Briefly:

  • Until 2020, there was no propaganda on such a scale and scale as we are witnessing now.

  • Turning to conspiracy theories is a significant step back into the past.

  • If the propaganda talked about stability, then it lived more in the present time, "here and now".

  • The main consumers of conspiracy theories are poorly educated and poor people.

- Recently, the results of the study "Conspiracy theories in the structure of state media propaganda" were presented to journalists and the public.

The research was carried out by Media Hub ePramova based on the results of Media IQ monitoring by a group of experts under your leadership.

Why did the idea arise to do just such an analysis, with a focus on the conspiracy theory?

— Conspiracy theories actively emerged in Belarusian propaganda immediately after the 2020 presidential elections.

They say, there are no internal reasons for the protests - they are all undermining the "collective West".

Since then, conspiracy theories have not disappeared anywhere and are constantly present in the propaganda discourse.

Some other aspects of propaganda are studied and analyzed quite well.

I mean, for example, "hate speech", dehumanization, false dilemma techniques and so on.

As far as the conspiracy theory is concerned, as far as I know, there have been no such studies to study it on the Belarusian material.

— You said that conspiracy theories actively appeared after the 2020 elections.

But wasn't it a trend of the entire administration of Alexander Lukashenko, who seems to have always actively promoted this topic?

Or simply until 2020, these were isolated cases that did not form a large-scale system?

— Yes, until 2020 there was no propaganda on such a scale and scale as we are witnessing now.

Propaganda usually intensified during elections, but then disappeared.

Lukashenko likes the topic of "conspiracy theories", this can be explained by historical reasons.

He is a man from the Soviet Union, from the "cold war" between the world of socialism and capitalism, when conspirators and enemies were sought and found everywhere.

People over 60 have grown up on conspiracy theories and have not forgotten them.

- What is the favorite "conspiracy theory" of the Belarusian state propaganda, which is the most widespread and popular?

- In 2021, the most prevalent conspiracy theory was that Belarus is surrounded by enemies, that everywhere there are enemies who have declared a "hybrid war", "economic genocide", "real terror", "all red lines have been crossed".

Therefore, true patriots should rally around the leader, and then, maybe, it will be possible to prevent all these threats.

All conspiracy theories rely on people's fear of some powerful organizations that own the world and can easily change the life of an ordinary person.

That is why leaders protect their people from external threats.

Authoritarian leaders really like this scheme, because then it is possible not to demonstrate economic success, achievements in social policy.

It is only necessary to say: "Look, we are surrounded by enemies, all the problems come from them, but we do not let them in, we prevent the threats coming from them."

- To what extent does the fascination with conspiracy theories fit into old, traditional propaganda?

Does it harmoniously combine with the old mantra of stability, or are there certain contradictions here that propaganda does not notice?

- It seems to me that when propaganda talked about stability, it lived more in the present tense, "here and now".

And turning to the conspiracy theory is a significant step back, to the past, when the world was divided into its own and those of others.

— Can we say that Belarusian propaganda simply repeats the main motives of Russian propaganda, which is actively observed after August 2020?

Does it still have a certain independence, defined by its tasks, which are different from Russian ones?

The same conspiracy theory has long been written in the Russian state media, and for Belarus on such a scale it is quite a new phenomenon.

- Russia's influence in this is quite significant.

Indeed, for Moscow, conspiracy theory is a favorite topic for propagandists.

They constantly talk about "the collective West that wants to destroy and take over Russia."

It seems to me that if Belarusian propaganda picks up on this topic, it is perceived very favorably by Alexander Lukashenko.

In this sense, Lukashenko and Putin think alike, they understand each other on this topic.

Propagandists simply repeat in their own way what a pro-government politician says.

Perhaps, as young people themselves, this conspiracy theory is quite far-fetched.

But since their task is to broadcast and develop the ideas of higher officials, they repeat them.

- What does the effectiveness of state propaganda look like in general, what percentage of the population is inclined to trust it?

- If propaganda works, it has an impact on some part of Belarusian society.

There is a part of Belarusians that does not lend itself to propaganda, but there are those layers that are more subject to it.

Who are the main consumers of conspiracy theories?

These are mostly poorly educated and poor people who do not have the resources or opportunities to read a lot, be interested, and listen to thought leaders.

In the American theory of communication, where conspiracy theories are well researched, it is said that the consumers of these theories are mostly people who have quite limited opportunities to navigate in today's complex and ambiguous world.

These are people who are looking for the simplest answers to complex questions.

They will be happy to consume all kinds of conspiracy theories.

  • Vitaly Tsygankov

    Vitaly Tsygankov graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of BSU.

    One of the two founders of the first non-governmental news agency BelaPAN.

    He worked in "Zvyazda" newspapers, was a correspondent in Belarus of the Russian "Nezavisimaya Gazeta", Associated Press, columnist in "Svaboda" newspaper.

    On Belarusian Freedom since 1994.

    Correspondent of Russian Freedom in Belarus.


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