{"id":16693,"date":"2022-03-26T04:56:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-26T00:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/geworld.ge\/en\/?p=16693"},"modified":"2022-06-11T07:21:31","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T03:21:31","slug":"ukraines-propaganda-war-international-pr-firms-dc-lobbyists-and-cia-cutouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geworld.ge\/en\/ukraines-propaganda-war-international-pr-firms-dc-lobbyists-and-cia-cutouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Propaganda War: International PR Firms, DC Lobbyists and CIA Cutouts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON DC \u2014\u00a0Since the Russian offensive inside Ukraine commenced on February 24, the Ukrainian military has cultivated the image of a plucky little army standing up to the Russian Goliath. To bolster the perception of Ukrainian military mettle, Kiev has churned out a steady stream of sophisticated propaganda aimed at stirring public and official support from Western countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign includes language guides, key messages, and hundreds of propaganda posters, some of which contain fascist imagery and even praise Neo-Nazi leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind Ukraine\u2019s public relations effort is an army of foreign political strategists, Washington DC lobbyists, and a network of intelligence-linked media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s propaganda strategy earned it praise<\/a> from a NATO commander who told the Washington Post<\/em>, \u201cThey are really excellent in stratcom \u2014 media, info ops, and also psy-ops.\u201d The Pos<\/em>t ultimately conceded that \u201cWestern officials say that while they cannot independently verify much of the information that Kyiv puts out about the evolving battlefield situation, including casualty figures for both sides, it nonetheless represents highly effective stratcom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key to the propaganda effort is an international legion of public relations firms working directly with Ukraine\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to wage information warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the industry news site PRWeek<\/em>, the initiative<\/a> was launched by an anonymous figure who allegedly founded a Ukraine-based public relations firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the first hour of war, we decided to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help them distribute the official sources to show the truth,\u201d the nameless figure told PR Week<\/em>. \u201cThis is a hybrid war: the mix of bloodily struggling fight with a huge disinformation and fake campaign lead by Russia [sic].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the anonymous figure, more than 150 public relations firms have joined the propaganda blitz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international effort is spearheaded by public relations firm PR Network<\/a> co-founder Nicky Regazzoni and Francis Ingham, a top public relations consultant with close ties to the UK\u2019s government. Ingraham previously<\/a> worked for Britain\u2019s Conservative Party, sits on the UK Government Communication Service Strategy and Evaluation Council, is Chief Executive of the International Communications Consultancy Organisation, and leads the membership body for UK local government communicators, LG Comms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been privileged to help coordinate efforts to support the Ukrainian Government in the last few days, \u201c Ingham told<\/a> PRovoke Media<\/em>. \u201cAgencies have offered up entire teams to support Kyiv in the communications war. Our support for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is unwavering and will continue for as long as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an anonymous Ukrainian figure joining two of the top public relations figures in the Kiev government\u2019s propaganda blitz, Ukraine\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributed a dossier folder<\/a> (archived<\/a>)  with materials instructing public relations agencies on \u201ckey messages,\u201d approved language, content for debunked propaganda constructs, far-right and Neo-Nazi propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The folder is run by Yaroslav Turbil, described on his\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>\u00a0page as \u201cHead of Ukraine.ua \u2014 Ukraine\u2019s digital ecosystem for global communications. Strategic Communications & Country Brand Promotion.\u201d Turbil has worked at multiple \u201ccivil society\u201d organizations closely linked to the U.S. government and interned at Internews, a U.S. intelligence-linked organization that operates under the guise of promoting press freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Among the propaganda constructs distributed in the dossier, is a video of the Snake Island incident, which was quickly proven false, in which Ukrainian border guards stationed on a small island were reported to have been killed after they told an approaching Russian warship that had urged them to surrender to \u201cGo f*** yourself.\u201d President Zelensky held a press conference announcing he would award the men the Hero of Ukraine medal as mainstream media spread the story widely. However, the supposedly-dead soldiers quickly turned up<\/a> alive and well, proving their heroic stand to be a farce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the story being proven as fake, the dossier contains a propaganda video promoting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another folder in the dossier is run by Ukrainian MFA graphic artist Dasha Podoltseva<\/a> and contains hundreds of propaganda graphics submitted by artists in Europe and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some feature generic \u201cno war\u201d messages, while dozens of other images celebrate \u201cThe Ghost of Kiev\u201d \u2013 a heroic Ukrainian pilot who turns out to be non-existent<\/a> \u2013 and the phony \u201cSnake Island 13\u201d incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many use xenophobic and racist language, and some are explicit in their praise of prominent Ukrainian Neo-Nazis, including C14 leader Yevhen Karas, the Right Sector fascist paramilitary, and the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion. Multiple images call for \u201cBanderite smoothies\u201d \u2013 a reference to Molotov cocktails named for the late OUN-B commander Stephan Bandera, who collaborated with Nazi Germany in the mass murder of Jews and ethnic Poles during World War II. Another image depicts a book titled the: \u201dEncyclopedia of Incurable Diseases,\u201d listing Russia, Belorussia, North Korea, Syria, and Eritrea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love NLAW\u201d \u2013 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon, provided by western governments to the Ukrainian military\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graphic implying fertilizing the fields with bodies reads, \u201cGrandma advice to Moskovites: Hide in the fields, When you die in hands of our army, Sunflowers will grow better\u201d\u2019\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThank You Ukrainian Army\u201d with an Azov Battalion Wolfsengel patch emblazoned on the sleeve\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Encyclopedia of Incurable Disease: Russia, Belorussia, North Korea, Syria, Eritrea\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgainst Moscovian Occupation.\u201d Moscovian is a xenophobic term used to describe Russians\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graphic calling Czar Nicholas, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Vladimir Putin incarnations of the same \u201cMental Moskovian Dragon\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBandera Smoothie\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPutin\u2019s orcs got whipped\u201d \u2013 Orc is a xenophobic term for Russian used by Ukrainian nationalists\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flag of Neo-Nazi paramilitary Right Sector. Red represents \u201cblood\u201d and black represents \u201csoil\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine or Valhalla \u2013 a reference to the where heroes of Norse mythological go after death, a theme commonly appropriated by neo-Nazis\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A call for a no-fly zone over Ukraine with an image of a building used by the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion that Russia bombed\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201dEvhen Karas. Our positive news. #Thank_You_Ukraine Army\u201d. Karas is a leader of the C14 neo-Nazi gang, who boasted that \u201cWe have fun killing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBandera smoothie for friends of Putin\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign extremists flock to Ukraine<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dossier also contains a link to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs page<\/a> called \u201cFight for Ukraine,\u201d which provides instructions for foreigners who wish to join Ukraine\u2019s Neo-Nazi-infested armed forces \u2013 termed the \u201cInternational Defense Legion of Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Zelensky\u2019s call for foreign fighters to form a brigade, fighters from all over the world, including the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, Spain, Colombia, Brazil<\/a>, Chile, and more have traveled to face Russian forces. Others with no combat training or experience have arrived for \u201cwar tourism\u201d \u2013 what one British soldier called<\/a> \u201cbullet-catchers.\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recruitment graphics from the dossier\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recruitment graphics from the dossier<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Ukrainian government says tens of thousands have answered their call, some commentators expressed doubt<\/a> at those figures, calling it a \u201cPR exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the foreigners who have traveled to Ukraine have encountered a much more severe reality than they anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s air force bombed military installations adjacent to where the foreign fighters were sleeping. Having fled to neighboring Poland, a Spanish fighter described<\/a> the bombing as a \u201cmessage\u201d that could have killed thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, an American fighter who hid in an ambulance to escape the frontlines warned<\/a> that Ukrainian authorities were killing foreigners who decided not to fight, calling it a \u201ctrap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correct wording<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

One document inside the dossier delineates acceptable language on the conflict with Russia as determined by the Ukrainian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSuch Russian clich\u00e9s like \u2018referendum in Crimea\u2019 or \u2018will of the people of Crimea\u2019 are absolutely unacceptable,\u201d the document states, in reference to the 2014 overwhelmingly successful referendum<\/a> to separate from Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The document deems unacceptable the terms \u201cCivil war in Donbass,\u201d \u201cInternal conflict,\u201d \u201cConflict in Ukraine\u201d and \u201cUkrainian crisis\u201d to describe the Ukrainian military\u2019s war with the breakaway republics of the Donbass region. This, despite the fact that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights estimates<\/a> that 14,200 people, including 3,404 civilians, have been killed in internal fighting in Ukraine since 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In place of these phrases, the document calls for the use of the terms \u201cArmed aggression by the Russian Federation in Donbass, international armed conflict, Russian war against Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian conflict armed conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Messages<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Another document titled \u201cKey Messages\u201d contains specific propaganda claims that were widely disseminated in mainstream western media, but which have since been discredited. One section claims the \u201centire Europe was put on the brink of nuclear disaster, when the Russian troops began shelling the largest in Europe Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi,\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0that the building hit by a Russian \u201cprojectile\u201d at the Zaporizhzhia plant was \u201cnot part of the reactor\u201d but instead a training center. Russian troops also left Ukrainian workers to continue operating the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another section thanks Turkey for the decision \u201cto block the access of Russian warships to the Black Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan closed<\/a> the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to all military vessels, preventing both NATO and Russian vessels from accessing the Black Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the document\u2019s key messages is a statement of gratitude to the \u201cAnti-war demonstrations held by citizens of many nations throughout the world demonstrate strong support to Ukraine in defending against Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This refers to large pro-Ukraine demonstrations in Europe which have featured calls for the U.S. and NATO to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine and shoot down Russian military aircraft, potentially transforming the conflict into a world war between nuclear-armed powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite Russia\u2019s propaganda, there is no discrimination based on the race or nationality, including when it comes to the crossing of the state border by foreign citizens,\u201d claims the Ukrainian document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, numerous videos and reports have documented Ukrainian authorities preventing Africans from fleeing the fighting. Even the New York Times<\/em> \u2013 hardly a bastion of Kremlin propaganda \u2013 published a report<\/a> documenting these racist practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One message says that \u201cOn 16 March, the Russian forces dropped a bomb on a drama theatre where up to 1300 civilians were being sheltered. The number of casualties is still unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as Max Blumenthal reported<\/a> the explosion appears to be the result of a false flag operation designed by the Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion and aimed at triggering a NATO intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO-backed troll farms<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Another anonymously-penned investigation<\/a> shows how Ukrainian public relations firms have used targeted advertisements to astroturf Russian internet and social media networks with messaging calling to economically isolate Moscow and \u201cstop the war.\u201d This effort is led by Bezlepkin Evgeny Vitalievich, who uses the alias Evgeny Korolev, along with Pavel Antonov of the Targetorium organization. From behind his Korolev pseudonym, the Ukrainian information warrior composed a post on his Facebook page (now private) boasting that his firm\u2019s Facebook ads achieved 30 million hits in three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Facebook has blocked<\/a> Russian state-owned media outlets from running ads and monetizing content. Several fake accounts for media outlets like Russia 24<\/em> have sprung up, burying the authentic account under a series of impostors. Facebook has also marked statements from Russian officials, including the Ministry of Defense, as \u201cfalse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This campaign has reportedly been carried out upon recommendation from StopFake, a self-described \u201cfact checking\u201d outlet that is funded<\/a> by the National Endowment for Democracy, Atlantic Council<\/a>, Czech and UK foreign ministries, and the International Renaissance Foundation, which is funded by billionaire George Soros\u2019 Open Society Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

StopFake was hired by Facebook in March 2020 to \u201ccurb the flow of Russian propaganda\u201d but was found to be employing<\/a> multiple figures closely tied to violent Neo-Nazis. The journalist who co-authored the expos\u00e9 received death threats and ultimately fled Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those revelations have apparently not prevented Facebook from relying on the organization for censorship guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Russian hackers located a public Google document (since made private, uploaded here<\/a>) detailing the propaganda operation, which has been distributed in Telegram channels of \u201ccreative farms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere you can find links to Ukrainian media that need promotion, bot accounts with logins and passwords from which anti-war messages and messages with fakes about the Ministry of Defense were sent to users, theses and specific instructions on which posts and which audiences to embroider,\u201d the investigation reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another campaign<\/a> is run by Nataliya Popovych, the founder of the public relations agency, One Philosophy, in Kiev. Popovych\u2019s LinkedIn profile<\/a> shows she has worked with the U.S. State Department and advised former President Petro Poroshenko. She is also co-founder and board member of Ukraine Crisis Media Center, a propaganda arm funded<\/a> by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National Endowment for Democracy, the U.S. Embassy, and NATO, among many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Campaign Asia<\/em> article<\/a> profiles several public relations firms involved in the effort. Among them is Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman PR. Edelman is also a member<\/a> of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Board of Directors and the World Economic Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGeopolitics has become the new test for trust. We saw this with the allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the war between Ukraine and Russia has only reinforced it,\u201d he said<\/a>, linking the U.S. propaganda campaign surrounding China\u2019s deradicalization campaign for Uyghur Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PR approved media outlets<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

An article<\/a> in PRWeek <\/em>profiles several figures partaking in what they describe as a \u201cPR army\u201d that is \u201cfighting on the informational frontline\u201d against Russia\u2019s \u201cbarbaric genocide of Ukrainians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPropaganda is the same as real lethal weapons,\u201d declares Marta Dzhumaha, PR manager at healthcare company BetterMe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Petryk, head of public relations at MacPaw, offers a list<\/a> of approved media outlets, authored by her colleague<\/a> Tetiana Bronistka, a former employee of Ukraine\u2019s Prosecutor General\u2019s Office. The list includes Russian and English language sources, as well as Telegram channels. However, these \u201cverified sources that objectively cover what is happening in Ukraine\u201d are anything but independent. Most of them are tied to the U.S. and European governments and billionaire foundations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She also lists several Russian-language websites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n