Most Crimean media news systematically legitimizes the occupation

The content of the Crimean media now resembles an 'information aquarium' of the occupation, where 86% of the news is devoted exclusively to local issues to create the illusion of normalcy and self-sufficiency of the peninsula. According to the results of the content analysis of the Institute of Mass Information, the media space of Crimea systematically isolates the audience from the international context and the real situation in Ukraine.

This is stated in the research of the Institute of Mass Information.

Mentions of Ukraine account for only 1.5% of the total number of stories and are presented exclusively through the prism of the Kremlin's military rhetoric, using manipulative terms such as "the territory of the SOB" and "liberation". The thematic structure of the news is focused on social and infrastructure issues, which account for about a third of the content. Such materials are mostly of a 'parquetry' nature, covering the activities of the occupation leaders Mikhail Razvozzhayev and Sergey Aksyonov as continuous care for the population.

Military topics account for 15% of publications and are aimed at glorifying the Russian military and shaping the image of Ukraine as a threat to civilian objects. At the same time, 63% of all reports are based on official sources of the occupation structures, which effectively turns editorial offices into the mouthpieces of the administration and deprives residents of access to alternative points of view.

IMI Director Oksana Romaniuk notes that such controlled communication is not journalism, but serves as a tool to legitimize the occupation through everyday life and fear. The absence of expert opinions and the high proportion of anonymous sources only reinforce the propaganda framework, locking Crimean residents into an artificially created picture of the world.

Катерина Глушко