Ukraine/Russia — Two Things CAN Be True At Once: The War Is Very Real AND Info Is Being Manipulated

I’m afraid it’s Covid 2.0. Covid was very real, very deadly, very tragic, AND Covid information was being rampantly manipulated and propaganda spread as fact.

I have a cousin who is currently assigned to serve a full-time mission in Ukraine but who was recently moved due to the very real security threats. My brother-in-law served a full-time mission in Ukraine a decade ago. Another cousin served a full-time mission in Ukraine more than two decades ago. Believe me, my heart and prayers go out to them as they are brave and strong in this devastating fight.

But two things can be true at once.

And it’s also true that you are being manipulated.

The information you are being allowed to see is being manipulated.

Your opinion is being manipulated.

Your perception is being manipulated.

Now for the mixed bag. Part of the western response has been to unleash the weight of the west’s information machinery against Russia. This is why you’re seeing so much pro-Ukraine propaganda across all channels. 4/https://t.co/tT7NDNkANJ

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 28, 2022

One aspect of the western media operation is to promote and exempt Ukraine’s own propaganda from fact-checking—which is why we’ve suddenly seen so many of these funny Soviet-style propaganda stories: Snake Island, the Ghost of Kyiv, the Ukrainian Reaper, etc. 5/ pic.twitter.com/UNI2eo3mEh

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 28, 2022

The West is cutting off people from seeing what propaganda the Russian people are being shown, as if not knowing this will help people make more informed decisions. “Know what you’re up against?” No, trust the experts. They’ll do the thinking for you.

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) March 2, 2022

On the flip side, what kind of information do you think is being fed to Russian citizens? They’re certainly being fed similarly manipulated information and propaganda to serve a particular narrative and craft a certain perception. They also shouldn’t believe everything they’re being told by their media. Because propaganda is rampant and it’s an incredibly powerful tool, especially when the average citizen does not recognize it as such.

These amazing pictures of Zelensky in body armor leading from the front are from an old training exercise, but it sure evokes an emotional response and casts him as a true, strong leader. And it may actually be that way. But your perception is being manipulated to make him look a certain way. The way they want him to appear to the western world.

Obviously, the cult of personality around Zelensky is another aspect of this Soviet-style propaganda operation. 6/https://t.co/YvK0kLr8E4

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 28, 2022

Naturally, Ukraine has been somewhat exaggerating the extent of the fighting and their own military exploits, both to encourage their own citizens and to garner more material support from the west. 7/ pic.twitter.com/0LbtCTF71j

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 28, 2022

How about these super tragic stories coming out of Ukraine about things that evoke a particular emotional response but that are being proven fake? It doesn’t mean emotional and tragic things aren’t happening, because I’m sure they are, but it does mean your perception is being manipulated.

Snake Island says go f yourself.

Ghost of Kyiv kills 5 Russian jets by himself.

Woman passes out sunflower seeds to Russians so they’ll “grow flowers when they die.”

25 y/o woman says she’ll make Molotov cocktails this weekend.

Ukrainians are fighters. Putin can go to hell.

— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) February 25, 2022

A group of Ukrainian border guards were stationed on Snake Island, in the Black Sea south of Odessa, when a Russian warship ordered them to surrender under threat of attack.

Their response: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”

They held their ground. All 13 were killed. pic.twitter.com/GMRsXQRSX0

— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 25, 2022

For all of the talk of Russian bots and propaganda, its clearly the case that most of what’s come out from Ukraine has been false. Ghost of Kyiv. Snake Island. Holocaust memorial being targeted (debunked earlier today). Old footage from past wars posted as current.

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) March 2, 2022

All 13 men on Snake Island survived. They weren’t killed. But it sure makes for a great underdog story to shape your perception of the conflict using your emotional response to the story.

What appears to be footage of the Ukrainian garrison of Snake Island surrendering to Russian troops has surfaced; earlier the Ukrainian government had claimed they they refused to surrender and had all died heroically pic.twitter.com/6I6tbQS0Fx

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) February 26, 2022

The ghost of Kiev story was also fake. But it sure makes for a great underdog story to shape your perception of the conflict using your emotional response to the story.

A bunch of the pro-Ukrainian feel-good stories circulating have turned out to be false or simply old stories being presented as current. They’re propaganda intended to rally the Ukrainian people and the support of western nations. There’s always propaganda, and propaganda serves a purpose, but it needs to be recognized for what it is.

The last stand on Snake Island? The Ghost of Kyiv? Putin’s secret mountain lair?

The war in Ukraine has unleashed a wave of misinformation and propaganda, but Western media seem unwilling to question many stories coming from one side. My latest 👇https://t.co/C1JLFpB8X6

— ishmael (@iD4RO) March 2, 2022

I’m not saying these things aren’t really happening in Ukraine, or dismissing the conflict, or downplaying the severity. What I’m saying is that your perception of the entire situation Is. Being. Manipulated. There is rampant propaganda. There is always rampant propaganda, for everything, and this is no different. Just like Covid was very real, and people really died, and people were really sick, but also, the information was being manipulated and the propaganda was rampant.

They, the string pullers behind the scenes, want to craft your perception and opinion of the entire situation to meet their ends, whether political, social, or economic, using certain selected information that is probably a mixture of true, false, and manipulated. Just like they did for 2 years with Covid. Just like they did with the Iraq war and WMDs.

As western think tanks have stated, what they really want to is pull China away from Russia to preserve trade ties between the west and China. In typical think tank fashion, they’ll never let an opportunity to kiss Xi’s arse go to waste. 12/ pic.twitter.com/SLwPFaiKfb

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 28, 2022

This is part of the reason western elites are giving so much support to Ukraine and want ordinary Ukrainians to fight back so badly, weakening Russia so that they can continue to trade with China. 13/ pic.twitter.com/XeS5EtHKfq

— Michael P Senger (@MichaelPSenger) February 28, 2022

You think that the Ukrainian government telling civilians to make and throw Molotov cocktails in “Putin is a d**khead” bottles is actually going to bring down tanks? No, but it makes for great optics of an underdog nation fighting hard against a vicious dictatorial superpower. And that may be true! But your perception is still being manipulated.

Some of the information you are being given is absolutely true. Some of it is absolutely false. Some of it is significant in that they aren’t letting you see it. Some of it is significant in the way that they frame it.

Ukrainian military forces, posting from its verified Facebook account, has said Russian soldiers will be killed even if they attempt to surrender. pic.twitter.com/SRHhActAMN

— Cernovich (@Cernovich) March 2, 2022

If there is one thing this pandemic should have taught you, it is to always assume that you are being manipulated through the manipulation of information and propaganda presented as fact.

Two things can be true at once.