{"id":88046,"date":"2024-05-30T14:44:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T11:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/88046\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"lukasenkas-propaganda-good-at-mudslinging-is-it-good-at-anything-else","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/88046\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka’s propaganda good at mudslinging. Is it good at anything else?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka likes to cast himself as a guardian of peace, he is mentally always at war, a permanent existential war against his political enemies, those who encroach on his power. The state media, subordinated to the regime, are just as belligerent as the country\u2019s leader.<\/strong>

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\n (freepik.com)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At a government-organized media forum on May 28, the Belarusian leader used a militaristic language, describing journalists as defenders, fighters and warriors, and referring to information as a weapon. Belarus is “in the crosshairs of aggressive propaganda,” he claimed, noting an information war is always “a prelude” to an armed conflict.
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Media purged, \u0141uka\u0161enka still restless<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Urging state media executives to fight against fake news, the ruler reiterated his fears, “Western actors give money for weapons, for armed resistance, for seizing at least a piece of land in the territory of Belarus. They need it. Americans, above all. Not even Europeans.”

\u0141uka\u0161enka heaped praises on state media workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state-run media enjoy a period of unrivaled domination. Independent media outlets have been shut down with 35 media workers held in prisons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka described the imprisoned journalists as traitors. In fact, he perceives everyone who does not support his endless rule as a traitor.

Minsk has made an enormous effort to silence independent media, driving journalists into exile, labeling them extremists, jailing Belarusians for reading independent news and blocking access to websites.

And yet, \u0141uka\u0161enka is restless. “We are not relaxing. And we are paying maximum attention to threats. The reasons are known. And when I see that someone is complacent, I often remind them not to be complacent, otherwise we will get what we used to get,” he said in an apparent reference to the 2020 postelection protests. His statement suggests that he is set to continue with his totalitarian media policy until the end of his reign. And he will certainly not show any leniency in the run-up to the 2025 presidential election.
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Internet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The media landscape has been purged in the country both legally and physically, with most independent journalists in jail or in exile. But Minsk cannot silence the Internet, although it tried to do it at critical moments.

\u0141uka\u0161enka called the Internet a garbage can and complained that “there is no escape from it,” but admitted that “it is also the greatest achievement. And we have to learn how to use the Internet.”

He seems to be an offline stalwart as he still receives reports in printouts, which makes it easy for his subordinates to inflate state media key performance indicators.

According to the November Chatham House survey, 38 percent of urban Belarusians rely on the state media for information, 16 percent use the non-state media and 23 percent use both sources.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents apparently did not take the risk to admit to following content labeled by the government extremist. In reality, the percentage of those following the opposition media could be much higher. The pollster admitted that fear must have impacted the survey results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local media: flies die of boredom<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka also spoke about information sovereignty and national-style broadcasting with a higher share of own high-quality competitive content.

By information sovereignty he means cutting off his fellow citizens from the independent media operating from abroad. At the same time, Minsk has opened the gates wide to Russian propaganda. Russification continues as the state media rebroadcast Moscow’s messages.

\u0141uka\u0161enka encouraged journalists to criticize and raise issues. “I have never called for filtering information, creating parallel worlds of universal prosperity in the media and silencing pressing issues. You know my approach: people should see and know the truth.”

The truth about the 2020 presidential election cost Belarus\u2019 independent media almost complete extinction.

Understandably, state journalists prefer not to take any risks. They may criticize a drunken plumber, but would never sting a bigwig or expose a problem of national proportions.

Local outlets are completely under the control of local officials and praise them at every opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka said that media monitoring reports presented to him should include more content from the local media. It is unclear whether he will be able to digest such content for long. Local state media reports are so boring that if flies could read, they would die of boredom.
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On stand-by<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Propaganda fighters are brave only when they sling mud at their enemies. But the state-controlled media cannot perform the function of a government watchdog, as they do in democratic countries.

That is why readership figures presented at the media forum can be deceptive in many ways.

The survey conducted in July last year by the Belarusian Analytical Workshop showed low confidence in the state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No more than a quarter fully trusted them, while a quarter mistrusted them completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of respondents trusted the independent media.

Besides, the authors emphasized that the real level of trust in independent media could be even higher because respondents could give positive opinions about the state media for fear of reprisals.

In the Soviet Union, tens of millions subscribed to Pravda <\/em>and other state periodicals and watched propaganda on state television. Western radio stations were jammed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as the system started to falter, people who had been brainwashed for many years suddenly started to queue up for independent periodicals.

The communist ideology collapsed. People burned down their party membership cards and voted for pro-democracy candidates in semi-free elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party officials were afraid to go to rallies. The authority of the Communist Party, which had ruled for seven decades, was reduced to zero, and the public did not defended the Soviet Union when it collapsed in 1991.

So, \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s achievements in brainwashing should not be exaggerated. Many Belarusians are just on stand-by to ensure their survival. This is a reasonable tactic. They will act when the time comes for change. In that sense, the incumbent’s fears of enemies are justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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