The Russian
disinformation campaigns are presented in the information media in every
European country. The Czech Republic is not an exception. After February 2022,
the Russian propaganda, as expected, actively took up the justification of
aggression and discrediting Ukraine. However, the Russian Federation was
spreading disinformation about Ukraine long before the full-scale invasion. In
this article, we analyze how the Russian rhetoric has been changing in the
Czech media from 2014 till 2022 years.
Methodology
The imagination about
the Czech media market and the presence of pro-Russian media in it allowed the
research by the Czech Foundation «Independent Journalism Foundation»
(Nadační fond nezávlislé
žurnalistiky, NFNZ). NFNZ has typologized the sources of Czech news for the
similarity of the audience, the structure of attendance, and the contents and
has suggested the division of the Czech media market on the three conditional
clusters, which are shown in pic. 1.
The
infographic «Typology of
Domestic News Websites in the Czech Republic»
The green color represents tabloids, which are entertainment media. Blue
highlights the primary news websites covering a wide range of topics. Moving to
the left and up, you find media with a distinct political orientation, ranging
from smaller projects focusing on analytical and investigative articles to
media groups and news agencies. Websites marked in red work for an audience
with a pronounced anti-system orientation, including pro-Russian ones. Official
blocking of several pro-Russian media, including Protiproud.cz, occurred on February
5, 2022, by the CZ.NIC association, but on May
25, 2022, CZ.NIC again granted users access to all websites.
Based on the NFNZ research results and the Propaganda Diary database, we
selected the six most active «red» media outlets that systematically
spread disinformation about Ukraine. The main selection criterion was the
frequency of pro-Russian publications in 2022. Archive data were used for
retrospective analysis. We reviewed all articles from the media shown in Fig. 2
and conducted a detailed analysis of those articles about Ukraine that
contained fake information. We found a total of 214 such articles.
In every
publication we have highlighted individual fakes that corresponded to the
pro-Russian narratives identified in the Propaganda Diary study. As a rule, one publication contains several fakes that correspond
to different narratives.
In the six most
active pro-Russian Czech media, we found 20 pro-Russian narratives and 325
individual disinformation cases (fakes).
The most common
are fakes about Nazism, the Revolution of Dignity and the justification of
Russian aggression. It is noteworthy that the intensity of the spread of
propaganda falls precisely during the period of Russia’s active hostilities in
Ukraine: the most actively pro-Russian fakes were published in 2014 and 2022.
It is also interesting that the narrative that the Revolution of Dignity was a
coup d’etat and led to a civil war is quite common throughout the analyzed
period, unlike others. This is probably due to the fact that Russia has often
mentioned the events of the Revolution of Dignity as an excuse for its actions
since 2014.
Note. The
vertical axis represents the number of fake narratives on a specific topic
found in the materials of the six most active pro-Russian Czech media outlets.
Now, let’s take
a closer look at each of the six media outlets we analyzed:
Sputník
Česká republika
Sputnik Česká
republika is a news portal that is part of the Russian media conglomerate
«Russia Today.» Sputnik Česká republika emerged as the successor to
the restructured radio station «Hlas Ruska» in 2014. After the
full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, several European countries, including the Czech Republic, restricted or completely blocked access
to this resource due to its recognized propagandist orientation.
The analyzed
materials published from 2014 to 2016 contained an average of 3-4 Russian
narratives in one article. For example, in an article from March 8, 2015, about the Revolution of
Dignity, it was claimed that Ukraine is not a democratic state, that the Ukrainian
government is a «puppet» of the United States, and that allies
supposedly planned to divide the territory of Ukraine in the future. The
article also mentioned historical events, such as the Orange Revolution,
asserting that «the United States not only provoked the
Russian-Ukrainian war but also financed the protesters on the Maidan».
However, from
2017 to 2021, we noticed a change in editorial policy. There were fewer
different narratives in one article, with authors typically limiting themselves
to mentioning one or two and completely changing their content. For example,
they began to write more about the failures of Ukrainian reforms and the
«undemocratic» nature of Ukraine. They also wrote about the alleged
restrictions on the Russian language. For instance, in a publication from January 27, 2017, it was claimed
that the ban on selling books in the Russian language is a limitation of
pluralism of opinions. After the start of the full-scale invasion, the
publications again started combining more narratives. For example, in an article about combat operations near Snihurivka in the
Kherson region dated November 9, 2022, the authors wrote about the
«demilitarization of Ukraine,» aimed at protecting the civilian
population. The article attributed the reason for its onset to the external
policy of the United States, which supposedly influenced the Revolution of
Dignity and subsequent developments in Ukrainian state-building.
Nová
republika
The media
outlet «Nová republika» is primarily authored by two individuals, Ivan David and Rostislav Ishchenko. The media operates as a platform, with
Ivan David as its head.
Ivan David is a Czech psychiatrist and former politician
associated with the right-wing radical party «Česká
strana sociálně demokratická» (ČSSD). He served as the Minister of Health of the Czech
Republic from 1998 to 1999. In 2019, Ivan David joined the right-wing radical
and Eurosceptic party «Svoboda a přímá demokracie – Národní
strana» (SPD). He also served as a Member of the European Parliament for this party. In
2019, the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic accused the SPD party of spreading hate and fear in society through disinformation and conspiracy
theories.
In one of his publications dated March 18, 2022, David refers to the
«Revolution of Dignity» (Euromaidan) as a «state coup»
allegedly organized with the assistance of the United States. He also writes
about the «historical kinship of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples».
Rostislav Ishchenko is a Russian political analyst and
journalist of Ukrainian origin. He is associated with the Russian propaganda
channel RIA Novosti and the website Ukraine.ru. Following the start of a full-scale invasion, in
one of his interviews from December 16, 2022, for the radio
«Komsomolskaya Pravda,» he expressed the opinion that Ukraine and the
Ukrainian language should cease to exist: «I say again, we need the
Ukrainian language and Ukraine, and everything associated with them, to be
forgotten like a terrible dream.» For example, in an article from March 17, 2022, authored by Ishchenko, there
is a narrative that Ukraine’s and the West’s actions forced Russia to start the
war.
CzechFreePress
CzechFreePress
is a media outlet primarily known for publishing commentaries and opinion
columns. The chief editor is Miroslav Sujа, a Slovak politician and entrepreneur who
gained prominence after splashing water on the Minister of Finance and being
detained for bribery in August 2021. Other members of the editorial team remain
anonymous, and the «About CFP» section lacks information about the
individuals who run the project, their educational backgrounds, or professional
experience.
This media
outlet was most active in publishing articles from 2014 to 2016. During that
time, the most prevalent narrative was the alleged existence of Nazism in
Ukraine. Such fake stories were present in 18 out of 57 analyzed articles.
From 2017 to
2021, we did not observe publications that contained disinformation about
Ukraine (in general, this media outlet rarely mentioned Ukraine during this
time). This is likely due to a shift in the media’s policy, as the main topics
during this period were the migration crisis in Europe related to illegal migrants from the
Middle East and the war in Afghanistan.
In 2022, the
focus of CzechFreePress changed, with the most frequent articles centering on the
alleged intentions of Western states to divide Ukrainian territory among
themselves. For example, in an article from May 9, 2022, the media claimed that Poland
was planning to occupy part of Ukraine.
První
zprávy.cz
From 2014 to
2022, this media outlet primarily propagated fake news about supposed Nazism in
Ukraine. In an article dated February 19, 2015, we first noticed a
narrative among Czech media about the so-called «black
transplantology» in Ukraine. The author of the article claims that
«modern neo-Nazis» (referring to the Right Sector) carry out attacks
that result in the deaths of hundreds of civilians whose bodies are found
without internal organs.
První zprávy.cz
published articles from other sources, often featuring interviews and quoting
various questionable experts. For example, in a publication from December 19, 2022, they quoted the
editor of «The American Conservative» magazine, Ted Carpenter. He stated, «This country (Ukraine) did
not deserve the title of ‘democracy’ even before the start of the Russian
special operation. With the onset of the conflict, Kyiv resorted to systematic
repression. Modern Ukraine is a country that is too corrupt and is becoming
increasingly authoritarian. This is not democracy in the freest sense of the
word.» Carpenter’s statement contains several narratives: Ukraine’s
lack of democracy (repression and authoritarianism) and the discrediting of
Ukrainian authorities. By emphasizing corruption, the authors create the
impression that Ukraine should not be supported because the funds provided
allegedly won’t be used for their intended purposes.
This media
outlet also quoted Russian political analyst and president of the
«Institute of the Near East,» Yevgeny Satanovsky. In an article from May 23, 2022, commenting on Ukraine’s
cooperation with Poland, he claimed that the goal of Ukraine’s allies is the
division of its territory in the future.
ProtiProud
Founded in 2013
by Petr Hájek, a former press secretary of the Czech President
Václav Klaus, ProtiProud asserts that the concept of the New World Order truthfully describes the current
political situation. According to this concept, a global elite purportedly
intends to establish control over world events and influence them. Typically,
this elite is associated with the United States and the European Union. Within
the context of Ukraine, they propagate a narrative that the West controls
Ukraine and uses it for its own purposes.
In 2014, this
media outlet attempted to depict the Euromaidan movement (Revolution of
Dignity) as a result of financial influence from the United States. In an article dated February 18, 2015, ProtiProud claimed that
NATO forces were involved in military actions during the defense of Debaltseve.
In an article from July 14, 2023, President of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky is referred to as a «puppet» and it is claimed
that he acts in the interests of the United States.
CZ.24News
This media
outlet does not provide any information about its owners and authors.
Additionally, they state on their website that they do not collect information
about the authors of articles and website users, nor do they provide
information to EU or Czech authorities. Disinformation about Ukraine on this
portal was only observed in 2022. Similar to the První zprávy.cz portal,
CZ.24News discusses the alleged existence of «black transplantology»
in Ukraine. For instance, in an article dated February 26, 2022, the authors claim that
«mobile crematoria» operates in Ukraine, and medical workers are
purportedly involved in illegal organ trafficking, using international
humanitarian organizations as cover.
Conclusion
Russian
propaganda has found its way into the Czech information space through various
local media outlets that publish works by Russian authors and quote pro-Russian
experts. Blocking the work of «Russia Today» (Sputnik Česká
republika) was a positive step, but in the face of increased activity by other
media outlets, it did not significantly impact the overall quantity of
disinformation. Czech media outlets often justify Russian aggression, a trend
observed in both 2014 and 2022. The most popular argument is that the
Euromaidan movement was supposedly a Western-led state coup, which subsequently
became a catalyst for a civil war. As a result, Russia had to intervene to
protect «its» population. References to Ukrainian «Nazis»
and an authoritarian «Kyiv regime» are also common in this context.
The author: Vitalina Shelefeta — UDONATION Scholar, Guest Paper for ADASTRA.