“This is happening now, which means that…” This is a typical message template using the “primacy effect” propaganda tactic. It is used when it is necessary to form the desired attitude to events or processes about which there is no reliable information. The first one to report information, offer a version, how to understand it and cover the largest audience, has the highest chances of establishing his or her opinion in society.

The tactic of the “primacy effect” is used when it is necessary to react to a news occasion from opponents. The response does not have to be coordinated or truthful. The main thing is to promptly report the probable version of the incident. For example, when at dawn on October 8, 2022, a section of the bridge connecting the temporarily occupied Crimea with the Krasnodar territory of Russia fell into the sea, Russian propagandists reported the following versions of the event:

- train tank exploded with fuel,

- it was NATO that arranged the explosion,

- Ukrainian special services carried out a terrorist act.

Which of the versions one would not have come across first, each of them gave an explanation for what happened and pointed to the “guilty”.

The primacy effect tactic works well as an accompaniment to crimes committed by Russians themselves.

On October 10, two days after the explosion on the bridge to the Crimea, the Russians fired on the objects of the energy system of Ukraine. In the first hours after that, Ukrainian pro-Russian telegram channels, in order to cause panic and force the Russians to yield, offered ten versions of the explanation of what happened:

- Ukraine's air-defense system is useless and the Russians easily bypass it,

- the Ukrainians themselves brought trouble on themselves by attacking the Crimean bridge;

- the authorities of Ukraine hush up the catastrophe and forbid reporting the destruction,

- it will be even worse further, it is not for nothing that the embassies of other states leave Ukraine.

Propagandists also use the tactics of the “primacy effect” to form expectations for the future or to convince the audience that they are right. In the Ukrainian telegram segment, there are telegram channels that “specialize” in the distribution of all kinds of supposedly insider versions of certain events. The authors of such channels in their messages regularly refer to anonymous sources, offering the audience the so-called insiders. Also in the messages of channels there are often phrases like “there are rumors”, “our insider in ... reported”, “they are talking on the sidelines..”. For each of the informational occasions that fall into the field of view of the authors of these telegram channels, they offer more than one interpretation or forecast of what is happening and what will happen next. In the course of events, these reports are intended to set the propagandist's favorable interpretation of the situation. After at least one of the interpretations will come true, these messages serve to confirm the trust in the sources of telegram channels. Other false reports may be forgotten or serve as the basis for further explanation of new news stories.