Community News Commons/Creative Commons

The theme of propaganda has dominated much British media coverage of the Skripal spy poisoning scandal. In this context, a narrative has emerged which sets the Kremlin at the centre of a web of cyber-warriors and media machinery, all centrally coordinated to attach a single audience.

The reality is much more complicated. There isn’t one clear media programme in play, and Russian media discourses are more complex than often presented. Yet, these misrepresentations of Russian media strategies undermine efforts to tackle them, and feed spirals of mutual hostility.

As Stephen Hutchings explains for the LSE British Politics and Policy blog, the only way to reset this cycle is to fundamentally rethink our approach to Russia’s propaganda machine.