This research seminars will feature a talk hosted by Dr. Maxim Alyukov, University of Manchester.

Following the rise of disinformation, references to disinformation have also become a ubiquitous feature of elite discourse. From Trump to Orban, politicians have relied on accusations of spreading disinformation to discredit political rivals. Authoritarian leaders worldwide have adopted the same rhetoric. To explore the effect of disinformation discourse on citizens; perceptions of news in an authoritarian environment, this study focuses on authoritarian Russia in the context of the invasion of Ukraine. While the use of disinformation discourse to deflect criticism is not new in Russian politics, following the invasion of Ukraine, Putin’s regime turned it into one of its main propaganda strategies. We argue that disinformation discourse represents an effective response to the threat posed by contemporary saturated media environments to authoritarian rule. While it is impossible to fully isolate citizens from alternative information in saturated media environments, disinformation discourse allows the autocrat to respond to this challenge by pre-emptively debunking narratives that challenge the regime. To demonstrate this process, we present the findings of a pre-registered online experiment conducted in Russia (N=2,949). We expose all subjects to war-related or economy-related news stories with pro-regime or anti-regime framing. Subjects in treatment groups are additionally exposed to matching debunking claims attributed to a pro-regime or an anti-regime Telegram channel utilising disinformation discourse.

We find that disinformation discourse allows regime propaganda to undermine the credibility of information and confuse citizens, preventing them from attributing responsibility for the regime's policies. We also discover the backfiring effect of anti-regime messaging which can shift subjects’ attitudes in the opposite direction with regards to its intended effect. The results contribute to the research on authoritarian propaganda in new saturated media environments and use of disinformation discourse more generally. In addition, the findings have important policy implications and highlight potential unintended consequences of counter-disinformation campaigns.

About the speaker

Maxim’s research focuses on media, political communication, and political cognition in autocracies with a particular focus on Russia. He relies on qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how citizens make sense of the political world in authoritarian environments and in new hybrid media systems.

Currently, Maxim continues his work on media reception and extends his research agenda to focus on political cognition in autocracies more generally. Relying on mixed and quasi-experimental methods, he investigates the social aspects of political cognition in authoritarian environments.

This is a hybrid event: you can join in person or online. Those who wish to join online can do so with this link. 

This talk is organised in conjunction with the Disinformation Research Cluster.