Propagandists are trying to adapt their messages to audiences in different states. One of the newest attempts at such adaptation is the conspiracy theory about Ukropolin. It is being promoted to a Polish audience.

According to this conspiracy theory, the Polish government is preparing the Poles for the “absorption” of Poland by Ukraine and the emergence of the “Ukropolin” state.

“Ukrpolin” is an evolution of the “Polin” project, a variation of the so-called world Jewish conspiracy. The history of the conspiracy theory about Polina dates back to 1989. Then, in the first after 1945 elections in Poland, supporters of the Solidarity trade union came to power. Conspiracy theorists, however, decided that “Polin” had arisen, a state led by Germany and Israel (Polin is the Jewish name for Poland). Polina conspiracy theorists also believe that the POLIN Jewish History Museum is involved in this process.

In the case of Ukropolin, propagandists scare the Poles with the loss of their statehood. To do this, they take the news out of context or come up with evidence of the gradual absorption of Polish space by Ukrainians. For example, they publish an unknown list of first-year students of a technical school specializing in “automobile technician”, where only two Polish names and surnames are indicated, and all the rest are Ukrainian.

“Two Poles and other Ukrainians in the first year of an automotive technical school? Is it still Poland or Ukropolin?” - note the authors of the message.

Using this conspiracy theory, the Russians are trying to quarrel with the Poles among themselves. They mention “Ukrpolin” in any context. For example, here is how a Polish pro-Russian telegram channel presented a meeting between the leader of the United Left of Poland, Robert Biedron, and the then Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, in April 2023, about free abortions for Poles in Finland:

“Superrrr! We will kill more Poles and do it voluntarily, the most important thing is to kill them as much as possible, send them to war like cannon fodder, then make women disappointed, dress openly and go right and left, and then we will finance their abortions, and in the end we will take their country and make Ukropolin ... 

Probably, the Russians are trying to influence the perception of Ukraine by the Poles with such inventions and reduce the level of assistance to Ukraine from Poland. Currently, the level of support for Ukraine by the Polish society remains the highest among European countries. Therefore, in order to change this, the Poles are trying to cause fear for their country and skepticism towards the Ukrainians. Like, there are already so many Ukrainians in Poland that Poland is gradually turning into another region of Ukraine. This is yet another example of how conspiracy theories can deepen social divisions and fuel hatred against ethnic groups.

Propagandists constantly repeat that Ukraine does not have its own statehood and that it is led either by the United States of America or other forces. And if someone uses this only as a political metaphor, then there are people who really believe that the Ukrainian government and state are only an appearance.

Other conspiracy theories are mixed in this theory: about the “world government”, the “Jewish conspiracy” and the “evil West”. Conspiracy theorists can talk about “Ukraine-puppet”, relying on one of these theories, and on all at the same time. For example, the assertion that Ukraine is controlled by the UN is not very common. While there are many more who support the thesis, it seems that Israel or the “government of the Jewish conspiracy” leads Ukraine, since its president and a number of representatives of the political and financial elite are somehow connected with Israel. Proponents of this conspiracy theory of “puppet Ukraine” are spreading anti-Semitism by foisting unsubstantiated accusations against Jews on their audiences. In general, conspiracy theorists believe that Ukraine is run by anyone, even reptilians, but not Ukrainians. Thus, they undermine the subjectivity of the Ukrainian state in order to build propaganda messages on this conspiracy theory.

The “puppet Ukraine” theory has its roots in Soviet times and is linked to a lack of information about the work of state bodies. Soviet citizens were not explained how the political system works. Accordingly, “in the kitchens” they began to come up with various theories and explanations of what is happening in the state. Subsequently, with the collapse of the USSR, the same Russians began to look for an excuse for poverty and the failure of a number of reforms in their state, and therefore began to believe that in fact Russia, Ukraine, Poland and other post-Soviet and post-socialist states are, as it were, projects of the West, which seems to be taking from the newest countries all resources. With technological development, and especially the emergence of such messengers as Telegram, kitchen conversations moved into the information space, and Russian anonymous telegram channels replaced knowledge about how the state works with their insiders. Moreover, there is a conspiracy theory that Russia under President Borys Yeltsyn was a project of the West. In particular, Russian media disseminate articles that the reforms of the first decade after 1991 were aimed at destroying the Russian economy and statehood. It seems that the collapse of the USSR was also planned by the West, and Yeltsyn's policy was the next step in the plan for the collapse of Russia.

By spreading such conspiracy theories, Russia wants to make Ukrainians believe they are inferior. Thus, it also justifies its aggression: transfers responsibility for it to other forces or claims that the aggression is justified, because the Ukrainian state does not seem to exist. In fact, despite the assertions of conspiracy theorists, Russia remains an independent subject of international relations, which puts its own interests above the interests of others. Russia baselessly attacked Ukraine to satisfy its imperial ambitions. Detector Media has repeatedly written about the use of this theory as the basis for new fakes.

Propagandists continue to downplay the success of the NATO summit in Vilnius. For decades they have presented the alliance as the eternal enemy of Russia, which poses a threat to peace.

Most often, for Ukrainian audiences, Russian propagandists promote the theory that if Ukraine joins NATO, the US will take over and turn it into its colony.

The roots of this conspiracy theory go back to Soviet times, when the citizens of the USSR were intimidated that NATO wanted to destroy the population of the Union. The Cold War left a reflection on the perception of NATO by Ukrainians. Even with geopolitical changes and the disappearance of the Warsaw Pact (the Soviet alternative to NATO), Ukrainians have not been committed to the North Atlantic Alliance for decades. According to opinion polls, Ukrainians' distrust of NATO peaked in 2006. Skeptical messages about the Alliance were fed by pro-Russian politicians and media people. In particular, one of the main elements of the election campaign of the odious Nataliia Vitrenko was the fight against NATO. In 2008, deputies from the “Regions” party brought balls and flags with “NATO - no”  inscriptions to vote for a resolution on mutual understanding with the Alliance. Ex-president Viktor Yanukovych also nourished the rejection of NATO, promising Ukraine a “neutral status”.

By spreading such conspiracy theories, Russia wants to force Ukrainians to remain in the networks of Soviet ideology. This is how propagandists want to intimidate Ukrainians and prove the seemingly unviable Ukrainian statehood. However, the Revolution of Dignity and Russia's aggression against Ukraine increased support for Ukraine's integration into NATO, not only among the citizens of Ukraine, but also in several NATO member countries, as the poll of the Renaissance Foundation shows. The Ukrainians have nevertheless become convinced that in the NATO member countries, the troops of the Alliance have almost no influence on the life of the states in which they are based. In addition, NATO is very cautious about accepting new members. In particular, despite the high level of support among the Ukrainian society, the Alliance itself has not yet accepted Ukraine into its membership.

In the previous texts of this section, we talked about different types of “world government” according to conspiracy theorists. The Illuminati differ from them in that they have a true history, since this group actually existed. It was created in 1776 in Bavaria (Germany) as a secret society that professed the ideas of the Enlightenment. In particular, a triangle with an eye in it on dollars is a symbol created specifically by the Illuminati. However, the group was subsequently exposed and decided to officially dissolve itself, as it wanted to operate underground.

Conspiracy theorists, on the other hand, point out that the Illuminati supposedly actually exist and rule our world right now. The membership of US presidents in the circle of the Illuminati is already a cliché of Western pop culture. This group differs from others in almost nothing except that, according to the adherents of this theory, the Illuminati represent world signs of their existence. Here we are talking about music videos, and about the already mentioned dollars. Also, according to conspiracy theorists, the Illuminati “promote” or “destroy” celebrities and politicians, depending on their affiliation with them. They believe that the electoral process in any country is a fiction, since it is the Illuminati who elect politicians.

Russian propagandists use this theory primarily to justify Russian aggression against Ukraine. Like, Russia is fighting against world elites who want to destroy all intercultural differences and control the consciousness of society. Of course, one cannot do without attributing Joe Biden to the Illuminati cohort and calling the war a provocation or an Illuminati plan. In this sense, the theory of the Illuminati intersects with those that we talked about earlier.

As we noted in the previous text of the section, conspiracy theories gained more importance and influence on politics during the presidential term of Donald Trump. It was he who repeatedly publicly supported all sorts of conspiracy theories and used the platforms of conspiracy theorists for his election campaigns. As a result, Russian propagandists have become more active in spreading conspiracy theories, using Trump's statements as false verification. The most powerful of these platforms is the conspiracy theory system called QAnon.

The political movement and conspiracy theory system QAnon emerged in 2017. Its name is associated with the history of origin. On the 4chan imageboard, a user named Q posted a series of messages in which he claimed to have access to classified information about Donald Trump's work as president. Subsequently, the user completely switched to 8chan, where the theory gained the most distribution.

The core message of the QAnon movement is that “a cabal of satanists, cannibals and pedophiles” is running “the global child trafficking market”. QAnon is a movement because it combines a number of different theories. In particular, in this case we are talking about the theory of “pizzagate” (democrats rape children in restaurants), but QAnon adds to it the image of Trump as a fighter against this phenomenon.

Supporters of the movement believe that the 45th president personally arrested members of the “cabal”, among whom allegedly were US Democratic Party politicians, business representatives and even medical specialists. Recalling the theory of “Ukrainian interference” in the 2016 US presidential election, QAnon promotes the idea that Donald Trump allegedly deliberately approved the version of the Russian origin of this interference and turned a blind eye to Ukrainian interference. All to engage Special Investigative Counsel Robert Mueller to expose the “child trafficking market” and prevent the “military coup” allegedly planned by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and George Soros.

QAnon is also considered an anti-Semitic movement due to its fixation on Soros and the Rothschild family. The movement gained momentum during the coronavirus pandemic as its supporters around the world protested most vigorously against vaccinations and quarantines. However, the attempt to forcibly capture the American Capitol on January 6, 2021 is considered the peak of QAnon. After it, large Internet platforms began to massively block accounts associated with the movement, because through them events were broadcast or calls to join illegal actions were broadcast.

Even so, the movement remains globally active and does not stop trying to explain Russia's war against Ukraine in its own way. In particular, QAnon representatives consider Russian aggression part of a global conspiracy to expand “the market for children and American weapons”. In addition, in these discussions, Ukraine plays the role of a rather lost sister - QAnon considers Russia's claims about the “danger” of Ukraine's membership in NATO to be fully justified and support the version that Ukraine provoked a war. Such messages can be seen, for example, at regular rallies for neutrality in Vienna, where supporters of the movement oppose both child trafficking and vaccination. At the same time, Ukraine is accused of playing along with the “pedophile satanic bondage”.

Russian propagandists actively use the property of QAnon. In particular, they duplicate the narratives of the movement and distort them for themselves depending on the situation. Like, for example, with a fake about a documentary about child trafficking in Ukraine, which Mel Gibson allegedly agreed to film. This was especially relevant in connection with the arrest of Donald Trump - anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels have already begun to complain about the American judicial system. Like, this is how pedophile democrats destroy political competitors. At the same time, they add stamps of movement on Trump's face. Despite the fact that all theses have been repeatedly refuted, this does not interfere with QAnon.

Conspiracy theories have gained more importance and influence in politics during Donald Trump's presidential term. It was he who repeatedly publicly supported all sorts of conspiracy theories and used the platforms of conspiracy theorists for his election campaigns. With his official submission, Russian propagandists began to spread them more actively, using his statements as a false verification of those theories that strengthened the Kremlin narratives.

Trump actively used the “Biden-Ukraine conspiracy theory”. Its fans believe that Joe Biden, during his tenure as vice president of the United States, allegedly tried to hush up his son Gunther's corrupt deals in the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. Like, Biden admits that he even threatened to stop financial assistance to Ukraine if he did not save his son from criminal proceedings. However, in fact, several congressional investigations showed that he had the right to stop financial assistance, since it was about the inexpediency of Viktor Shokin's tenure as Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Trump capitalized on this theory when he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to launch an investigation into Gunther Biden in exchange for military and financial assistance. This led to the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

In addition, as part of this scandal, Trump actually created another theory. According to it, Ukraine and its government allegedly deliberately interfered in the 2016 US presidential election to rig the results in favor of then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They say that the company involved in the analysis of data in the framework of the case of Russian interference in the elections is run by an unknown Ukrainian oligarch (which was refuted), and that it was at his suggestion that Russia was “framed”. However, American intelligence confirmed that it was Russia that interfered in the elections at that time and tried to use Ukraine for its own purposes.

Russian propagandists actively adopted these two theories. Using them, they want to divert attention from their own illegal actions and expose Ukraine as an insanely corrupt and close-minded country that wants to reshape the world order and interfere in the internal affairs of other states. All these messages are now used to justify the war against Ukraine. However, investigations have shown that it is Russia that interferes in US domestic politics and tries to destabilize it in favor of a political actor, which is more favorable to it.

In the previous texts of the section, we explained the theory of the “new world order” and its anti-Semitic influx. Another theory is often associated with the theory of the new world order - pizzagate (in the likeness of the name Watergate - the scandal that led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon). According to it, the US Democratic Party and “liberal Hollywood” are conspiring to traffic children for the sexual whims of the elite. Despite the fact that the theory was officially debunked by the Washington police, its supporters still believe that several restaurants in the city are unofficial “meeting places” of the elite, where “juvenile victims” are taken for pedophilia.

The theory arose in 2016, when hackers allegedly gained access to the correspondence of one of the leaders of the campaign program of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Like, it contained the names of various high-ranking party officials, the addresses of the aforementioned restaurants and the names of dishes (for example, pizza and hot dogs). According to conspiracy theorists, these are code names that mask the actions of a pedophilic nature and their victims. The theory quickly spread on social media and on image boards such as 4chan and Reddit, and even led to a shooting near one of the Washington restaurants featured in the correspondence. However, it received a new wave of popularity in 2020 after the release of the music video for the Justin Bieber song Yummy, where conspiracy theorists saw hidden meanings associated with the “joys of the rich”.  Fragments of the clip with explanations of these messages became viral on TikTok, and the theory itself became the basis for the creation of QAnon. Now its members associate all members of the Democratic Party with pedophilia. The current president of the state, Joe Biden, is no exception.

Russia also refers to this theory in its propaganda. For example, one can find messages that equate almost every Biden movement or word in children with manifestations of pedophilia. In addition, one can often see panic in the media spreading pro-Russian rhetoric that the Democratic Party is allegedly trying by all means to legalize pedophilia and drags Ukraine into all this. Propagandists and American conservative figures often pin the image of a pedophile on Joe Biden also because of the alleged illegal sexual relations of his son Hunter Biden with minors. In particular, this is due to the “Hunter Biden laptop showers”, when hackers allegedly gained access to the cloud storage of his device and leaked photos and videos to the network in which he allegedly has sex with underage girls. They were tried to be used against his father during the election campaign before the presidential elections in 2020 and were actively distributed in the pro-Russian media. Since Hunter Biden's past is closely connected with Ukraine, these reports did not bypass the reproaches that Ukrainian justice is still allegedly keeping a pedophile at large, because it cannot go against “the will of its overseas masters”.

Propagandists use it in their rhetoric to justify their war against the Western value system. Like, Russia is fighting for true spiritual purity, because America is rotten through and through, and the victims of this are children. In addition, in this way, they want to devalue Biden's help for Ukraine. It seems that with the war he covers up the crimes of himself and his family, and therefore he always helps. It is also important for Russia to use existing methods to destabilize the domestic political situation in the United States in order to persuade the public to support its policies. They want to distrust the “pedophile president” and shift the political balance in favor of the “actor”, which, in their opinion, will be more favorable to Russia.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, propagandists have begun to explain more and more things using conspiracy theories. As a consequence, even the smartest people can be questioned by conspiracy theories in today's turbulent world. That is why, in this new section, Detector Media will briefly explain the history and essence of individual conspiracy theories. We will tell you how and for what purpose they use them in Russian propaganda.

A conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain events or situations with the help of a conspiracy allegedly created by an influential political or financial group, even if there is an official and confirmed version of events. The term has a negative connotation, and the phenomenon of conspiracy theories has become more important, especially in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.

One of the conspiracy theories that is now emerging within the framework of Russian propaganda is the “new world order” theory. The phrase “world government” or “global government” indicates the use of the “new world order” theory, as they are the more popular name for the theory. It is not new and originated in the United States in the twentieth century. The theory acquired its modern forms in the 90s, when it became the basis for the work of American right-wing radical and conservative Christian forces. The theory of the “new world order” acquired a new scope at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when it penetrated into popular culture, thanks to which it became widespread.

The theory has a number of branches, but in this article we will focus on the apocalyptic direction. According to it, the world is led by an allegedly totalitarian global government that wants to either destroy the world completely or leave only the “golden billion” on it. That is, a billion people who have passed all the tests. According to propagandists, the war against Ukraine is one of those tests. In the case of this theory, “stages” are important, because according to the position of conspiracy theorists, the “world government” destroys humanity gradually. For example, on anonymous telegram channels spreading pro-Russian rhetoric, one can see messages that the war in Ukraine is just a new stage in the “world government” plan to destroy humanity. Its echo could also be heard from the lips of the parishioners of the UOC-MP. Representatives of the confession often say that Western elites are destroying Ukraine.

Also, over time, opinions about who is in the “world government” have changed. The following versions are popular among conspiracy theorists:

the world government is the UN and the EU (in particular, black helicopters are considered one of the symbols of this theory in Western culture, since, according to conspiracy theorists, the world government is preparing to seize the territory of the United States (or any other country, given the target audience of the source)) with the help of UN peacekeepers arriving on them);

it is a corporation that includes the richest people on the planet;

this is a satanic force led by the Antichrist and bringing the end of the world closer (according to conspiracy theorists, the role of the Antichrist can be played by the last Pope, the President of the EU, the Secretary General of the UN, one of the heads of a Muslim state, the head of an international corporation, etc.).

In addition, the “world government” can be made up of Illuminati (Illuminati branch), Masonic (Masonic branch) or Jews (Zionist branch).

The theory has received a lot of criticism from Christians in the West because they believe it cultivates a “spirit of fear” and is not backed up by biblical texts.

Propagandists use it in their rhetoric to cause panic among people and doubts about what is happening around. In fact, in this way they want to “hush” the information space and shift the responsibility for the actions of the aggressor to a third force. Like, Russia has nothing to do with it, these are all the tricks of the “world government” that wants to destroy everyone. In the countries of the post-Soviet space, conspiracy theories associated with politics work even better, considering the lack of public access to information about political processes in the past.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, propagandists have begun to explain more and more things using conspiracy theories. As a consequence, even the smartest people can be questioned by conspiracy theories in today's turbulent world. That is why, in this new section,  Detector Media will briefly explain the history and essence of individual conspiracy theories. We will talk on how and for what purpose they use them in Russian propaganda.