
In this meme, (probably) Michael chooses sides and holds a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher and Molotov cocktail
Thanks to Stephen Cook. Very long article but a gripping debriefing on the Ukraine’s propaganda war.
Ukraine’s Propaganda War: International PR Firms, DC Lobbyists and CIA Cutouts
Dan Cohen reveals the network of foreign strategists, Washington DC lobbyists, and intelligence-linked media outlets behind Ukraine’s public relations blitz.
(https://www.mintpressnews.com/ukraine-propaganda-war-international-pr-firms-dc-lobbyists-cia-cutouts/280012/)
WASHINGTON DC — Since the Russian offensive inside Ukraine commenced on February 24, the Ukrainian military has cultivated the image of a plucky little army standing up to the Russian Goliath. To bolster the perception of Ukrainian military mettle, Kiev has churned out a steady stream of sophisticated propaganda aimed at stirring public and official support from Western countries.
The campaign includes language guides, key messages, and hundreds of propaganda posters, some of which contain fascist imagery and even praise Neo-Nazi leaders.
Behind Ukraine’s public relations effort is an army of foreign political strategists, Washington DC lobbyists, and a network of intelligence-linked media outlets.
Ukraine’s propaganda strategy earned it praise from a NATO commander who told the Washington Post, “They are really excellent in stratcom — media, info ops, and also psy-ops.” The Post ultimately conceded that “Western officials say that while they cannot independently verify much of the information that Kyiv puts out about the evolving battlefield situation, including casualty figures for both sides, it nonetheless represents highly effective stratcom.”
Key to the propaganda effort is an international legion of public relations firms working directly with Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to wage information warfare.
According to the industry news site PRWeek, the initiative was launched by an anonymous figure who allegedly founded a Ukraine-based public relations firm.
“From the first hour of war, we decided to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help them distribute the official sources to show the truth,” the nameless figure told PR Week. “This is a hybrid war: the mix of bloodily struggling fight with a huge disinformation and fake campaign lead by Russia [sic].”
According to the anonymous figure, more than 150 public relations firms have joined the propaganda blitz.
The international effort is spearheaded by public relations firm PR Network co-founder Nicky Regazzoni and Francis Ingham, a top public relations consultant with close ties to the UK’s government. Ingraham previously worked for Britain’s Conservative Party, sits on the UK Government Communication Service Strategy and Evaluation Council, is Chief Executive of the International Communications Consultancy Organisation, and leads the membership body for UK local government communicators, LG Comms.
“We’ve been privileged to help coordinate efforts to support the Ukrainian Government in the last few days, “ Ingham told PRovoke Media. “Agencies have offered up entire teams to support Kyiv in the communications war. Our support for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is unwavering and will continue for as long as needed.”
With an anonymous Ukrainian figure joining two of the top public relations figures in the Kiev government’s propaganda blitz, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs distributed a dossier folder (archived) with materials instructing public relations agencies on “key messages,” approved language, content for debunked propaganda constructs, far-right and Neo-Nazi propaganda.
The folder is run by Yaroslav Turbil, described on his LinkedIn page as “Head of Ukraine.ua — Ukraine’s digital ecosystem for global communications. Strategic Communications & Country Brand Promotion.” Turbil has worked at multiple “civil society” organizations closely linked to the U.S. government and interned at Internews, a U.S. intelligence-linked organization that operates under the guise of promoting press freedom.
(The article is very long but very informative. Continue reading at https://www.mintpressnews.com/ukraine-propaganda-war-international-pr-firms-dc-lobbyists-cia-cutouts/280012/.)
In his email, Stephen adds this gloss, which is as interesting as the article:
1️⃣ The Ukrainian propaganda campaign is exceptionally well prepared. Key “partner media” in different countries of the world (mainly Western Europe and Russian-language media of the left spectrum) receive in real time the necessary and very detailed information on how to cover various events in Ukraine. For example, the blocking of the Zaporozhye and Chernobyl nuclear power plants, calls for the establishment of a NATO no-fly zone over Ukraine, and so on.
2️⃣ Ukraine, with the help of foreign consultants, has built an effective network of foreign peer-agencies that actively contribute to the promotion of properly prepared messages into the information space.
3️⃣ The main operator of the information campaign in support of Ukraine is the London-based PR Network agency (4 Old Park Lane London United Kingdom W1K 1QW, phone +44 0203 137 6605, if anything – call), which acts as an integrator of the chain of boutique PR agencies and is closely related with the British regulator in the field of communications UK Government Communication Service Strategy and Evaluation Council, as well as with the international network of independent peer-agencies ICCO Worldwide (separate greetings, by the way, to Andrey Barannikov, SPN and Elena Fadeeva Fleishman-Hillard Vanguard, longtime partners of ICCO).
4️⃣ The key financial operator of Ukrainian strategic communications (psychological operations, GR, propaganda, interaction with international media) is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
5️⃣ An important element of the Ukrainian information campaign is the site Ukraine.ua, which is headed by a certain Yaroslav Turbil, who, according to the author of the material, is associated with American intelligence;
6️⃣ An important element of strategic communications to a Western audience from Ukraine are memes, in which Nazi symbols are present in abundance (examples are given in the material).
7️⃣ For orientation, foreign media journalists are sent guidelines on the use of the correct terms in communications and the correct angle of coverage of events. Relevant information are updated daily.
8️⃣ NATO is actively using its bot farms to spread propaganda messages through FB. The campaign itself is actively funded by the governments of Great Britain, the Czech Republic, George Soros’ Open Society and the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Support is also provided through USAID.
9️⃣ Among the resources used by Ukrainian PR agencies, the author of the article names Meduza, Novaya Gazeta, Dozhd, BBC, Current Time.
US lobbying firms such as SKDKnickerbocker and Yorktown Solutions, Your Global Strategy are also heavily involved in the campaign. The campaign is also supported by specialists from Edelman, the largest global advertising agency. In total, as noted in the material, about 150 communication and lobbying structures are working on the information campaign. To support this information operation, they dedicate entire teams within their agencies.