A someone who was radicalized during the SMO in Ukraine and used to be on the other side, this is more or less that.
I remember r/Ukraine and other related subreddits treated the conflict like a show.
They focused on every failure of the Russian army (or rather rumors of failure, which they accepted as having happened without any evidences) and ignored all their successes, insisted that they were pathetic and corrupt and that their equipment was falling appart and were just soviet era stockpile, that they got tanks stollen by unarmed farmers (it became quite a meme in pro-Ukraine subs), and generally worked to make the Russian military look like a joke.
I remember in the beginning of the smo they were talking a lot about a Russian column heading for Kiev until one day they suddenly completely stopped talking about it and everyone interpreted the silence as the column having been destroyed or having run out of fuel on it’s way or run out of food and water and having been abandoned, it was never clear what they thought happened to that column but everyone were persuaded that SOMETHING happened to it.
There were also these daily charts that supposedly indicated Russian losses, of course, the numbers were never backed by anything, and nothing about Ukrainian losses obviously. They also made a lot of noise when a Russian flagship got blown up and pretended it was a turning point of the conflict. They also kept saying that the Russians thought they would win if 3 days and that they would surely attack a NATO country next, some said the Baltic states, some said Moldova, this too was never really clear.
On the other hand they had a cult like faith in an incoming Ukrainian victory.
They swallowed the “ghost of Kiev” propaganda whole. They were quasi-worshiping the Javelin rocket launchers supplied to the Ukrainian army. There were also talks about a “Neptune” Ukrainian made anti-ship missile coming soon that we never saw. They couldn’t go one day without quoting Zelensky, especially the “I need weapons, not a ride” one.
Every day the victory was “happening any time now” yet no proof of material progress were ever shown. Even the maps of the frontlines THEY posted could at most be interpreted as a stalemate if you are generous and ignore every relevant information about both armies. A lot even thought that Ukraine would retake Crimea somehow.
Everyone was completely gaslit and believed that any suspicion of neo-nazi activities in the government or miliary was just Russian propaganda. “there is just SOME neo-nazis and they are only in the AZOV battalion, and it’s not like Ukraine has a choice, they need them” and “Russia too has neo-nazis” is how they would justify it when pressed.
To them it was a show, Ukraine was the benevolent hero protecting Europe and Russian was the pathetic evil mastermind trying to take over the world.
My favorite part was them making fun of Russian tanks because the turret flew away when it blew up… like it already blew up my dude does it make any difference if it flies up or disappears?
Don’t forget all the stuff surrounding Chechnya. Claims that the Chechens were poor conscripts who were more likely to defect, or that story about the Chechen general whose plane was destroyed. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians were posting Islamophobic stuff like how they were greasing bullets in lard, and libs in those forums told them they shouldn’t post about it because it was bad for optics.
They can propagandize all they want and scratch their heads at why reality never lines up with what they’re taught. The contradictions will eventually break the West, one way or another.
A someone who was radicalized during the SMO in Ukraine and used to be on the other side, this is more or less that.
I remember r/Ukraine and other related subreddits treated the conflict like a show.
They focused on every failure of the Russian army (or rather rumors of failure, which they accepted as having happened without any evidences) and ignored all their successes, insisted that they were pathetic and corrupt and that their equipment was falling appart and were just soviet era stockpile, that they got tanks stollen by unarmed farmers (it became quite a meme in pro-Ukraine subs), and generally worked to make the Russian military look like a joke.
I remember in the beginning of the smo they were talking a lot about a Russian column heading for Kiev until one day they suddenly completely stopped talking about it and everyone interpreted the silence as the column having been destroyed or having run out of fuel on it’s way or run out of food and water and having been abandoned, it was never clear what they thought happened to that column but everyone were persuaded that SOMETHING happened to it.
There were also these daily charts that supposedly indicated Russian losses, of course, the numbers were never backed by anything, and nothing about Ukrainian losses obviously. They also made a lot of noise when a Russian flagship got blown up and pretended it was a turning point of the conflict. They also kept saying that the Russians thought they would win if 3 days and that they would surely attack a NATO country next, some said the Baltic states, some said Moldova, this too was never really clear.
On the other hand they had a cult like faith in an incoming Ukrainian victory.
They swallowed the “ghost of Kiev” propaganda whole. They were quasi-worshiping the Javelin rocket launchers supplied to the Ukrainian army. There were also talks about a “Neptune” Ukrainian made anti-ship missile coming soon that we never saw. They couldn’t go one day without quoting Zelensky, especially the “I need weapons, not a ride” one.
Every day the victory was “happening any time now” yet no proof of material progress were ever shown. Even the maps of the frontlines THEY posted could at most be interpreted as a stalemate if you are generous and ignore every relevant information about both armies. A lot even thought that Ukraine would retake Crimea somehow.
Everyone was completely gaslit and believed that any suspicion of neo-nazi activities in the government or miliary was just Russian propaganda. “there is just SOME neo-nazis and they are only in the AZOV battalion, and it’s not like Ukraine has a choice, they need them” and “Russia too has neo-nazis” is how they would justify it when pressed.
To them it was a show, Ukraine was the benevolent hero protecting Europe and Russian was the pathetic evil mastermind trying to take over the world.
My favorite part was them making fun of Russian tanks because the turret flew away when it blew up… like it already blew up my dude does it make any difference if it flies up or disappears?
Don’t forget all the stuff surrounding Chechnya. Claims that the Chechens were poor conscripts who were more likely to defect, or that story about the Chechen general whose plane was destroyed. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians were posting Islamophobic stuff like how they were greasing bullets in lard, and libs in those forums told them they shouldn’t post about it because it was bad for optics.
They can propagandize all they want and scratch their heads at why reality never lines up with what they’re taught. The contradictions will eventually break the West, one way or another.
That’s a really good summary, and really shows the power of the media in shaping the narrative.