How Does Russia’s Disinformation Industry Work – and Can It Be Replicated Elsewhere? With Ilya Yablokov & Dietmar Pichler

Speakers
Ilya Yablokov (Tomsk, Siberia, Soviet Union) is a Russian-British academic and author who teaches Digital Journalism and Disinformation. He is the founder of the University of Sheffield’s Disinformation Research Cluster. His research focuses on how the Kremlin uses disinformation and conspiracy theories to shape social cohesion and influence public opinion in Russia and beyond.

His forthcoming book, Words That Kill: Inside the Kremlin’s Disinformation Industry, is currently under review at Princeton University Press.

Recent publications: Russia Today and Conspiracy Theories: People, Power and Politics on RT (with Precious Chatterje-Doody); Fortress Russia: Conspiracy Theories in the Post-Soviet World.

Ilya mentors several grassroots initiatives that investigate and counter Kremlin-led computational propaganda.

Dietmar Pichler is Head Editor and Analyst of the platform INVED.eu. He is the founder of the Disinfo Resilience Network and Vice President of the Vienna-based NGO Vienna Goes Europe. The main focus of his work is foreign interference by authoritarian regimes, propaganda, agents of influence, hybrid threats, subversion, and resilience-building.

Background
Russia’s media politics has become synonymous with disinformation and propaganda, both domestically and internationally. Yablokov argues that the Kremlin has created a disinformation industry consisting of media organisations, scientists, pollsters, political consultants, and other professionals willing to comply with and anticipate official political narratives. How does this system function? Is it effective? Are there still independent media outlets in Russia? Should Europe be concerned about the Kremlin’s propaganda machine?
Or should citizens worry that Russia’s model could be replicated elsewhere if democratic institutions fail to respond in time?

Part of the conversation will be based on Yablokov’s forthcoming book, Words That Kill: Inside the Kremlin’s Disinformation Industry, currently under review at Princeton University Press.

Format and Moderation
Conversation moderated by Mirjana Tomic (fjum/Presseclub Concordia), followed by a Q&A session.