So, according to reports in the media, Vladimir Putin is awarding medals to the Russian soldiers involved in the atrocities in the suburbs of Kiev. There, the Ukrainians found dozens of civilians with their hands bound and shot, execution style.
If true, this news is of a piece with Putin's ongoing propaganda war with the nations supporting Ukraine. Black is white, up is down, freedom is slavery, etc. I'm sure the tRump camp is taking notes for Boris and Natashas' next run for the White House.
Increasingly, authoritarian states around the world as well as the Republican party here in the US are betting scare tactics and misinformation will allow them to control enough of the population to ensure they will control the levers of power. Behind this blizzard of lies is a small group of billionaires who are spending handsomely to acquire a majority of the media. Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, the NYT is controlled by the Sulzburger family, Elon Musk is supposedly trying to buy Twitter. No matter their protestations, the control of the media is a prerequisite for political domination.
Distracting the rubes with culture war issues like abortion, CRT and gun laws will allow further concentration of wealth and with it, the power to make or break nation states. In the long run, very little will separate the kleptocracy that is the government of Russia and the 2nd administration of tRump and the US oligarchs who will benefit from its policies.
President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are showing us how to battle against the barrage of disinformation from the Russian side. I hope we learn the right lessons from their struggle.
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