Sarah Van Leuven and Stijn Joye on media use in the Russia-Ukraine war in 'De Morgen'
(21-09-2023)
On September 21st, CJS professors Sarah Van Leuven and Stijn Joye were interviewed for an article in the newspaper 'De Morgen' regarding media use in the Russia-Ukraine war. The article tackles how Ukraine uses (news) media for strategic purposes which includes spreading inaccurate information.
Professor Joye underlined Russias's long history of manipulating information in contrast to Ukraine which appears more like a victim in this area. He stated "that can create - sometimes unconsciously - a more positive view of the info that reaches us from Ukraine. Both news users and journalists are susceptible to this." He added that he does notice a critical attitude in many Flemish newspapers throughout the conflict.
Professor Van Leuven provided more insights into how and why Ukraine spreads inaccurate information: "Ukraine, of course, also benefits from putting facts in a different context. This can be done to give civilians courage, or to convince other countries of the need to continue supplying weapons."
Or for more background information, read this article from 2022 in our UGent magazine 'Durf Denken'.