Rakovitsa for The Geopost: Russia tries to extend its influence in the Balkans, mobilization is needed against its propaganda

Russia tries to extend its influence around the world, both in Europe and in the Balkan countries, in the Baltic countries, in the countries of Central Asia and in Ukraine, says Lyubov Rakovitsa, head of the Ukrainian media organization “DII Ukraine”, former Donetsk Institute of Information. In this way, by interfering in other countries, she emphasizes, the Russian government tries to keep the national power under control.

In the interview with The Geopost, Rakovitsa also talks about the challenges they face as a result of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The main task they have as media is to attract the audience from the Russian agenda to the Ukrainian agenda.

According to her, the mobilization of all media is needed so that Russian propaganda and disinformation do not extend their influence.

Full interview:

Rakovitsa: Our main primary audience before the full-scale invasion was people who are in occupation in the Donetsk and Luhansk region. We also conducted Donbass Media Forum. It is a great media event for Ukrainian local journalists and now we try to expand our activity and we want to launch several international projects.

Since 2014, our main audience are people from occupation, from uncontrolled territories. We are working for them, we are fighting for them, for their senses, we are fighting for their love, we are fighting for Ukrainians in occupation.

Very often people ask me, ask us about our competitors, and I personally don’t recognize our competitors as other Ukrainian original or national media, because I do really believe in Synergy, and I think that our main competitors are the pro-Kremlin and Russian media, those media which are supported by the so-called LPR and DPR Republic. So, we understand that they are a great machine, they are very experienced, they are great machines, they started working in this sphere maybe in the middle of the previous century, they have a lot of funds, they have a lot of resources, they have a lot of ambassadors all over the world and we need to fight with them, we need to combat for our people, and we need to pull our audience from a Russian agenda to Ukrainian agenda.

So that is why I think, unfortunately, we have a great experience in working against Russian propaganda.

The Geopost: You said, unfortunately, you are an expert on disinformation. Why?

Rakovitsa: Because, I want to live in an ideal world without any obstacles, without any bad things, and among them are Russian propaganda, and among them those people who want to attract our people. We see that Russia tries to keep their impact on all processes all over the world, I mean both in Europe and in Balkan countries, in Baltic countries, in Central Asia countries and of course in Ukraine. They do it just for to keep their influence on local government, on national government and they want to interfere in agenda and in cases of other countries.

And we do a lot and we work a lot with them. So that is why, I want to live in a beautiful Ukraine and beautiful world of future where there is no any such enemy as Russia.

The Geopost: Do you have a strategy to fight Russian disinformation?

Rakovitsa: We are like bridges. We can see a lot of destroyed bridges between everything. Now Russia, when they attack something, some localities, they try to destroy big bridges first, because bridges are the way of communication, the way of supplying, the way of everything. And they destroyed a lot of bridges between people in occupied territories in Ukraine. And now there are forces of different small organizations, small initiatives like ours, like News of Donbass, like other Ukrainian media, other local media who build this very small, very weak bridges and they try to do something with them. The same way now do different organizations which help people making, some food or some other things.

But I think, I do really believe in synergy and I think that we need to unite and we need to have the whole united strategy how to communicate with people in occupation, how to bring them dignity, how to bring them back security, and how to bring them back to Ukrainian agenda. And I think that now we need to, not only react to Russian propaganda, we need do something in advance.

For example, next year there will be 25 years of Putin’s heading of Russia, 25 years. It’s so big period, and a lot of young people were born during the running of Putin, during the heading of Putin. I think that now we all of us differently, both Ukrainian and some other medias should try to do something, try to do some messages for this event.

Some months ago, there was an election campaign in Russia, they also make this so-called election campaign in occupation, but we could and we should not only react on it, but we could do something in advance, not to react on disinformation, but try to form and formulate our own agenda for them to react, because we know that fakes have a very long life period, but anti-fake, they don’t have such a long life period. Not so many people click on anti-fakes. A lot of people click on fakes. So I think that if we start to do something in advance to make this agenda, not to react, just make it in advance, I think we can do something in this sphere. But of course, it is not easy because we need a lot of analysis and now we live in a war and day by day everything happens and now they are taking Kharkov region, tomorrow they will take something new and we need to react.

But now we need to start thinking what will be after the finishing of this active phase of war. Because all of us remember what happened in 20th century. When after the First World War we had the Second World War. And now I think that all of us, all over the world, need to think how to prevent the same war in future, how to work with Russian population, with Russian leaders, I mean Russian stakeholders, Russian democratic media and others, because Russia will not disappear, they always will be. But I think that we need to change strategy and not only to react, but do something in advance.

/The Geopost