Propagandists have been trying to explain current events through conspiracy theories for years, masking their hostility towards Western states with conspiracies. An example of this is the theory of the “golden billion”.

The theory was invented in Russia. It first appeared in articles by the Soviet conspiracy theorist A. Kuzmich in the late 80s of the twentieth century. According to it, “Western elites” are trying in various ways to redistribute world wealth in favor of the one billion population of the Earth, mainly Western countries. Another version says that according to the plan of the elites, only one billion people should remain on the planet. They say that this is why in the West they “propagate” LGBT people, and force them to eat insects and refuse animal products, and also why wars occur. The theory of the “golden billion” is closely intertwined with the theory of the “new world order”, which we wrote about earlier. According to it, the world elites deliberately consistently make the world worse in various forms.

Russian propagandists use the theory of the “golden billion” to explain almost every decision of the governments of Western countries, which in one way or another contradicts established norms and traditions in Russia. Any progressive idea in their messages turns into a global threat, and Russia turns into the savior of the world from such bad ideas. It is obvious that the war in Ukraine for them is also the result of the actions of the West. In addition, they are trying to justify all Russia’s failures with the “golden billion” theory. They say it has a bad economy because the West wants to destroy all Russians. It is no coincidence that the theory arose against the backdrop of the economic crisis in Russia.

By using the “golden billion” theory, Russia wants to erase the sense of reality and reinforce the image of the victim in this situation. In addition, it tries to shift responsibility for its actions from the aggressor to the victim of aggression and its partners. All this helps Russia maintain the narrative of an ideological war with the West and justify aggression against Ukraine as a “fight for real values”.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media claim that the United States and “its European satellites” are allegedly interfering in the internal affairs of Russia and the 2024 presidential elections. This is how they reacted to the adoption on October 13 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) of a resolution declaring Volodymyr Putin illegitimate after the expiration of his current presidential term. The statement about “interference in the internal affairs of Russia” is unreliable.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to this. They found out that this is manipulation, since the resolution is advisory in nature for implementation and cannot directly influence the presidential elections in Russia. The Assembly only recommended that Council of Europe member states recognize Putin as illegitimate after the end of his current presidential term and cut off all contacts with him except for humanitarian needs and peace. The document notes that Russia ignores the norms of international law and all recommendations of the Venice Commission (a body on constitutional law under the Council of Europe), in particular, changes to the 2021 Constitution. Under these changes, Putin has reset his previous presidential terms and could rule the country until 2036.

StopFake notes that Russians repeatedly reproach other countries for “failure to implement” the recommendations of the Venice Commission. For example, as in the situation with the Law of Ukraine “On Education” of 2017. At that time, Russia actively promoted the narrative of “oppression of Russian speakers”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to create the image of a “victim” and justify the crimes of Russians. They say that Russia started the war to fight against the hypocrisy of Western states, because they want to destroy Russia. Russia constantly victimizes itself within the walls of international institutions. For example, Detector Media has already written about how Russian diplomats regularly spread propaganda in the OSCE.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social media claim that Ukraine has used the Black Sea Grain Initiative to smuggle weapons. In particular, Western weapons allegedly reached Hamas through the “grain corridor”. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found that the statement was not true. The Black Sea Grain Initiative (Initiative for the Safe Transport of Grains and Food Products from Ukrainian Ports) consists of two agreements that constitute one “grain agreement” - between Ukraine, the UN and Turkey and between Russia, the UN and Turkey. According to it, under the auspices of the UN, a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) was created in Istanbul (Turkey), which had representatives of all parties to the agreement. A team of inspectors, including representatives of Russia, on behalf of the SCC inspected each vessel “for inappropriate cargo and crew on the way to and from Ukrainian ports”. During the entire period of its work, the JCC never reported that Ukraine was allegedly using the Black Sea Grain Initiative to smuggle weapons to the Middle East or other territories.

Also, to date, there is no confirmation that Hamas militants are allegedly using weapons transferred to Ukraine as military aid from Western countries. The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine draws attention to the fact that Russian intelligence services have already handed over to Hamas representatives “captured weapons manufactured in the USA and EU countries”, that is, acquired in battle. The department emphasizes that it can be used against Ukraine, accusing it of selling Western weapons.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to discredit Ukraine and reduce the scale of military assistance from its partners. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted other Russian fakes and manipulations regarding Western weapons.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks claim that secret agents will soon begin working at stations and trains in Ukraine, who will allegedly look for people “disloyal to the authorities and the Zelenskyi regime” among passengers. This is manipulation.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They found out that on October 9, the press service of Ukrzaliznytsia announced the start of work of the first railway safety marshals. Today, departmental security workers work on one of the popular western routes, which requires more attention for better passenger safety. According to representatives of Ukrzaliznytsia, the main task of the marshals is to control the situation in passenger transportation and respond in a timely manner if necessary. They note that such work is normal practice for passenger transportation companies. For example, this practice is used in the USA, Canada, India, Israel, Great Britain, Singapore, etc. Innovations are related to military operations on the territory of Ukraine.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to personally discredit the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi. They say he establishes a dictatorship in Ukraine and destroys his critics even during normal passenger transportation. Detector Media has already repeatedly refuted other fakes and manipulations about Zelenskyi.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in the media and social networks claim that Mazur Mecheslav, a Polish citizen serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has been put on the wanted list in Ukraine. He is allegedly suspected of committing a number of crimes, in particular “arbitrary escape from a military unit, murder, causing harm to health and bullying of minors”. As evidence, they are distributing a photo of a wanted notice for this person. It's fake.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to it. They noticed a number of grammatical errors in the “announcement”, which are not typical for native speakers of the Ukrainian language and representatives of government agencies. For example, the official abbreviation of the police agency, the proper word “police”, the use of the Russian word “department” and the phrase “poses a threat”. They also tried to find this person in open databases of all people wanted in Ukraine on a separate website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Among the persons found on the site there is no Mecheslav Mazur, and other persons with the same surname do not match the parameters specified in the “announcement”.

By spreading such fakes, propagandists want to once again discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They say that only criminals fleeing responsibility abroad serve them. Detector Media has already refuted a number of fakes and manipulations of Russian propaganda about the “Foreign Legion”.