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Vladimir Putin holds audience with ‘patriotic’ Telegram influencers [1]
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Date: 2023-06
This week, a group of men met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. They spoke for two hours, on camera, and the Russian president used the occasion to talk “frankly” about the country’s war against Ukraine. Mostly dressed in black, the men around the room, many with unkempt beards, wore baseball caps and polo shirts – outfits that seemed to suggest a moment of ‘unity’ between the Russian leader and his people at war.
These men are Russia’s war correspondents, and they are in charge of the day-to-day reporting of the country’s year-long war against Ukraine online. Many work for Russian state media, others represent their own micro-media run on Telegram channels. But what unites them is their millions of followers, and the power they have in directing the feelings of those Russian citizens who actively support the war on Ukraine.
Today, the pro-war news agenda for those who keenly follow the invasion, often referred to as the ‘Z agenda’, is shaped by dozens of Telegram channels, which constantly report on the twists and turns of Russia’s war, Ukraine’s resistance, and the shadowy conflicts between the Russian Ministry of Defence and private commanders like Evgeny Prigozhin.
They do this from the frontline, travelling around occupied territories in Ukraine to show the war from a Russian perspective. And for more than a year, these war correspondents have been convincing their readers back in Russia that they are the true voices of the Russian fighters, pushing the state to meet their demands for stronger military action.
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The Z agenda
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it seemed to come as a shock to the vast majority of Russians. And when Russian forces’ initial attempt to take Kyiv failed, urgent measures were required to make the war acceptable to Russian society.
What were the aims of the war? And why, exactly, was it happening? Russians needed answers to these questions, and, by all accounts, officials had to scramble to come up with them. So while they sought to maintain the illusion of a peaceful life in Russia itself, they also offered material incentives for the men and women who had to ‘sell’ the war to the Russian public. This is how the ‘Z agenda’ emerged: the pro-war public information campaign waged not just by state propaganda but also by more independent social media channels (along with less independent ones) on the popular Telegram social network. Within this campaign, the war correspondents would have pride of place.
News broadcast by Russian state media on the war has largely sought to assuage the Russian population’s fears and convince them that they are one step away from victory in Ukraine. At the same time, various talk shows pump the audience with hatred. But a special place was also given to informal, non-state channels that try to act as a forum for the most ideological and staunch supporters of the war.
Over the past year, Telegram has played a huge role in this informal media sector. Here, anonymously operated channels can enjoy a claim to independence, present news and opinion informally, and cover events on the ground quickly. They can post content that would never be published by traditional media, including footage of war crimes. And, as the most committed supporters of the war, they also reserve the right to criticise the Russian Ministry of Defence over its conduct.
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