IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/bjeust/v9y2019i3p96-115n6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Impact of Russian Anti-Western Conspiracy Theories on the Status-Related Conflict in Ukraine: The Case of Flight MH17

Author

Listed:
  • Mölder Holger

    (TalTech Law School, Tallinn University of Technology Akadeemia tee 3, Tallinn 12618, Estonia)

  • Sazonov Vladimir

    (Ancient Middle Eastern Studies, University of Tartu Ülikooli 18, Tartu 50090, Estonia)

Abstract

The Russian Federation has a wide arsenal of tools at its disposal for conducting information warfare to achieve its strategic objectives in the ongoing status conflict with the West. The active exploitation of conspiracy theories has thrived since pro-Kremlin forces started armed conflict against Ukraine in 2013–2014. This article focuses on the crash of Flight MH17, widely used by the Russian media to fabricate various conspiracy theories which make out that the West and Ukraine are responsible for the disaster. This study examines several Russian outlets and TV channels and concludes that the Russian media often used falsified stories and emotional rhetoric in narratives they spread about the crash of Flight MH17. The narratives used to create these conspiracy theories claim that the incident was a Western provocation attempting to generate hostility towards Russia. In disseminating these kinds of conspiracy theories, the pro-Kremlin media created distrust against the West and the Ukrainian government among a larger audience and produced discomfort and disorientation about Western and Ukrainian news.

Suggested Citation

  • Mölder Holger & Sazonov Vladimir, 2019. "The Impact of Russian Anti-Western Conspiracy Theories on the Status-Related Conflict in Ukraine: The Case of Flight MH17," TalTech Journal of European Studies, Sciendo, vol. 9(3), pages 96-115, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:bjeust:v:9:y:2019:i:3:p:96-115:n:6
    DOI: 10.1515/bjes-2019-0024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2019-0024
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/bjes-2019-0024?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shinar, Chaim, 2018. "Conspiracy Narratives in Russian Politics: from Stalin to Putin," European Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(4), pages 648-660, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:bjeust:v:9:y:2019:i:3:p:96-115:n:6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.