Unveiling Pro-Russian Narratives: A Study of Media Propaganda Amidst the Ukraine Conflict (Insights from the Slovak Context)

In light of Slovakia commemorating 20 years since its accession to the EU and NATO in 2024, it is foreseeable that new disinformation narratives will emerge, becoming significant aspects of societal and political discourse. Therefore, there is an urgent need for research on narratives surrounding the current presentation of the military conflict in Ukraine. Utilizing qualitative content analysis, our study concentrates on identifying the most dominant narratives related to the military conflict in Ukraine, given its proximity as the eastern neighbor of post-communist Slovakia. We conducted our research within the framework of five of the most popular pro-Russian disinformation websites in Slovakia, which have been considered dominant tools of Russian media propaganda in the country in recent years. Our findings shed light on the nature of disinformation and pro-Russian narratives during the time of the military conflict in Ukraine, calling for acute and effective solutions that can engage a wide audience as effectively as pro-Russian agents (not only) in Slovakia.