
Belarus is using sophisticated propaganda methods. The Belarusian journalist, Hanna Liubakova, in an interview for The Geopost, shows the difficulties of fighting this propaganda from exile because, as she says, people do not dare to speak against the government.
She mentions the last case, where, hiding the political reasons, Lukashenko’s government accuses activist Andrei Gnyot of “fiscal invasion” in order to cooperate with Interpol.
Liubakova underlines that the Belarusian government has sophisticated propaganda and uses Russian narratives. According to her, Belarus has lost its sovereignty in the field of information.
“Because many media outlets, many websites, thousands of them were either banned or classified as extremist, it became dangerous for people to get information from independent sources… There is pro-Russian, pro-regime propaganda and it is more difficult to spread independent information in Belarus,” she says.
Full interview:
The Geopost: Thank you for this interview for The Geopost. Can you tell us a little bit about how is situation now, about disinformation and propaganda in Belarus, that sometimes is more sophisticated than Russian propaganda?
Liubakova: Yes, indeed. I think what is dangerous is first that the Belarusian propaganda, the pro-regime propaganda is not only about pro-Lukashenko narratives and positions. They are also now copycatting, taking Russian narratives, Russian sort of reports, and they present it as the only view, right. So this is not only about Lukashenko, this also became pro-Russian. So we usually say that we lost sovereignty in information sphere by that. And because many media outlets, many websites, thousands of them have been either banned or labeled as extremists, it became dangerous for people to get information from independent sources. It’s not only about censorship or VPNs being not able to get to websites, it’s because it’s also about people being punished, being prosecuted for reading, sharing, liking content. So it became practically impossible to spread information inside the country and you have to use all these kind of hidden messages or other tools, other ways how to spread independent information. So pro-Russian, pro-regime propaganda exists and it’s kind of more difficult to spread independent information inside Belarus.
The Geopost: How difficult is to work and to connect with people in exile?
Liubakova: Yes, exactly. So, first there is the issue of trust. We are in exile and why the people inside Belarus should listen to us? That’s the question and we keep finding an answer to that. You have to stay relevant for those inside the country. You have to build this trust. You have to report on the issues that are important to them from their perspective, not from our perspective in exile. Of course you have to fact check, you have to verify, you have to conduct investigations in exile. You cannot really call and speak to people because it’s either dangerous for your sources or witnesses, or they would simply refuse to talk to you if you talk about businessmen or people from the government. It is dangerous for people inside Belarus to talk to me, not to mention others.
The Geopost: We have one case last week where one activist from Belarus is in prison in Serbia waiting for extradition. Which is this message for all of you who are fighting for the Western democracy to incite your fighting?
Liubakova: Yes, exactly. So Andrei Gnyot, I hope he’s not waiting for extradition. I hope he’s waiting for the resolution, for the solution of his issue. That’s my really huge hope. Because he was involved in, he’s a film director, he’s a journalist, and he was involved in making videos for organizations that have been labeled as extremists. So, clearly, he will face prosecution, persecution, if he would be extradited to Belarus. So, I hope this is not going to happen. The messages here are several. First is to Interpol, do not add Belarusians, do not collaborate with the Belarusian regime. My charges currently are political. I am being actually on trial right now as we speak and I’m awaiting the verdict, the sentence. We thought that the verdict would be out last Friday when they had, the court had another meeting but it wasn’t out yet so maybe it hasn’t been published yet. I don’t really know what’s happening in Minsk. I’m on trial but I don’t really know the details. I don’t know what’s happening there. It’s kind of funny. But my case is clearly political, right? I’m being accused of an attempt to seize power, to harming national security of being a member of extremist organization and inciting hatred. Andrei Gnyot charges are not political, but they are economic. So he was accused of tax evasion, alleged tax evasion, and that’s why Interpol collaborated with the regime. So that’s a message to all organizations that still collaborate with the Belarusian regime. stop doing that, stop thinking that their charges are legit or their sort of messages or requests are legit. So this will be my first message. Second is do not continue your business as usual. No. Lukashenko committed so many international crimes. There is no way back. There should be increased legal and economic pressure. We talk about sanctions. We talk about international warrants and international courts, sort of decisions and warrants for Lukashenko and his regime. And there are ways how to do that, but somehow there have not been political will and decisions made yet in this regard, so this should change. And of course, on the other side, help civil society and independent media in Belarus. They’ve proved their effectiveness. We have the absolute majority of the population that is against any involvement of Belarus in the war against Ukraine and this is because we, journalists and civil society activists, have been so effective in the past years in delivering our messages, in reaching people inside the country. I’m not very optimistic in the long term because propaganda does work and Belarus would not be an exception, sadly, but for now we are winning this kind of war for people’s minds and there should be more efforts and more sort of support and assistance to for independent media and civil society because you know the war is not only happening on the front line but there is also war for people’s minds.
/The Geopost