Clarity for friends, confusion for foes: Russian vaccine propaganda in Ukraine and Serbia

Abstract

This paper examines how Russia tailors its vaccine propaganda to hostile and friendly audiences, like Ukraine and Serbia. Web scraping of all articles about vaccines on Russian state-owned websites from December 2020 to November 2021 provided data for quantitative topic modeling and qualitative analysis. This revealed that the Kremlin muddles issues and sows confusion for Ukrainians but feeds Serbians focused, repetitive narratives. Therefore, countering Russian propaganda proactively also requires a tailored approach. Journalists and public communications officials should clarify information and separate unrelated issues in Russia-hostile places like Ukraine but add nuance and context to narratives in Russia-friendly places like Serbia.