Yuliya Krylova-Grek (Sustaining Ukrainian Scholarship, Mar – Jul ‘25) will give a talk on:

Media, Language and Society: Propaganda, Manipulation, and Psychological Resistance

on 05 June 2025 (Thursday), at 16:30.

Moderated by Polina Dimova.

Abstract: Language plays a key role in shaping social reality, especially in times of turmoil. The current Russia agresssion demonstrates how history, national identity and language become tools of propaganda, manipulation as well as resistance. The reserach examines the functioning of language in the conflict through the analysis of text and political narratives from Russian and Ukrainian sources (political statements, media, social media).

The research examines the dual function of language, as in wartime it is not only a means of propaganda and violence, but also means of resisting aggression and anti-propaganda. The study provides examples of how discursive practices shape collective consciousness, legitimise violence as well as mobilise resistance. The analysis focuses on Russian and Ukrainian texts released during the current conflict: official statements, media publications, social media content, and cultural materials (memes, posters).

Methods. Content analysis, linguistic analysis, psycholinguistic analysis.
The first part of the study focuses on the Russian discourse of 2014-2023, highlighting the narratives of “defence”, “peacemaking” and “history” that legitimise aggression through hate speech, delegitimisation of Ukraine and justification of crimes. The second part is devoted to Ukrainian responses, which are dominated by discourses of solidarity, heroism, survival and affirmation of national identity. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of new words, and memes as forms of cultural resistance and psychological resilience.

The analysis of mass communication, in particular the media, demonstrates how language functions either to reinforce imperial narratives or to renew resistance and emphasise national identity in times of war.

Conclusion 1. The conflict phase affects the radicalisation of content: language and speech. It is appearing neologisms, including emotionaly marked words and expressions, including aggressive and obscene vocabulary.

Conclusion 2. The channel used in communication influences the language used to convey information (social media, official channels, media outlets and social media). Social platforms are not official media, so they have more freedom in terms of ethical standards and journalistic norms, so may allow to use vulgar language and sensitive content as well as official media outlets may also use more radical language in their social media news channels.

Conclusion 3. The audience (society) and the media interact with each other: 1) the audience disseminates narratives and new vocabulary emerging in the media, 2) the audience creates new words and expressions that move from social media to public discourse.