War, truth and persuasion

Claiming that something is true does not make it so, no matter how large the font.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was almost three years ago, and so far Russia is no nearer to completing its ‘Special military operation’ than when the first Russian troops and vehicles illegally entered the nation it had promised to protect. But neither has Ukraine managed to drive Russia out of its territory completely. It’s not a ‘stalemate’, those are possible in chess, but not in war: there are too many interacting factors for long term stability in a war. Ukraine struggled to hold on during the long period when USA support was stalled by the Republicans, but since then Ukraine has been getting stronger and Russia weaker as their loss of troops, equipment, and funding have gradually become more and more significant issues.

But one important factor to consider is perceived knowledge about events. With Western politicians and news sources wavering seemingly randomly due to many other considerations and distractions, and Russian misinformation sometimes hard to detect and assess, we need to look elsewhere if we want to be informed by truth and reality.

Places to go for good information include the many commentaries about current events from individuals on YouTube, blogs, podcasts and similar media. It’s true that many of these may be biased one way or another, but on the whole it’s easier to identify these biases than it it with large organisations or sources funded by companies or governments. There are fewer mixed messages; individuals are usually clearly on one side or the other, and after weeding those out, the remainder tend to be more impartial.

Take a look at this YouTube video on Silicon Curtain as an example. See how photos and information about the Russian ‘shadow’ tanker fleet are used to reach and influence the right people. Notice how the international company Unilever was encouraged to pull out of Russian business by evidence-based and well targeted information (11 minutes into the video). How much more effective we can be when we think things through carefully rather than just shouting at one another in anger.

Useful? Interesting?

If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome!