CRAFT: Deciphering the Russian Disinformation War

Russia is fighting two wars: one on the ground, and one on the internet. For years, and especially since the invasion in February, Russia has aggressively called to wipe Ukraine off the map and propagated narratives to justify its attacks.

We are in the middle of an information war, and it’s spiralling beyond control.

Peter Pomerantsev is a Kyiv-born author, senior fellow at John Hopkins University and expert in all things propaganda and disinformation. His books Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible (2014) and This is Not Propaganda (2019) outline how the perception of truth has been weaponized in modern politics, particularly in Russia.

According to Pomerantsev, we need to find new ways to fight back. As an avid follower of his work, I was keen to talk to him. The interview provoked more questions than answers on where we find ourselves today, amid this war of words and technology.

After the jump, you'll find an edited version of our conversation.