This tactic is to ignore the topic of discussion when it changes to the opposite. Ignoring the topic is used by Russian propagandists. After an event occurs that is unfavorable to Russian propaganda, official sources keep silent about it or selectively cover certain aspects. This tactic is used to reduce or minimize the negative aspects of a situation, divert attention from important issues, and create a false narrative. Propagandists hide information, sharing only news that supports their false thesis, while ignoring or blocking the content that hangs them. This contributes to the echo chamber effect.

Even under the Soviet Union, Russian propaganda used the tactic of ignoring the topic. For most Russians, the Second World War is called the “Great Patriotic War” and it allegedly began on June 22, 1941 with the attack of Nazi Germany troops on Poland. However, the fact is hushed up that the Nazi troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and the Soviet Union itself occupied Poland on September 17, 1939. Prior to this, Nazi Germany occupied the territories of the Czech Republic and Austria, and the Soviet Union did not call it an aggressor.

During the Soviet period, ignoring the topic was actively used by the then press. The Chornobyl tragedy, which occurred as a result of the explosion at the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986, was kept silent by the Soviet media for several days. Only on April 28 at 21:00 did the Vriemia (Time) television program very succinctly report on the accident, which was supposed to create the illusion of safety for people, and events for the May 1 holiday were also not canceled. They tried to hush up the greatest man-made disaster in the history of mankind: the real diagnoses of people who received radiation damage were hidden. However, due to the scale of the disaster, which affected a number of European countries and foreign media, it could not be ignored. Soviet traditions and ignoring the topic were inherited by modern Russia, which on February 24, 2022 started a war against Ukraine. In May 2023, Russian propagandists disseminated information about the serious injury of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, due to which he would no longer be able to perform his duties. Murdered versions even appeared on anonymous telegram channels and in media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. However, already on May 25, Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, blogger and journalist Anatolii Stefan “Stirlitz” published a video with Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and from that moment all the pro-Kremlin media and telegram channels took it in their mouths: no one denied the information about the death of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but the fact of his public appearance was ignored.

Another topic Russian propaganda ignores is strikes on Russian cities. On July 30, 2023, there was a drone attack on Moscow, which resulted in the destruction of the facades of two Moscow City towers, where Russian ministries are located - the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. In connection with this event, the air zone over Moscow was closed for flights. However, Russian federal television channels ignored this incident and focused on covering the Navy parade in St. Petersburg and a conversation with Putin’s journalists following the Russia-Africa summit.

Intentionally or unintentionally, by ignoring important information, Russian propaganda prevents the spread of unwanted news among the population. By taking technical measures, Russian propagandists manage to prevent their popularization and prevent the emergence of an undesirable negative reaction among citizens.

A Guardian journalist published material about how Russian propaganda is seeping into the Italian media space and why local TV channels indulge it. In support of the thesis about the spread of misinformation among Italian television viewers, the mediaman cites the results of a study: almost 50% of Italians choose not to support either side in the Russian-Ukrainian war. It seems that “not everything is so simple”. In the end, this situation arises because the Italians launch typical pro-Russian guests, representatives of the Russian “authorities” into their media space. Which, in turn, spread narratives that benefit them. For example, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, such Russians have become invited guests on Italian television: among them Russian Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov and his press secretary Mariia Zakharova, who at one time explained the supposed desire of the Ukrainians to have their state led by Putin. Russian ideologist Oleksander Duhin, who has repeatedly called for the destruction of Ukraine and its division. Find the full list of Russian guests here. The analysis also noted that compared to other Western European countries, Italy is more susceptible to Russian disinformation simply because media professionals allow Russians into the most popular TV shows to provide commentary. Consequently, the more freedom Italian journalists give to opponents of freedom of speech (after all, so are Russian propagandists), the more society becomes vulnerable to any Kremlin narratives. With propagandists it is impossible to maintain a balance of opinions.

Such actions lead to the fact that the public does not become interested in helping Ukraine, and especially may deny the existence of the war, the deaths of Ukrainian civilians and the shelling of civilian infrastructure by the Russians. And in people’s minds there may be an opinion that if Russian propagandists are invited as experts, then they are worthy of attention or, at least, they should also be listened to. Which, of course, is wrong. The journalist cited another study, which explains that Italy is among the EU countries where people trust Zelenskyi the least. According to the European Council on Foreign Relations, Italians were the most sympathetic to Russia among the member states surveyed, and 27% of them also blamed Ukraine and the United States for the war. Such results indicate that Italy’s policy is too liberal towards Russians, who take advantage of this for their own selfish purposes.

Such information was disseminated on social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian refugees allegedly spray-painted “orc” on a memorial plaque to composer Richard Wagner in Dresden. Authors include photographic evidence with publications. It is not true.

The case was worked out by the specialists of the VoxCheck project, who found out that the propagandists edited the photo and indeed such an inscription does not exist. The fact-checkers emphasized that the photo with the inscription is distributed only in the Russian segment of social networks. And the photo is always the same: no changes in angles, period of day, etc. Moreover, no mention of probable vandalism by Ukrainians was found in the German media. With the help of a reverse search on Google, experts were able to find a photo that was used by the authors of fake messages. It is most likely that this particular photo served to create a fake.

Among other things, the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform contacted the local authorities of Dresden to obtain an up-to-date photo of the memorial. There are no inscriptions on the actual photo.

Such information was disseminated in social networks and propaganda media. The reports say that on August 23, 2023, the Russians shelled the Sumy region and the city of Romny. The authors added that the invaders managed to destroy the school where the Ukrainian Defense Forces were located. The publications added that only the Ukrainian military suffered from the missile attack. It is not true.

The VoxCheck project specialists investigated the case and found that in fact there were no military among the victims. Instead, the occupiers fired on civilians - and they fired on a civilian object, not a military one. Particularly the local school. Four people were killed in the attack by Shahed drones: a school principal, a deputy principal, a secretary and a librarian. Also four civilians were injured who were passing by the school and came under fire. The head of the Romny Regional Military Administration explained that at the time the drone hit the school, there were 19 teachers. One of the eyewitnesses, a primary school teacher at the Romny school, also confirmed the presence of employees at the school. That is, the authors are trying to deny their own attacks and hits on civilian infrastructure. They disfigure reality and convince themselves of their “truth”. And they say: wherever they went, there were definitely soldiers there. However, the authors do not provide any facts and reject any reproaches in their direction.

The occupiers are constantly working on similar tactics: wherever the shelling occurs, it is allegedly justified. But documented cases of Russian terror testify otherwise. By the way, one  can read the chronology of Russian shelling of residential and civilian objects here. Also, check out fakes on similar topics, in which Russian propaganda denied shelling civilian infrastructure, justifying itself by “NATO headquarters”:

For example, when the Russians allegedly fired at a meeting of Lithuanian and Polish NATO officers in Chernihiv, but in fact the invaders got into the local drama theater. Or a case where propagandists tended to believe that the terrorist shelling of Odesa in July was a shelling of weapons production sites. And not on the cultural sites of Ukraine, included in the UNESCO world heritage, as it really is. Or, let's say, how the occupiers “destroyed” the ammunition depot in Uman. We found out that the Russians hit an industrial facility and a car wash. And finally, read here how a propaganda shelling of the residences of “NATO instructors” in Kramatorsk turned out to be a terrorist attack on a local cafe.

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The reports say that allegedly in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian military infected a Polish fighter of the Foreign Legion with an “unknown disease”.  According to the authors, after the infection, the Polish fighter was allegedly put into a medically induced coma in order to find out “what kind of disease the Ukrainians infected him with”. Subsequently, the “sick” was sent to the Polish city of Rzeszow, where he allegedly spread the virus to the Poles. The publications refer to the material of the Associated Press. It is not true.

The fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and determined that the material really refers to an investigation into the cause of an outbreak of legionnaires' disease in the city of Rzeszow, which killed 7 people and infected more than 100. And this is not an “unknown disease”, but legionellosis. One can get sick from small drops of water containing the causative agent of the disease - the Legionella bacterium. The disease is not transmitted from person to person. Weapons for Ukraine are being transported through the city, so Stanislav Zharyn, Deputy Minister-Coordinator of the Polish intelligence services, explained that the services will check Russia’s involvement in the spread of the disease.

However, there was no talk of any International Legion and Polish fighter in the material. This is just an invented story of propagandists. At the same time, they used the topic of the material to create a false impression that the infection started from the Ukrainian military. In fact, the authors distorted the context of the material and added false information from themselves. Moreover, the first case of legionellosis infection was found in Poland, that is, in the city of Rzeszow. Meanwhile, not a single case of legionellosis has been registered in Ukraine over the past year. Russian media regularly spread misinformation about disease outbreaks in Ukraine. Including in order to intimidate people with various ailments. Also to show that Ukrainian officials do not care about the sanitary and epidemiological state of the country and leave everyone to the mercy of fate. Propagandists seek to discourage Ukrainians to the state.

Read similar fakes on the topic: an infectious disease with leptospirosis is allegedly spreading among the Ukrainian military, or how an outbreak of cholera was allegedly recorded in Odesa. Kyiv and Mykolaiv also suffered from this propaganda story. But finally, pay attention to the message that cholera in Ukraine is the work of the United States and their “biological laboratories”.

This information was disseminated on social networks, in particular in the Ukrainian segment of Facebook. Reports say that Japan allegedly donated 200 thousand units of first aid kits for free to the Ukrainian defense forces. The authors convince us: it turned out that these same first-aid kits were found for resale in Ukrainian pharmacies at a price of 2,640 per set. It's a lie.

Fact-checkers of the VoxCheck project analyzed this case and found out that the authors of fake publications did not indicate any details about the so-called resale of tactical first aid kits. For example, a probable place of resale or just photo evidence in the publications was not found. That is, this is just a stuffing of information, because the authors did not provide any evidence. The fact-checkers emphasize that at present there are also no official reports about the transfer of exactly 200,000 first-aid kits by Japan to Ukraine. And through a reverse Google search, they were able to discover how the same resale information was published a year ago. Obviously, as in the first case, so in the second - this is not true.

By spreading this fake news, propagandists seek to demoralize the military, who allegedly do not receive proper medical care. It’s as if Ukraine is stealing everything and using it for its own selfish purposes. Moreover, the rhetoric about the misuse of humanitarian aid is beneficial to the Kremlin in order to fuel distrust of Ukraine among its foreign partners. They say there is no point in increasing aid if Ukrainian officials allow resources to be stolen.

By the way, the fact-checkers also wrote how Japan has helped Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion: their non-governmental organization Peace Winds Japan donated more than a million units of medical supplies to Ukraine. And in July 2022, Japan provided Ukraine with 60 tons of medicines, among which there were indeed tactical first aid kits. However, not in the amount of 200 thousand.