The Russians were drawn to the facts – Newspaper Kommersant No. 224 (7425) dated 12/02/2022

The Scientific Council of the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) held a meeting on Thursday on the topic “Russian arena of information warfare: new trends in the media sphere”. Sociologists and political scientists discussed how media consumption has changed under the conditions of a special military operation (SVO), and came to the conclusion that society now has a clear demand for facts, honesty and interpersonal communication.

Mikhail Mamonov, Head of the VTsIOM’s Political Analysis and Consulting Practice, made the keynote speech. He said that the trend of “Internet consumption” exceeding “TV consumption” that emerged in 2020 continues, and provided fresh figures: 29% of respondents prefer the Internet, 16% remain faithful to television, and 52% use both. There is also a significant age differentiation: the older the citizens, the higher the proportion of TV lovers among them. At the same time, according to Mr. Mamonov, there are three groups of sources in which people have the greatest confidence: the Internet in general (57%), Russian media (55%) and Telegram channels (45%). Although the share of television has also grown significantly since the start of the SVO, the sociologist noted: “If in October 2021 we recorded a predominance of negative assessments over positive ones in terms of trust in central television, then in March 2022 there were twice as many positive responses as negative ones.”

WhatsApp, YouTube, VKontakte and Telegram became the leaders among Internet resources in terms of intensity of use, according to VTsIOM, while the audience of Facebook and Instagram blocked in Russia (owned by Meta, which is recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation and banned) decreased by two times. And Mikhail Mamonov called Telegram the “main beneficiary of the current situation” and “the most dynamically developing channel”.

The expert also made a number of forecasts for the further development of the situation. First of all, in his opinion, the role of interpersonal communication will grow. As proof, he cited a “paradoxical figure”: when asked whether there were mobilized among their relatives and friends, 50% of the respondents answered positively, although “the total amount of mobilization amounted to 300 thousand people.” This means that information is becoming more and more personal, the sociologist explained. In addition, he expects a decrease in the level of trust in the “official signal” and “an increase in the expertise of our population”: “Due to the large amount of information, people are more and more immersed in details and become either experts or pseudo-experts.” Also, Mr. Mamonov predicts “an increase in the demand for honesty” and for “de-ideologized information about the NWO.” “Very often in the course of research we are told that they do not trust official information. When the Department of Defense only talks about the positive, but does not talk about the problems, it raises the question of how much what it says is true. That is why the demand for interpersonal communication will increase,” the expert noted.

Natalya Daudrich, head of the practice of regional research and consulting at VTsIOM, in turn, spoke about how people perceive the “governors of the NVO period”. According to her, the heads of regions are expected to perform the function of a “social therapist” and hope for their “friendly help and participation.” “The current formula for success for official content on governors’ Telegram channels consists of four main topics: mobilization, technological production, the social sphere and large-scale infrastructure projects, which, apparently, serve as a marker of stability,” Ms. Daudrich explained.

The political scientists present at the meeting did not argue with the data of sociologists, but offered them their own explanation. For example, the president of the Minchenko Consulting communications holding, Yevgeny Minchenko, suggested that the key problem of the current information agenda is an attempt to offer new generations an ideology, while they prefer facts, rather than imposing a certain point of view.

Ksenia Veretennikova