Information Warfare: Russia Today, Telegram and the Battle for Global Opinion
- Matthew Parish
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
Since the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the struggle for hearts and minds has become a parallel theatre of war. While artillery and drones shape the battlefield, media platforms and messaging services shape global narratives. At the centre of this “information war” are Kremlin-backed media outlets such as Russia Today (RT) and widely used communication tools like the messaging and social media App Telegram, which have become critical arenas in the contest for influence, disinformation and soft power.
The Strategic Importance of Information Warfare
Russia’s investment in information operations is not new. The Soviet Union was a pioneer in what it called “active measures”—propaganda, forgeries, front groups and influence operations designed to destabilise rivals and shape international opinion. The post-Soviet Kremlin, under President Vladimir Putin, updated these techniques for the digital age, creating a wide-ranging system of state-sponsored media, social media bots, troll farms and online influencers that can rapidly spread tailored narratives across the globe.
This information strategy became particularly aggressive after 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and launched hybrid warfare in eastern Ukraine. The Western response—sanctions, diplomatic condemnation and military support for Ukraine—prompted the Kremlin to intensify its disinformation campaigns, aimed both at domestic audiences and international ones.
RT and the Global Propaganda Machine
Russia Today, rebranded as RT, has been central to this effort. Broadcasting in multiple languages—English, Spanish, Arabic, German and French, amongst others—RT presents itself as an alternative to Western media, offering a mix of news, opinion, and documentary programming that often undermines the legitimacy of Western democracies and presents Russia in a favourable light. It is not merely a media outlet but an instrument of state policy.
RT’s approach is often subtler than crude propaganda. Rather than promoting Russia directly, it focuses on sowing doubt, cynicism, and division in target societies. In the context of the Ukraine war, RT has repeated Kremlin narratives: that NATO provoked the conflict, that Ukraine is a neo-Nazi state, or that Western military aid is prolonging suffering. These messages are not only intended for domestic audiences where they reinforce regime legitimacy, but are crafted for consumption in the Global South, where scepticism towards the West already exists.
In Europe and North America, RT has faced bans and restrictions. The EU blocked RT’s broadcasts and websites shortly after the 2022 invasion, citing its role in spreading war propaganda. However these bans have driven audiences to alternative channels—chief among them, Telegram.
Telegram: A Tool for All Sides
Telegram, founded by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, is a cloud-based messaging App that combines private messaging, group chats and large-scale public broadcasting channels. Telegram’s decentralised and lightly moderated nature has made it popular among activists, journalists and military analysts—but also among disinformation actors, extremists and intelligence operatives.
In the Ukraine conflict Telegram has become a critical tool for all parties. Ukrainian civil society groups, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and President Zelensky’s administration have all used it to communicate rapidly with the public, share battlefield updates and maintain morale. At the same time, Russian military bloggers (so-called voenkory), separatist militias and pro-Kremlin influencers have used Telegram to spread nationalist narratives and criticise Western involvement in the conflict.
Telegram is unique in allowing both real-time war reporting and propaganda. It also hosts channels that report battlefield footage, casualty reports and strategic assessments—some with high reliability, others with clear biases. This mix of fact and fiction, truth and spin, makes the app a battleground of perception.
For intelligence agencies and researchers, Telegram is both a goldmine of open-source intelligence and a breeding ground for information warfare. Ukrainian and Western observers have noted how Russian-linked Telegram channels coordinate messaging, release fake videos, or amplify conspiracy theories—ranging from bio-labs (creating biological weapons) in Ukraine to false-flag attacks staged by Kyiv.
The Global South and the Narrative Battle
While many Western nations quickly aligned against Russia after the invasion, much of the Global South has taken a more ambiguous stance—often abstaining from UN votes, maintaining economic ties with Moscow, or downplaying the conflict’s urgency. Russia has exploited this ambiguity, using RT and social media platforms to frame the war as a neo-colonial proxy conflict, with Ukraine depicted as a pawn of Western imperialism.
This narrative finds traction in parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where anti-Western sentiment persists due to historical grievances, neo-colonial experiences, or frustration with Western double standards. Russian media channels, often operating freely where Western media presence is limited, tailor their messaging to these audiences, promoting Moscow as a champion of multipolarity and sovereignty against Western hegemony.
This dynamic has made the information war not just about Ukraine, but about global values—democracy versus authoritarianism, rules-based order versus might-makes-right. As such it has become a central front in the emerging competition between liberal and illiberal powers.
Western Responses and the Challenge Ahead
Western governments and tech platforms have attempted to counter Russia’s disinformation campaigns. This includes banning RT and Sputnik from broadcast and online distribution, removing content on YouTube and Facebook, and supporting independent Russian-language media. The US State Department and EU institutions have also invested in digital literacy, counter-disinformation research and fact-checking initiatives.
However these efforts face limitations. Banning state media can drive audiences to unmoderated platforms. Counter-narratives can be dismissed as Western propaganda. Telegram’s limited content moderation presents a major challenge, particularly in regions where it is a primary news source.
Moreover democratic governments must tread carefully: excessive censorship risks violating free speech principles, and blanket bans can feed conspiracy narratives. The most effective tools may lie in education, transparency and the support of pluralistic media environments.
Conclusion: Winning the War of Truth
In an age when smartphones are as powerful as artillery shells, and narratives can shape alliances and public opinion more effectively than missiles, the information war surrounding Ukraine is not merely a sideshow—it is central to the outcome of the conflict and to the broader struggle for global influence.
RT, Telegram, and other platforms are not neutral technologies; they are instruments in a contest over reality itself. As the war continues and as digital platforms evolve, the battle for global opinion will remain as critical as the one fought on the ground.
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Reading List
Academic and Think Tank Sources
Pomerantsev, Peter. This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality. (Faber & Faber, 2019).
– A compelling narrative on how authoritarian states manipulate information in the digital age.
Galeotti, Mark. The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War. (Yale University Press, 2022).
– Includes detailed analysis of Russian hybrid warfare and informational tactics.
“The Fog of Falsehood: Russian Strategy of Deception and the Conflict in Ukraine.” – Helsinki-based Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), Report 45 (2016).
– Early but essential analysis of Russian information warfare practices since 2014.
Brookings Institution. The Kremlin’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem. Alina Polyakova and Daniel Fried (2020).
– Detailed investigation into how platforms like RT and Telegram are integrated into Russian strategy.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-kremlins-disinformation-and-propaganda-ecosystem/
Chatham House. Weaponizing Information: The Role of RT and Sputnik in Russia’s Disinformation Strategy.
– A policy-oriented overview of Russian state media in global influence operations.
Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). The Far-Right on Telegram. (2022).
– Though focused on extremism, this study sheds light on Telegram’s role in spreading propaganda.
RAND Corporation. Truth Decay: An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life. (2018).
– While U.S.-focused, offers important frameworks for understanding disinformation ecosystems.
Journalism and Investigative Reporting
The Guardian.
“RT and Sputnik banned across EU amid crackdown on Russian propaganda” (March 2022).
– Context on media regulation in wartime.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/02/rt-and-sputnik-banned-across-eu-russian-propaganda
The Atlantic.
“Telegram Is the Heart of the Ukraine War” by Charlie Warzel (2022).
– Accessible and powerful narrative of Telegram’s role in frontline reporting and disinformation.
BBC Monitoring.
“Inside Russia’s Disinformation Factory” – ongoing series tracking Kremlin narratives globally.
Official Sources and Watchdog Reports
EUvsDisinfo (European External Action Service).
– A comprehensive database of Russian disinformation cases, including RT and Telegram usage.
U.S. Department of State.
Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem. (2020).
Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
– Regularly updated global press freedom tracker with analysis on media manipulation in wartime.