What Can We Learn about War Propaganda from Russia?

About this episode

This episode explores the use of propaganda in war, focusing on Russia's tactics in the Ukraine conflict and the impact of misinformation.

How and why do powerful actors use propaganda as a crucial war strategy? In this episode, we see what we can learn from Russia’s use of propaganda in its war with Ukraine, and explore the relationships between misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda. We also look at which communities are least susceptible to war propaganda, as well as what we can do to improve the quality of information we have access to worldwide. Daniel Silverman is Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology (CMIST) at Carnegie Mellon University. His research addresses the psychological factors – including the biases and misperceptions – that drive violent conflicts, and how they can be mitigated or leveraged to promote peace. He is the author of Seeing is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better (2024). Jeanne Cavelier is the Head of Eastern Europe & Central Asia Desk for the Paris-based organization, Reporters without Borders – often referred to by its French acronym, RSF. She contributes to the RSF’s Propaganda Monitor, the organization’s multimedia platform that aims to expose the many faces and…

People in this episode

Guests: Daniel Silverman, Jeanne Cavelier

Topics covered

• war propaganda
• misinformation
• disinformation
• psychological factors
• media
• information quality

Keywords

• propaganda
• Russia
• Ukraine
• misinformation
• disinformation
• war strategy
• psychology
• media

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Carnegie Mellon University, Reporters without Borders, RSF

Books & works: Seeing is Disbelieving: Why People Believe Misinformation in War, and When They Know Better

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