It’s not just Russians who are fed propaganda (UK news article)

Watching Putin’s regime spew out lies and half-truths should make us reflect on our own government’s Covid messaging

Extract from an article by Lionel Shriver, Friday March 04 2022, 9.00pm, The Times (UK):

“The blitzkrieg in Ukraine is merely a limited “special military operation”. Precision attacks are restricted to military targets. Ukraine was invented by Russia and has no legitimacy as an independent nation. The premier howler: its Jewish president leads a government of neo-Nazis. A few brave protesters aside, much of the Russian public seems to accept Putin’s propaganda as the truth. What, are they stupid?

“Most Russians rely on state-controlled media. But before we roll our eyes in dismay at their credulity, let’s remember that we ourselves have barely emerged from a two-year bombardment of relentless state propaganda. Especially for the pandemic’s first year, we were inundated with sledgehammer-subtle messaging intended to ensure compliance with sometimes bizarre, often ineffectual and constantly revised laws for the suppression...”