Ukrainian Conflict Fades from Media Spotlight Amidst Rising Middle East Tensions
Ukrainian soldiers take up combat positions in front-line trenches in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region / Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu via Getty Images
Published on November 18, 2023 at 17:00 JST
Amidst the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the protracted war in Eastern Europe has seen a notable decrease in media coverage. The attention previously focused on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal operations against Ukraine has waned, with the conflict between Israel and Hamas taking precedence.
The GDELT project, which tracks media coverage around the world, analyzed video subtitle data and found that cable TV coverage of the Ukraine war has decreased significantly following the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel. Prior to this, fighting in Ukraine accounted for about 8% of CNN’s television coverage, a figure that has now dropped to less than 1%.
Similarly, internet analytics company ComScore has recorded a decline in discussion of the Ukraine war on social media since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict. This trend reflects a general decrease in interest in Putin’s attack on Ukraine over the past few months.
Amidst these developments, the US media’s focus has shifted to other significant topics such as the turmoil in Congress, the trial of former President Trump, and the mass shooting in Maine, further diverting attention from the situation in Ukraine.
This decline in interest has been deemed advantageous for Putin by Paul Kolbe, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. With 25 years of experience at the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Kolbe suggests that Putin is pleased to see the war diverting US attention from Russia, allowing continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians.
Kolbe also highlights Putin’s use of an information war to spread falsehoods and misinformation, aiming to exhaust the patience and support of the West while causing rifts within the US and among NATO members. Central to Putin’s strategy is the portrayal of Ukraine as a divided and corrupt state, as well as a puppet of the US and NATO.
Ukrainian soldiers take up combat positions in front-line trenches in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region / Diego Herrera Carcedo / Anadolu via Getty Images
2023.11.18 Saturday posted at 17:00 JST
(CNN) When was the last time you saw a film broadcast from Ukraine on TV news? Probably quite a while ago.
With the war in the Middle East heating up, the protracted war in Eastern Europe has almost taken a back seat in media coverage. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal operations against Ukraine have received much less media attention than before the conflict between Israel and Hamas began.
According to video subtitle data analyzed online and on TV by the GDELT project, which tracks media coverage around the world, cable TV coverage of the Ukraine war was a terrorist attack carried out by the Islamist group Hamas in southern Israel on the 7th of last month. Since then, it has dropped dramatically.
Before the Israel-Hamas war, fighting in Ukraine accounted for about 8% of CNN’s television coverage, but after the Hamas raid, the share has dropped to less than 1%.
At the time, when the selection process for the speaker of the US House of Representatives was chaotic, there was a noticeable increase in references to Ukraine in the media, but the main focus remained on US financial aid to the country ; That was not the situation of the war.
Data provided by Internet analytics company ComScore shows a similar trend occurring online. The findings suggest that discussion of the Ukraine war on social media has decreased significantly since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. However, general interest in Putin’s attack on Ukraine appears to have waned over the past few months.
In addition to the situation in the Middle East, the US media has been busy reporting on several other important topics in recent weeks. These include the chaos in Congress, the trial of former President Trump, and the mass shooting in Maine.
The current decline in interest in Ukraine is nothing but a boon for Mr Putin.
Paul Kolbe, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School in the US and a 25-year veteran of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), told reporters that Putin must be was “happy” to see the war divert US attention from Russia. He added that in the midst of all this, Russia “continues to carry out attacks targeting Ukrainian cities and civilians.”
Kolbe also said that although the West has reduced attention to the war in Ukraine, Russia is conducting its own information war to spread falsehoods and misinformation. Mr Putin’s strategy is to exhaust the patience and support of the West and cause a rift within the US and among NATO members, he said.
According to Kolbe, Putin uses the media to try to portray Ukraine as a divided and corrupt state. Mr Putin’s strategy is said to focus on portraying Ukraine as a puppet of the US and NATO.
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