The Hidden Weapon of the Russia-Ukraine War

Abstract

This presentation aims to examine the usage of disinformation in the Russia-Ukraine War. Disinformation is a purposefully false piece of information that seeks to influence people. I argue that this is one of, if not the most prominent, disinformation wars that we have seen. Russia is a leading proponent of disinformation as they are trying to frame the invasion of Ukraine as having a more altruistic purpose.

During this examination of disinformation, I will be looking at a few select pieces of disinformation from the perspective of both Russia and Ukraine and the effect that this disinformation has on both the Russians and Ukrainians. The result of this disinformation war is that Ukraine is constantly on the defense and continually trying to provide the truth to its citizens and the rest of the western world. NATO, the European Union, and the United States are consistently fact-checking and disproving the claims that Russia and its state media make.

Department: Sociology 

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Gulayets