“Prostitutes” and “fascists” all
Defamation of the protests in Belarus on Telegram
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In its effort to suppress the protest movement, the Lukashenka regime used violence and repression on the one hand, and defamation and propaganda on the other, involving Telegram channels such as Zheltye Slivy (Fake) and YaMyBat’ka (IWeFather). These channels disseminate hatred against women in its most primitive form, as well as violent fantasies. At times, they characterise the opposition as being controlled by Poland, and at others as modern-day versions of the collaborators with the National Socialist occupiers. The base level of this propaganda is an indication of how far the regime has lost faith in its own power of persuasion.
(Osteuropa 10-11/2020, pp. 205–214)