Postponed | Research Seminar: Propaganda on demand: Russia’s strategic communication during the war against Ukraine

In this talk, Anna Litvinenko explores the nature of propaganda in a hybrid media environment through the example of Russian propaganda during the ongoing war against Ukraine.

Please note: this event has been postponed. The new date is to be confirmed.

Delving into an analysis of diverse propaganda strategies, Litvinenko introduces the concept of 'propaganda on demand'. This framework implies strategic manipulation of public opinion, utilizing narratives tailored for varied social milieus.

This approach capitalizes on inconsistency and eclecticism, aligning seamlessly with the digital environment's inherent logic and enabling the propagation of divergent, often contradictory narratives to specific target groups.

About the speaker

Anna Litvinenko, Ph.D., is a research assistant at the “Digitization and Participation” department of the Institute for Media and Communication Studies, Freie Universität Berlin.

From 2015 to 2020 she was a member of the Emmy Noether research group “On the medialization of (semi-)authoritarian rule: The power of the Internet in the post-Soviet space” at the FU Berlin.

She studied journalism in Saint Petersburg and worked as a journalist for various Russian and German media. After receiving her doctorate in 2007, she became an associate professor at Saint Petersburg University (SPU).

In 2010 she headed the German-Russian Center for Journalism at the SPU and from 2012 to 2015 the Office for International Scientific Exchange.

Anna Litvinenko has been awarded scholarships several times (including a scholarship from the German Bundestag and a Federal Chancellor Scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation).

In 2020 she was a research fellow in the research group “Digitalization and Transnational Public” at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society in Berlin.