The Propaganda War and the Fourth Estate

This chapter provides an analysis and a critique of the propaganda war between Russia and Ukraine and the Western Alliance, respectively. The introductory discussion unpacks the two central concepts, namely the legitimate role of the Fourth Estate and the propaganda contrivances. Subsequently, the discussion turns to propaganda war proper. It is shown that there is an asymmetrical news coverage of the war in the Western mainstream media. Notwithstanding the asymmetrical news coverage, the importance of the propaganda war is advanced by addressing and analysing the Russian and the Western mainstream media approach to the propaganda war critiques with a locus between disinformation and biases. Three further issues are subjected to analysis and critique. These are the Ukrainian counter-offensive as a propaganda storyline, alternative views to the mainstream media and the silencing and sidelining of critical voices in the West generally and Western media specifically. The chapter concludes with a critical appraisal of the failures of the Fourth Estate, the Western propaganda, the Western mainstream media, and the censorship exercised by both sides of the war.