Propagandists have been trying to destabilize the situation in the world for years by supporting various conspiracy movements. An example of this is the situation with “pastel QAnon”.

QAnon, as we have previously written, is an active American conspiracy and political movement centered around the baseless claims of an anonymous person or persons known as Q. In their statements, they claim that there is a certain secret organization of satanic cannibals involved in sexual abuse of children. Allegedly, it is in charge of the global process of child trafficking and coordinated the conspiracy against former US President Donald Trump.

“Pastel QAnon” is a set of tactics and strategies that use “soft” aesthetic elements, particularly pastel colors, to attract additional audiences to the QAnon conspiracy theory. This phenomenon often unfolds on major social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and YouTube.

Social media influencers associated with “pastel QAnon” focus on aspects of QAnon theory that appeal to maternal instincts, particularly issues about preventing child sexual abuse and human trafficking. They use an emotional and engaged presentation, which is popular among influencers in the field of health, yoga and new age. The term was coined by Marc-André Argentino, a researcher at Concordia University in Canada.

QAnon fans have moved from encrypted pages and anonymous forums to major platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. “Pastel QAnon” uses them to spread messages about child “protection”, child trafficking, health and other topics. They exemplify what the movement is about. The presentation is deliberately done using an informal style. Posts do not always indicate their views on QAnon, and their authors often deny any ties to the movement but promote the same conspiracy theories as QAnon. Often this is done by using already existing popular hashtags, distorting the meaning of the original intentions of their creation and the efforts of organizations involved in combating human trafficking. This is the situation with the #SaveTheChildren hashtag, which was used by QAnon activists.

Pastel QAnon uses soft aesthetic elements such as pastel colors, glitter effects, washed out colors, strokes, illustrations of nature, fashion, makeup, and the language of spiritual and motivational quotes. This visual aesthetic includes elements that are familiar to target groups due to their popularity in product and service advertising, which contributes to its appeal among the audience.

Russia not only supports the development of this movement in a foreign context, but also uses it or similar tactics in its propaganda. This approach was used to create visual materials for last year's protests against the President of Ukraine in Odesa. Then Russians created an information campaign to protest rolling blackouts.

In addition, propagandists often use spiritual quotes in their materials on Russian aggression against Ukraine and soft visual aesthetics. This is done in order to spread your messages among those who find the usual presentation style too aggressive. This is also used by Russian propagandists working abroad.

Russian media responded to the launch of the new Black Sea coalition with disinformation messages that “Britain and Norway are escalating the situation in the Black Sea”. They argue that the international community's intention to protect civilian shipping in the Black Sea from attacks by the Russian army is a “new stage of aggression” against Russia.

Specialists from the StopFake project drew attention to the message. They found that the work of the new coalition, which includes Great Britain and Norway, is aimed at long-term cooperation and aims to strengthen Ukraine's naval defense, as well as improve its ability to operate along its own coast. However, the main task of the allied countries is to provide assistance to Ukraine in opening trade routes and ensuring free passage of civilian ships in the Black Sea. From the new coalition, Ukraine will receive long-term support, including training, equipment and infrastructure to improve security in the Black Sea. In particular, on December 11, it became known that the British Royal Navy transferred two minesweepers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to search for Russian mines, and Norway also announced the transfer of two more ships to Ukraine for demining the water area. StopFake analysts recall that the agreement on the transfer of two Royal Navy minesweepers to the Ukrainian Navy was signed back in 2021, before the full-scale Russian invasion, and in the summer of 2023 a ceremony for their commissioning took place.

Russia began growing the conflict zone in the Black and Azov Seas back in 2014, trying to limit Ukraine’s legal right to use its internal waters. Russian actions violate international law, and due to their systematic disregard for them, Russia was expelled from the Council of the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) in December 2023.

Russian media are deliberately misinterpreting these steps as an “escalation of the situation”, trying to separate them from their context and interpret them favorably in their favor. All this is done to present Russia as a victim.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric in traditional media and social networks are actively distributing a video showing a large line in Chernihiv for free bread. They say that this indicates hunger and the unhappy state of people in Ukraine, caused, in particular, by “European integration”. However, this is manipulation.

The analysts of the StopFake project paid attention to it. They found that the video did not really indicate “hunger and trouble”. In fact, it shows the distribution of bread to people who took part in the gospel ministry in Chernihiv. Representatives of the evangelical church gave bread to their parishioners not because of “hunger”, but as a gift after the service. Humanitarian support of parishioners is standard practice of many evangelical religious organizations around the world and does not indicate “poverty and destruction” in the country. The promotion uses specially baked bread with the inscription “Victory” from the Craft Bakery in Kyiv.

By spreading such manipulations, Russian propaganda is trying to strengthen its narratives about “poverty and destitution” in Ukraine, which allegedly resulted from the “collective West”. Russian propaganda became more active in disseminating this message against the backdrop of news about the start of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

Propagandists spreading pro-Russian rhetoric on social networks are disseminating information that allegedly, during an IDF raid in the Gaza Strip, the book Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler was discovered, which was allegedly accidentally left behind by one of the Azov military units while staying at an Israeli clinic. However, this is manipulation.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that the original source of these statements is a Russian satirical telegram channel called “here is my Yandex wallet”. The authors of the channel define their publications as “a parody and satire of political reality, only verified fakes”. This “news” first appeared on the channel on November 13 and was circulated on the Internet, appearing to be true information. The photo accompanying this story is a screenshot from an address by Israeli President Isaac Herzog on November 12, 2023. In it, Herzog stated that the book Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler was found in the personal belongings of a Hamas terrorist in the northern Gaza Strip. The Ukrainian military has nothing to do with this incident.

By spreading such manipulations, propagandists want to justify Russian aggression against Ukraine and “denazification”. Detector Media continued to refute other propaganda materials in support of “denazification”.

According to information distributed by propagandists, Forbes allegedly published an article that Ukraine has created a tank brigade that has limited combat readiness and practically no tanks. However, this is manipulation.

The analysts from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that we are talking about the article Ukraine Has Formed a New Tank Brigade by David Ax, published on December 3 in Forbes. In it, the author writes about the 5th separate tank brigade (STBr).

He does not indicate the low combat readiness of the brigade or the absence of tanks in it. David Ax discusses the position of the 5th Tank Brigade, which was formed in 2016. He notes that the unit existed largely only on paper, but has recently begun to recruit and train, as evidenced by photographs published on December 2, 2023.

In his article, Ax also points out that Western partners provided Ukraine with different tanks, but in the photographs published on social networks they are not visible in brigades. However, he does not claim that the unit has no tanks at all, but only points out the lack of information about what tanks are used. The journalist also considers possible options for equipment that the brigade could be equipped with, such as the T-72, Leopard 1 or Abrams.

It is important to note that Ax does not use the term “incapacitated” to describe the brigade. On the contrary, in his material he draws attention to changes in the tactics of using tanks in general, pointing to their use as short-range artillery due to the presence of minefields and the use of drones. This modification of the use of tanks is associated with more complex combat conditions and the use of other technologies.

The 5th Brigade is part of the Reserve Corps. In 2018, the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Serhii Popko, announced that the 5th Separate Tank Brigade of the Reserve Corps was fully equipped with T-72 tanks. However, after a certain period, the brigade was demobilized, and only in February 2022 it was resumed. However, due to losses in other armored and mechanized brigades, tanks and personnel of the 5th Tank Brigade were used to replenish other units. Today it is known that in March 2023 the unit was restored again, it is equipped with equipment, and personnel are undergoing training.

By manipulating the texts of foreign media, propagandists want to strengthen the myth about the incapacity of the Ukrainian army, as well as the theft of Western weapons. This is not their first fiction concerning the Ukrainian Armed Forces — Detector Media has repeatedly refuted others.