Paul Goble
Staunton, October 1 – It is widely accepted that Moscow exploits both the inclination of many in the United States and other countries in the West to believe in conspiracies to undermine Russia’s geopolitical opponents. But it is less widely recognized that Moscow also exploits attacks on conspiracy thinking in these countries, Kseniya Kirillova says.
That is because such attacks help the Kremlin which operates on chekist principles to sow doubt about all conspiracies, both those it promotes that aren’t true and real conspiracies that it makes use of to engage in all kinds of activities to supplement its disinformation campaign, the US-based Russian analyst says (svoboda.org/a/30857459.html).
Thus, those who accept without question the view that QAnon conspiracy notions are absurd, a completely rational position, are more willing to accept the notion that Russian interference in American elections is also something absurd and being promoted only by those who want to undermine Moscow.
But the reality is, Kirillova points out, that the Kremlin today is populated by KGB and FSB officers who view conspiracies as the best way to achieve their ends. They are thus undoubtedly pleased when those who are the targets of these real operations dismiss the very possibility that such conspiracies are going on.
Indeed, she continues, those who dismiss all conspiracies as inventions help Moscow cover its real conspiracy-type operations by making it less likely that anyone will take those seriously enough to look into them. That is because it allows Moscow and those who would defend it to dismiss any such attention as a witch hunt.
It is critically important to distinguish between false conspiracy reports and real conspiracies, but this is no easy thing in a post-truth environment, Kirillova argues. But unless the problem is recognized and attempts are made to overcome it, the Kremlin will get victories it doesn’t deserve and the West will take new and undeserved losses.
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