful of basic messages for domestic and international audiences. This is not by accident or oversight, it is by design: repetition makes lies sound more believable. Pro-Kremlin […]