A new study by Andrei Yeliseyeu explores propagandistic narratives of Sputnik Belarus and methods of its promotion based on systematic monitoring of content published by Russian-language Sputnik Belarus webpage in 2019. Sputnik Belarus, established in late 2014, is a part of Sputnik, a Russian news agency and radio broadcaster which publishes online stories and radio shows, as well as videos.
The whole range of propaganda content by Sputnik Belarus can be classified into 12 main narratives, which are aimed at smearing Ukraine, the EU, the USA and the West as a whole, as well as promoting the concept of the Russian world.
Such content is mostly broadcast through personal columns, radio and video materials of Sputnik Belarus by means of a very specific selection of columnists and commentators, many of whom are adherents of the concept of the Russian world and West-Rusism, and sometimes are associated with online propaganda resources and offline propaganda activities targeting the Belarusian audience.
The study also explains other trends such as larger coverage of militaristic content and Russian governmental bodies’ activities throughout 2019.
Read full research, titled Sputnik Belarus’s Propaganda and Disinformation: Narratives, Methods, and Trends in Russian or in English.
