CReSPo/ISPOLE Seminar: InfoWars: Why Russian Propaganda is Successful in Italy? 

With Dr. Victoria Vdovychenko, associate professor for Kyiv National Economic University, Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, Kyiv Borys Grinchenko University, and visiting fellow in ISPOLE

We are delighted to invite you to a special ISPOLE/CReSPo seminar on Russia-Ukraine situation that will take place on the 19th of December. We will have the pleasure to listen Dr. Victoria Vdovychenko, associate professor for Kyiv National Economic University, Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine, Kyiv Borys Grinchenko University, and visiting fellow in ISPOLE. She will present a paper entitled InfoWars: Why Russian Propaganda is Successful in Italy?  Please find the abstract below.

In line with the « mini-cycle » seminar on Ukraine organised by the CReSPo (Saint-Louis – Bruxelles), ISPOLE Institute and CReSPo associate to organise this special session.

The seminar will take place from 12h45 to 14h on Monday 19th of December, in Leclercq 93 (1, Place Montesquieu, Louvain-la-Neuve).

It is also possible to attend on Teams (the link will be communicated later on to registrants).

A sandwich lunch will be arranged for participants at 12h15 (ISPOLE cafeteria).

>>> Please register by email Nicolas Arens, and specify whether you wish to attend in person or by Teams.

Abstract : InfoWars: Why Russian Propaganda is Successful in Italy?

Information domain presents one of the major combat zones together with air, ground and sea.  Russian ‘disinformation missiles’ try to hit each and every political leader, social group or even community flooding with malign content and raising disputes among many citizens on true events happening in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion by Russian Federation. The future of the European security architecture is deeply interlinked to how much the government offices, media, and think tanks in Western Europe are equipped with anti-disinformation missile systems. Moreover, it impacts directly on the level of support for Ukraine from Western countries that are changing the intercourse of future developments in Ukrainian battlefield. 

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the disinformation battle never stopped in Italy. Moreover, it skyrocketed in major Italian channels as well as flooded social media. Social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have become powerful tools of political activism and propaganda, which in many cases have ended up amplifying disinformation about the Russian invasion. Our findings reveal how much and to what extend the Italian media became a haven for the Russian disinformation. We also find that historical legacies, varying degrees of policymakers to conduct control on media, and absence of common approach to have ‘disinformation vaccine’ enables Italian society to be open to the Russian disinformation. These differences risk increasing along with the economic deterioration (inflation, energy crisis) in the EU and impact the level of support for Ukraine.

Key Words: disinformation, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Italy, information domain, information war