***bridge in Russian
Russia invaded Ukraine and started an unfair, bloody war. Russian politicians and state media constantly lie about this war, calling it a military operation, convincing that civilians are not suffering and that Ukraine must be fully freed from the Nazis. Many people in Russia still believe this propaganda, and our relatives, parents, and friends are among them.
For more than twenty years, the Russian government has been shutting down the independent media and suppressing freedom of speech. Despite this fact, well-educated people with an active civic position found their way to other sources of information. However, their parents, relatives, and classmates are still exposed to the lies that the government publishes on a daily basis.
Russian families are experiencing an unimaginable split and have their own war: parents do not hear their children’s opinions, sisters curse their brothers, and once beloved people repeat what they’ve heard on TV.
<aside> 📢 Today we are faced with one of the most dramatic situations you can imagine.
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Many people don't trust anything, except for what they hear and watch on TV shows, usually sponsored by the Russian government. They easily accept the ideas of propaganda because it appeals to resentment and imperial nostalgia. Russian propaganda is a powerful weapon, but we hope that love and kindness will eventually unite people. Sadly, propaganda is loud, and the anti-war position is quiet, as people are screaming the truth from a distance which transforms into a dying down echo. Some Russians do not even believe their relatives in Ukraine, who write to them from bomb shelters and basements.
With the help of the **guide’s to the free world** community, we’ve assembled a huge family correspondence database, analyzed it, and realized that the truth is not always the best medicine. We’ve reached out to scientists: psychologists, sociologists, propaganda, and cult specialists. We’ve put together a base of propaganda theses and made a directory of arguments. We also outlined the methodology of the conversations.
The “moral foundations” theory is the basis of the project. The theory explains why moralities differ, but still share fundamental characteristics and proposes that each culture constructs virtues, narratives, and institutions on top of these foundations. Most shared Russian cultural values were selected by scientists and incorporated into each script of the project to ensure that the dialogue will truly touch the hearts and that those anti-war people will finally be heard by their relatives.
Our community constantly helps us to evolve the quality of arguments and suggests new ones (propaganda never sleeps). We are constantly looking for new approaches, and verifying them with scientists.
<aside> 💌 We believe that an expert approach and public input will help to "reconnect" with loved ones and create a product that is based on the ability to hear, think and resist false opinions.
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