Russia-Ukraine War and Global Gaslighting Instead of the News
Never before in my 30-year career as a professional journalist have I come across such blatant “side-taking” reporting by a unbelievably wide spectrum of associations, trade groups, government bodies, international businesses and companies, as I have recently now with the Russia — Ukraine war.
In nine out of 10 press releases or statements I read every day regarding a wide array of issues from tourism & travel data and Covid-19 reports to European Commission growth forecasts and the latest trends studies, texts take a clear stance on the tragic situation in Russia and Ukraine avoiding to name it for what it actually is: a war, instead opting to point a finger to the sole aggressor: Russia.
In all these reports you read something like “the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine” or “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine” and very similar position-taking and subjective writing (nowadays dubbed “content”) aimed at creating or leaving impressions much like in the court of law where a sly lawyer accidentally mentions something irrelevant but incriminating to be heard only for it to be overruled by the judge but meant to linger on in the minds of the unassuming jury.
Before I am misunderstood and before I start getting hate mail, I am not in any way whatsoever condoning Russia’s hostile antics or violence, as I am not condoning Turkey’s ongoing and very similar tactics. Somehow the very illegal invasion of Cyprus — yes, still a divided nation, by the way, as the EU and everyone else looks on — and Turkey’s latest unprecedented violations (there are dozens daily) are in no way “passed on” or “conveyed” as what they are: violations and abuse — in any of the reports I receive daily.
I could say the same applies to US ‘interventions’ of all sorts throughout time, Israeli ‘peace-keeping’ actions, and dozens if not hundreds of so-called ‘mediation’ efforts carried out by a handful of Big Brother countries in the name of democracy, civil rights, human rights, global peace … and the list goes on.
In the meantime, this dangerously expanding global gaslighting (content) practice carried out in apparent cooperation among parties with some form of vested interests now in the “project: Russia — Ukraine”, turn a blind eye to flagrant irrationalities such as Ukraine’s unexplainable desire despite deaths, doom, evacuated villages, orphaned children, burnt down schools, weaponless fighters, and of course, Russia’s terrible aggression, to participate (and yes, win) this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
True professional reporting is all about neutrality and facts, whether this is a press release about tourism figures or the presentation of a new product. When you add adjectives and descriptives to the content, you have marketing, which we all know is aimed at creating an impression, a thought, a trend, a need; and if I dare take it a bit further, when key words deviously sneak into otherwise irrelevant texts (content), then we have what is called “propaganda”: a very dangerous practice intended to blur the lines and cause confusion and insecurity as does gaslighting, leaving one helpless, forever at the mercy of untrue narratives.
