Authors

Discussion

This study examines the role of disinformation discourse in shaping citizens’ perceptions of news in authoritarian contexts, focusing on Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. We argue that disinformation discourse allows regimes to counter the challenges posed by saturated media environments by preemptively discrediting alternative narratives that threaten the regime. To explore this, we conducted a pre-registered online experiment in Russia (N=2,949) and a survey among Russian migrants in Armenia (N=500).

Participants were exposed to war- or economy-related news stories framed either pro-regime or anti-regime. Treatment groups encountered additional debunking claims incorporating disinformation discourse with similar framing. Our findings show that disinformation discourse effectively undermines the credibility of alternative narratives and confuses citizens, preventing them from attributing responsibility for regime policies. However, we also observe a backfiring effect of anti-regime messaging, which shifts attitudes toward alignment with pro-regime propaganda.

The survey among Russian migrants in Armenia reveals how external media environments influence perceptions of disinformation discourse and blame attribution, offering a comparative lens to the Russian domestic audience, highlighting divides between 'remainers' and 'exiters' after February 2022.