“Foreigners fascinated”: How Russian propaganda manipulates comments in foreign mass media

Fake reports about Putin’s positive image abroad follow one and the same pattern

One of Russian state-run news agencies spread another ‘ode’ to Putin who had allegedly fascinated the readers of France’s Le Figaro newspaper with a video of his drive over the Kerch Bridge repaired “within weeks”.

In fact, this is a manipulation, as the comments posted below the video were completely different. A total of 124 comments have been left to the news item so far, but the Russian news agency mentioned just five of them.

Moreover, the comments referred to by the Russian publication either have a different meaning in the source text or are missing below the video at all.

For example, in the comment left by an anonymous user, mentioning Zelensky, nothing is said about the fact that Russia has managed to quickly restore the Kerch Bridge.

The statement about the Kerch Bridge being repaired “within weeks” is manipulative itself. The bridge was blown up on October 8, 2022, and repair works were completed on December 4, 2022. Thus, they lasted almost two months.

The Russian news agency also referred to the comments about the allegedly furious faces of Zelensky and Biden, and the fact that this video is another evidence of the defeat of Ukraine led by the West, but such comments are missing below the video at all.

Without giving any examples, the Russian ‘news article’ claims that, according to many readers, the economic war against Russia only harms the West. However, considering the comments, this statement is a pure fake. Instead, the vast majority of users condemned Putin.

In particular, the user nicknamed TOKUGWA leyasu mocked the fact that “dictator Putin” drove a German Mercedes instead of a Russian Lada, and called it the collapse of Russia’s automobile industry. The fact that Putin used a German Mercedes to drive over the Kerch Bridge was also noted by other users, such as MC Struggle, Lucas Fontana, and others.

The user nicknamed Pyrrhon mentioned that soon it will be time for Ukrainians to hit the bridge with one of the new drones.

Meanwhile, the user nicknamed Bradito paid attention to Putin’s lack of confidence in the driver’s seat and noted the zero level of Russian propaganda.

The user Sans-dents and many others generally assumed that it was Putin’s double in the video.

In fact, most users paid attention to Putin’s weakness instead of the bridge restored.

This is not an isolated case, when the allegedly positive comments are used by propagandists to create a ‘news item’ glorifying Putin. They follow one and the same pattern, selecting just a few comments out of many posted below an article or video in the foreign mass media resources, which meet the Russian narratives, or even making up a non-existing comment.

As a Google search on the website of the Russian news agency shows, the key word ‘fascinated’ put by Russians in the headline about the French readers has been used as a template many times.

For example, in the news article about the British “fascinated” by Putin, Russian propaganda selected just a few comments out of 1,200 posted by the readers of The Times. Meanwhile, most comments, similar to those of Le Figaro’s readers, were against Putin.

The comments below the news article of Turkey’s Haber 7 were also interpreted incorrectly. The video shows a soldier of the presidential regiment, meeting Putin. He stood loosely at the beginning of the video but straightened up upon Putin’s arrival.

“This is not just a show, this gesture shows us the discipline in Russia and emphasizes the soldier’s respectful attitude to Putin. The video says a lot,” the Russian news agency noted, referring to the reader’s comment in the Turkish newspaper.

However, there is no such comment below that video at all.

Dmytro Badrak