Countering Whataboutism and Misdirection on Aggressor Russia's Unprovoked Invasion of Sovereign Ukraine
I generally avoid giving disinformational propaganda any platform at all. Others ... don't always see that way, and I often find this frustrating and distracting. The goal of such propaganda is to weaken focus, engender confusion, and derail conversations. And it frequently succeeds in doing just this.
The Aggressor-Apologists' Arguments
A recent discussion provides a counterexample, in which the propaganda talking points are demolished one by one, revealing them for the void apologia they are. I'm rephrasing slightly here, with the statements as third--level headings:
1. I deliberately ignore the history here because it is not the salient information.
Rather than focus on the present conflcit, aggression, and violation of all international norms, standards, and treaties, this attack attempts to relitigate history. History isn't being litigated, the present is. Moreover, demanding that all be dictated terms by dead men of some past age ... with all the questions over which men and which age (and yes, it's virtually always men) ... only begs the question (in the true sense of that fallacy) of which past authorities should be considered.
2. I deliberately ignore that the biggest murderers of humanity because that is not what I am talking about here.
Again, the is a naked attempt to distract from the present and appeal to the past. A past, for what it's worth, which includes the overtly genocidal actions of the Soviet era to whose greatness Putin has been appealing over past days, weeks, months, and years, in which tens of millions were killed, starved, and/or imprisoned and enslaved.
Yes, there are other examples of genocides from other parties, including states of the West. I've mentioned several of those within recent months myself, here. Those genocides are acknowledged. Those are not the topic under discussion.
3. I ignore the fact that US clearly pushed this conflict because that is a lie. We know who made the decision to invade Ukraine, after many months of preparation.
This one addresses straight up falsehood, dismisses it, and points to the overt hypocrisy and bald-faced nature of the lie.
4. Ukrainians are not using themselves as a shield. This is the most absurd and wicked “blame the victim” accusation I have ever heard, as missiles and bombs rein down upon innocent people.
The genius of this response is that it makes clear that shields, as with missile defences, are reactive responses to acts of aggression and would not be relevant at all absent that aggression.
Keep these in mind should you see or encounter these, or similar arguments
No, you're not going to change the mind of a paid propaganda agent or indoctrinated useful idiot. But you will greatly blunt the effectiveness of their message.
Keep in mind too that propaganda relies heavily on the Big Lie. It's statements or assertions absurd on their face, repeated endlessly. This means that the arguments change and adapt relatively slowly, and are used in mass. Being able to rebut or pre-but the arguments greatly reduces their effectivenss, and those living in regimes of law, information, and media where we are able to do so with minimal risk or consequence for speaking truth to power should and are morally obligated to do so.
h/t @tom grzyb
#Ukraine #Russia #Propaganda #Counterarguments #Whataboutism #Misdirection #Responses #Sophistry #SophisticalRefutations #TruthToPower #VladimirPutin #AggressorRussia #MoralObligation #Morality