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98-665: Erkki Johan Bäckman (born 18 May 1971) is a Finnish and Russian political activist, propagandist, author, eurosceptic, and convicted stalker working for the Russian government. Bäckman has been a prominent Finnish propagandist in Russia who has actively participated in long-standing operations to propagate anti-Finnish and anti-Western Russian propaganda . Bäckman has contentious views about Estonia , Latvia and Ukraine , and has been declared persona non grata and denied entry into Estonia, and has been expelled from Moldova . His books have been

196-634: A "hero" because he defends Russian minorities in the Baltic States. Bäckman's work has been published in Finland and Estonia. Many of his published opinions are provocative and some have been regarded as pro-Putin and anti-Estonian by commentators in the Estonian press. Bäckman has stated that Estonia "does not exist" as a sovereign state. According to Bäckman, the Estonians and Finns are actually one nation and

294-631: A "racist political ideology"—both per "several academic works by Finnish authors." In March 2002, during a military historical festival in Suojärvi in the Republic of Karelia which was dedicated to the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Winter War , Bäckman made a sensational claim that the modern authorities of Finland propagated the idea that the Russian people are genetically inferior and expected Russia to collapse in about twenty years. The other participants at

392-582: A British TV producer, in his 2014 book Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible , argues that the propaganda's goals are not to convince, as in the classical propaganda, but to make an information field "dirty" so people would trust nobody. Discussing the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, John Kerry , United States Secretary of State , referred to RT as a state-sponsored "propaganda bullhorn" and continued, "Russia Today [ sic ] network has deployed to promote president Putin's fantasy about what

490-468: A Justice Ministry list of "foreign agents". "Foreign agents" are barred from receiving state funding, teaching at state universities, or working with children. The Roskomnadzor was given the authority to block "foreign agent" websites at the Justice Ministry's request without need for a court order. In Summer of 2022, Putin approved the creation of nationwide children's and youth movement modeled after

588-519: A confrontational way. A daughter was born in 2004. Soon after, Bäckman sued Jaana Niemi, her parents and friends dozens of times. Most of the cases ended in pretrial investigations, but Bäckman has represented himself in court in a few cases. The Finnish court Hovioikeus convicted Niemi once, and Bäckman was convicted twice. Niemi lives now in Milan , Italy . Propaganda in Russia The propaganda of

686-515: A course on "specialities of Estonian legal policy" in the Spring 2009 semester. Bäckman immediately threatened to sue the letter's authors for libel and later filed a criminal complaint, but the Helsinki Police refused to open investigation. The former minister of foreign affairs of Finland Dr. Erkki Tuomioja called Bäckman's book as "deliberate provocation", but condemned the open letter for violating

784-547: A false story was spread throughout social media of a young child being crucified by Ukrainian forces in Slovyansk. The Ukrainian government also banned several Russian internet services, including the popular social media network, Vkontakte , which has been criticized as being censorship, affecting millions of Ukrainians. Since coming to power in 2000, Putin and his government promoted the idea of "patriotic education" in educational reforms in order to spread propaganda and increase

882-466: A far-right Russia-based self-proclaimed election monitoring organization, in the disputed Crimean status referendum , which resulted in the annexation of Crimea by Russia . Bäckman stated that he saw no violations and considered the referendum to be within the framework of international law. He alleges to represent the separatist Donetsk People's Republic in Finland, and in May he announced that they will open

980-624: A girl and two boys. His wife is a Russian language and literature teacher. According to Helsingin Sanomat , Bäckman has been treated with caution in the Finnish public media because he is sensitive to what he considers to be journalistic libel. According to the newspaper he has won in court twice and he has also been convicted of libel twice in July 2009. Bäckman wrote a letter to the editor saying he had won seven libel cases during past couple of years, not two, as

1078-553: A nation does not exist. Bäckman has been involved in recruiting Finns for the war in eastern Ukraine on the Russian side. In May 2014, Bäckman was expelled from Moldova and received a five-year entry ban, as his activities were regarded as undermining Moldova's statehood. Bäckman regards the Taistoists movement of the 1970s, the hardline pro-Soviet faction in the Communist Party of Finland , as "the best thing that happened in

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1176-711: A number of organizations, such as the Presidential Commission of the Russian Federation to Counter Attempts to Falsify History to the Detriment of Russia's Interests , the Russian web brigades , and others that engage in political propaganda to promote the views of the Russian government. At the end of 2008, Lev Gudkov , based on the Levada Center polling data, pointed out the near-disappearance of public opinion as

1274-776: A publishing institution named the Johan Beckman ;[ sic ] Institute in Saint Petersburg . Bäckman serves Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS) as representative in Northern Europe. RISS is a Russian state funded research group led by a former Soviet intelligence officer. On 21 October 2024 Bäckman got Russian citizenship. In his 2007 book Finland Washed with Anna Politkovskaya's Blood ( Finnish : Saatana saapuu Helsinkiin , Literally: Satan Arrives in Helsinki , which alludes to Saatana saapuu Moskovaan ,

1372-711: A representative office in Helsinki. Bäckman claimed the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shootdown was a United States provocation to justify a NATO intervention in Donbass conflict , and describes the Ukrainian government as "the Kiev junta". During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine he has given statements to Russian media outlets about the anti-Russian sentiment of the European Union and Britain , and claimed that Ukraine as

1470-625: A socio-political institution in contemporary Russia and its replacement with state propaganda . Shortly after the Beslan school hostage crisis in September 2004, Putin enhanced a Kremlin-sponsored program aimed at "improving Russia's image" abroad. One of the major projects of the program was the creation in 2005 of Russia Today (now known as RT ), an English language TV news channel providing 24-hour news coverage. Towards its start-up budget, $ 30 million of public funds were allocated. A CBS News story on

1568-522: A specific individual or group. The target of the smear typically must focus on correcting the false information rather than on the original issue. Deflection has been described as a wrap-up smear : "You make up something. Then you have the press write about it. And then you say, everybody is writing about this charge". Political debate often abuses public confidence by one candidate attempting to sway voters, not by logical argument on given issues, but by personal diatribe that does not directly bear on

1666-612: A stable force "in the struggle against instability caused by the Americans and terrorism supported by the US regional partners". RT and Sputnik news agency are also spreading false information. In the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 , the Bellingcat website of Eliot Higgins gave evidence about the manipulation of satellite images released by the Russian Ministry of Defense which

1764-626: A title of a docent (not an indication of a teaching position or employment) of the sociology of law . He also has a title of a docent in criminology at the University of Turku and the University of Eastern Finland . Johan Bäckman is the son of Erkki Bäckman who was the Managing Director of Hartwall beverage company. Johan Bäckman has litigated over child custody against his Soviet-born ex-wife for years in which both parties have received sentences for libel . Bäckman's current family consists of

1862-566: Is a certain system of political terror". To explain why the rest of the world has not noticed this, he claims that "Children who get into these camps have special prohibitions for communications, they cannot tell us what is happening there." He states: "I think that the juvenile justice system, the system of a mass removal of children, is genocide of children". He has not provided numbers for how many children are supposed to have been killed in this alleged "genocide", and has not revealed any sources for his information. In September 2014, he alleged that

1960-470: Is a type of journalism that presents little well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines, scandal-mongering and sensationalism . For example, during Gary Hart 's 1988 presidential campaign (see below), the New York Post reported on its front page big, black block letters: "GARY: I'M NO WOMANIZER." Smears are also effective in diverting attention away from the matter in question and onto

2058-556: Is an " apartheid " regime that "falsifies" history. Helsingin Sanomat pointed out such prohibition against entry into Estonia by Finnish citizens is extremely rare. Previously such entry bans have been issued to some Finns suspected of connections with racist movements. In December 2010, Tallinn regional court declared entry prohibitions against Bäckman illegal and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to compensate his legal fees in sum of 16,600 Estonian kroons . On 29 July 2011, Bäckman

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2156-456: Is held in discredit if the underlying premise is found, "So severely in error that there is cause to remove the argument from the proceedings because of its prejudicial context and application...". Mistrial proceedings in civil and criminal courts do not always require that an argument brought by defense or prosecution be discredited, however appellate courts must consider the context and may discredit testimony as perjurious or prejudicial, even if

2254-465: Is important ' , or Important Conversations for short). Important Conversations includes lessons on "patriotism" taught to children beginning at the age of six such as "the happiness of the motherland is more precious than life", that "a true patriot should be ready to defend the country", and "it's not scary to die for the motherland". It also teaches children about Russian heroes such as Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin , and covers various topics from

2352-727: Is playing out on the ground. They almost spend full-time devoted to this effort, to propagandize, and to distort what is happening or not happening in Ukraine." Cliff Kincaid, the director of Accuracy in Media 's Center for Investigative Journalism, called RT "the well-known disinformation outlet for Russian propaganda". Members of European parliament have argued that Europe needs to strengthen its defense against Russian propaganda citing alleged Russian meddling in French, German and Spanish elections as well as Brexit . In March 2015, The East Stratcom Task Force

2450-459: Is the Kremlin 's most important propaganda and disinformation disseminator which controls all of Russia's largest radio and television channels. Former Finnish Ambassador to Russia Hannu Himanen believes that Bäckman works as part of a global propaganda and disinformation network built by Russia. Bäckman has frequently travelled to Russia since 1993, and is fluent in Russian . In 2000, he established

2548-454: The 1993 Russian Constitution has an article expressly prohibiting censorship , the Russian censorship apparatus Roskomnadzor ordered the country's media to only employ information from Russian state sources or face fines and blocks, accusing a number of independent media outlets of spreading "unreliable socially significant untrue information" about the shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army and civilian deaths. Dmitry Muratov ,

2646-611: The Foreign Ministry of Finland of Russophobia and racism. He claimed that the ministry was preparing a campaign to smear Russia and return the territories lost in the Paris Peace Treaty . In 2003, Johan Beckman Institute published the book Finland and the Siege of Leningrad 1941-1944 by the Russian historian Nikolai Baryshnikov . The Saint Petersburg legislature awarded Bäckman their Marshal Govorov Literature Prize (2003) for

2744-622: The Levada Center , Russia's most well respected polling organization. Putin's Russia's propaganda is "aggressive and deceptive ... worse than anything I witnessed in the Soviet Union". In 2014, Ivan Zassoursky, a professor of Media and Theory of Communications in the Journalism Department of Moscow State University , said, "Today there are many complex schemes of influence in the world that can be labeled as soft power. But traditional thuggish methods of propaganda and direct control used by

2842-483: The Russian Federation promotes views, perceptions or agendas of the government. The media include state-run outlets and online technologies, and may involve using "Soviet-style ' active measures ' as an element of modern Russian ' political warfare '". Notably, contemporary Russian propaganda promotes the cult of personality of Vladimir Putin and positive views of Soviet history . Russia has established

2940-664: The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian government increased their efforts to introduce "patriotic education" into schools by passing new education laws, revising school textbooks, and introducing teaching guides that help teachers deliver "patriotic" lessons which would justify the invasion. In September 2022, the Ministry of Education rolled out a series of compulsory lesson plans, developed in large part by Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov , titled Conversations about Important Things ( Russian : Разговоры о важном , lit.   ' Conversations about that which

3038-588: The Russo-Ukrainian War . During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine he has given statements to Russian media about the anti-Russian sentiment of the European Union and Britain . Bäckman has also claimed that Ukraine as a nation does not exist. Bäckman is also a member of the pro-Russian Power Belongs To The People party. Bäckman has been a notable Finnish propagandist in Russia who has actively been involved in long-term operations to propagate anti-Finnish and anti-Western propaganda in Russia. His activity

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3136-558: The Russo-Ukrainian War . Riabchuk writes: "Three major narratives emerged that can be summed up as 'Ukraine's borders are artificial', 'Ukraine's society is deeply divided', and 'Ukrainian institutions are irreparably dysfunctional'", thus needing "external, apparently Russian, guardianship". During a hearing in the US Congress in 2015, Leon Aron, director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute , described

3234-658: The Soviet pioneer organisations . Due to the propaganda in the Russian Federation, the European External Action Service founded the East StratCom Task Force in 2015 to count and display cases of untruths propagated in Russia about the EU and its member states. According to Mykola Riabchuk , Ukrainian journalist and political analyst, the Russian propaganda evolved into a full-fledged information war during

3332-812: The 1856 presidential election, John C. Frémont was the target of a smear campaign alleging that he was a Catholic . The campaign was designed to undermine support for Fremont from those who were suspicious of Catholics . Ralph Nader was the victim of a smear campaign during the 1960s, when he was campaigning for car safety. In order to smear Nader and deflect public attention from his campaign, General Motors engaged private investigators to search for damaging or embarrassing incidents from his past. In early March 1966, several media outlets, including The New Republic and The New York Times , reported that GM had tried to discredit Nader, hiring private detectives to tap his phones and investigate his past and hiring prostitutes to trap him in compromising situations. Nader sued

3430-520: The 1988 US presidential campaign. The New York Post once reported on its front page big, black block letters: "GARY: I'M NO WOMANIZER." In 2011, China launched a smear campaign against Apple , including TV and radio advertisements and articles in state-run papers. The campaign failed to turn the Chinese public against the company and its products. Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba was accused of fraud, sexual abuse and other misconduct. Baba described

3528-597: The 2016 election, before the House Intelligence Committee . In an effort to combat fake news, Facebook announced a plan in January 2018 to attempt to highlight reliable sources of news. On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to serve as special counsel to the US Justice Department in an investigation into alleged Russian interference in

3626-569: The 2016 election. On February 16, 2018, The US Justice Department indicted thirteen Russian nationals and three Russian companies on charges of attempting to influence the 2016 election in support of the Trump Campaign. Among the organizations indicted was the Internet Research Agency , a St. Petersburg based company that is said to use social media to spread fake news promoting Russian interests. The indictment claims that employees of

3724-478: The Estonian embassy in Finland, especially the film Soviet Story by Edvins Snore . In media commentaries for Swedish, Finnish and Russian press, television and radio, Bäckman claimed that the Soviet Union did not occupy Estonia, and belittled the significance of the Soviet deportations from Estonia . Bäckman has criticized Yle journalist Jessikka Aro , who investigated pro-Russian Internet trolls , accusing her of "Russo-phobic" tendencies and claiming that she

3822-562: The Finnish authorities had unjustifiably taken custody of a daughter of a Russian mother, and that the mother would seek help from the Russian Children's Ombudsman Pavel Astahov, who has a background in KGB . Journalist Jussi Konttinen of the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat characterised Johan Bäckman as a promising researcher in Russian studies in the early 2000s, who has since "marginalized" himself in Finland. Bäckman's first public appearance

3920-448: The Finnish language title for The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov ) he supported the conspiracy theory that Anna Politkovskaya assassination was organized as an attempt to smear the Russian president Vladimir Putin . Bäckman has hinted that Politkovskaya was depressed and ordered her own murder. According to Bäckman, Politkovskaya, a Russian writer and human rights activist, was an American agent. He also criticizes Finns' reaction to

4018-693: The Finns participated in the Siege of Leningrad actively and asked Hitler to destroy the city. He speculates that Finland also planned an ethnic cleansing in Karelia in order to create a Finno-Ugric superpower ( Greater Finland ), possibly stretching as far as the Urals , or even to the river Yenisei , which he claimed is proven by vast amounts of documents and in several Finnish history books by Helge Seppälä , Osmo Hyytiä and Nikolai Baryshnikov. Bäckman accuses Finland of being

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4116-503: The IRA were urged to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary [Clinton]". Russia has been accused of engaging in propaganda campaigns in an effort to sway public opinion concerning the nation's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russian social media operations were allegedly undertaken to use misinformation to appeal to pro-Russian forces in Crimea, while discrediting rebel and separatist groups. Notably,

4214-579: The Republic of Estonia should be united with Finland where it could still have an autonomy. In his highly controversial book about the Estonian Bronze Soldier Pronssisoturi: Viron patsaskiistan tausta ja sisältö , published in Finnish in 2008, Bäckman disagrees with the integration policies of Estonia . In his opinion, Estonian integration policies that have seen some 147,000 Russian speakers receiving Estonian citizenship in

4312-493: The Russian Nashi , and Night Watch organizations, against what they called the "opening [of] a new anti-Russian front of information warfare on the territory of Finland by [the] Estonian embassy." In addition, Abdullah Tammi and his followers from the prospective Finnish Islamic Party participated. The protests were aimed against seminars, against a book about the Soviet occupation of Estonia , and against films presented by

4410-411: The Russian government cannot be considered effective from the professional standpoint and acceptable from the viewpoint of journalist morality." Following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, a significant increase in Russian propaganda was noted by NATO . In February 2017, a fabricated audio recording of NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg supposedly interacting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

4508-424: The Russian government's perspective, such as national identity, patriotism, traditional values and world events. Putin hosted an inaugural lesson with selected students in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad , on 1 September 2022. The Associated Press reported that some parents were shocked by the militaristic nature of Important Conversations lessons, with some comparing them to the "patriotic education" of

4606-545: The Russian-sponsored TV network RT (formerly known as Russia Today) as not only promoting the Russian "brand", but aiming to "devalue the ideas of democratic transparency and responsibility, undermine the belief in the reliability of public information and fill the airwaves with half-truths". He described Russian state propaganda as "aggressive, often subtle, and effective in its use of the Internet". Peter Pomerantsev ,

4704-598: The West for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has become mainstream in much of Africa. Russia has been accused of using social media platforms to spread messages of propaganda to a global audience by spreading fake news as well as putting out advertisements and creating pseudo-activist movements. The popularity of Sputnik on social media and its use of viral, clickbait headlines has led it to be described as "the BuzzFeed of Propaganda" by Foreign Policy magazine. Russia

4802-559: The Workers Party of Finland list. He gained 36 votes. In October 2012, he was a candidate in municipal elections in Espoo , gaining 43 votes. In 2023, Bäckman is again running for the Finnish parliament, this time as a candidate for the pro-Russian Power Belongs to the People -party. He received his training in sociology at the University of Helsinki , where he defended his PhD in 2006, and has

4900-564: The aggressor in World War II: that it allied with Hitler in attacking the USSR in 1941 ( Continuation War )—omitting the original source conflict ( Winter War ); plotted territorial expansion and planned to conduct ethnic cleansing; and that, along with the Estonians and Germans, believed in its Aryan origins (a Nordic master race). He contends Finns are both anti-Semitic and Russophobic, Russophobia being

4998-540: The allegations as a "smear campaign". He never faced any investigation and the critics were criticized for lacking any proof against him. The allegations against Julian Assange have been labelled by Australian journalist John Pilger as a smear campaign. Chris Bryant , a British parliamentarian, accused Russia in 2012 of orchestrating a smear campaign against him because of his criticism of Vladimir Putin . In 2017 he alleged that other British officials are vulnerable to Russian smear campaigns. In January 2007, it

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5096-607: The assertion that Cleveland's party was that of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" (the latter two referring to Roman Catholicism and the American Civil War ). Cleveland's campaign also used the slogan, "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, The Continental Liar from the State of Maine" in reference to Blaine's discredited railroad deals. Discrediting tactics are not just used against each other by opponents for office in democratic countries, but are also used in wartime between countries. In

5194-581: The book. Historian Timo Vihavainen , a historian at the University of Helsinki described it as "a book built on Stalinist propaganda stereotypes". Vihavainen also said that Baryshnikov had misunderstood some of the language in Finnish archive documents. Bäckman and Baryshnikov threatened to sue Vihavainen. In March 2009, as a member of the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee , Bäckman arranged a series of protests in Helsinki attended by activists of

5292-457: The company for invasion of privacy and settled the case for $ 284,000. Nader's lawsuit against GM was ultimately decided by the New York Court of Appeals , whose opinion in the case expanded tort law to cover "overzealous surveillance." Nader used the proceeds from the lawsuit to start the pro-consumer Center for Study of Responsive Law. Gary Hart was the target of a smear campaign during

5390-795: The editor-in-chief of the Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta , said, "Everything that's not propaganda is being eliminated." According to researchers, Russia has intensified international propaganda-efforts targeting Africa , the Middle East , the Balkans , and Asia . Increases in Arabic -language pro-Russian propaganda was detected during the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Russia has been accused of amplifying anti-Western post-colonial grievances in Africa through disinformation campaigns. Partly due to Russian efforts, pro-Moscow sentiments and blaming

5488-545: The editors-in-chief to the talk show hosts to the news editors, [they] should be sanctioned now and tried someday." Smear campaign A smear campaign is an intentional, premeditated effort to undermine an individual's or group's reputation, credibility, and character . Like negative campaigning , most often smear campaigns target government officials, politicians, political candidates, and other public figures. However, private persons or groups may also become targets of smear campaigns perpetrated in companies, institutions,

5586-596: The emphasis on patriotism has grown, while freedom of speech in schools declined, and teachers also became more likely to be fired for publicly expressing political views. The national Russian symbols became more celebrated, and in 2014, the Russian government approved a new set of history textbooks, which featured a revised narrative of historical events and praised Putin's achievements and the annexation of Crimea. On 21 May 2020, The Moscow Times reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin made another effort to introduce "patriotic lessons" for Russian students. Following

5684-534: The festival considered that he unreasonably overestimated the extent of anti-Russian sentiment in Finland. According to Bäckman's article "Finland without a mask" (the title alludes to a 1943 proclamation by Otto Wille Kuusinen ), published in Russian in May 2002, the Finns in general consider themselves a superior nation, all Russian women prostitutes, and all Russian men thieves and bandits. During 2002, Bäckman gained an odious reputation both in Russia and among his Finnish colleagues. In 2002, Bäckman publicly accused

5782-442: The form of unverifiable rumors and distortions , half-truths , or even outright lies ; smear campaigns are often propagated by gossip magazines . Even when the facts behind a smear campaign are demonstrated to lack proper foundation, the tactic is often effective because the target's reputation is tarnished before the truth is known. Smear campaigns can also be used as a campaign tactic associated with tabloid journalism , which

5880-533: The former Soviet Union . Some Russian students and their parents have been investigated by the police, or threatened with expulsion, for refusing to attend the Important Conversations lessons. In the first week of March, Russian schools held an "All-Russia Open Lesson", a virtual lesson to further justify the need to wage war on Ukraine and the "danger" of NATO (see disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine ). The Ministry of Education also distributed manuals to teachers, instructing them on how to discuss

5978-413: The head of the European department of Reporters Without Borders , called the newly announced network "another step of the state to control information". In 2009, Luke Harding (then the Moscow correspondent) of The Guardian described RT's advertising campaign in the United Kingdom as an "ambitious attempt to create a new post-Soviet global propaganda empire". According to Lev Gudkov , the director of

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6076-400: The history of Finland". He has said: "We can thank the Taistoists for high-quality science, art and culture we enjoy today". Bäckman was an independent candidate for European Parliament election in 2009 on the Workers Party of Finland list. He gained 554 votes, insufficient to gain a seat. In March 2011, Bäckman announced he was a candidate for the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election on

6174-633: The interests of the Kremlin. Bäckman was a commentator for the Russian press during the Anton incident in 2009. Later, Bäckman apologized for his behaviour, and promised not to further intervene in the incident. However, he later deleted his apology, continuing to comment on the case. He was also an active commentator for Russian press during the Rantala incident in 2010. Bäckman also received media time with grandmother and similar child custody cases in 2010. Bäckman claims that children that are being taken care of by Finnish child protection authorities are living in "concentration camps", and explains that "this

6272-437: The launch of Russia Today quoted Boris Kagarlitsky as saying it was "very much a continuation of the old Soviet propaganda services". Russia's deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin said in August 2008, in the context of the Russia–Georgia conflict : " Western media is a well-organized machine, which is showing only those pictures that fit in well with their thoughts. We find it very difficult to squeeze our opinion into

6370-475: The legal system, and other formal groups. Discrediting tactics are used to discourage people from believing in the figure or supporting their cause, such as the use of damaging quotations . Smear tactics differ from normal discourse or debate in that they do not bear upon the issues or arguments in question. A smear is a simple attempt to malign a group or an individual with the aim of undermining their credibility. Smears often consist of ad hominem attacks in

6468-407: The loyalty to the regime. Putin has insisted that students learn patriotic values in schools, that lessons in history, languages and the arts should inspire pride among youth and strengthen their "patriotism". At first, these efforts to bring about educational changes had limited success, however, after the Annexation of Crimea in 2014 , according to The Washington Post , the "patriotic" reforms and

6566-582: The matter at hand. Accusations of adultery in America date back to the 19th century. One famous example of this was the 1884 presidential campaign , in which Grover Cleveland 's opponents accused him of having fathered an illegitimate child. A political catchphrase by his opponents was "Ma, ma, where's my pa?" After Cleveland was elected, his supporters mockingly added, "Gone to the White House , ha, ha, ha." Cleveland's defeat of his chief opponent, James G. Blaine , may have been helped by another discrediting tactic used against him which seriously backfired, namely

6664-405: The middle of the 20th century, Soviet and British propaganda made popular the idea that Adolf Hitler had only one testicle (and was thereby less of a man). American politics draws a line between "mud slinging" and defamation . The key issue is that mud slinging is not a form of perjury or libel . Politics also can include barratry where one opponent files frivolous litigation against

6762-614: The murder. Bäckman accused Finnish Green League politician Heidi Hautala and the Finnish media of inciting hatred towards Russia and Vladimir Putin. Hautala, depicted on the book cover, saw this as a smear campaign , but refused to take legal action, preferring to allow the book to speak for itself. Bäckman admires Vladimir Putin, crediting all recent successes of Russia to Putin's personality and health. He has compared Putin to Cold War-era Finnish president Urho Kekkonen , and claimed he wishes Putin would likewise rule Russia for 26 years. He stated that Finland also needs organizations such as

6860-448: The names of many good people, the relations between Finland and Estonia, and the Republic of Estonia itself. Finnish counter-intelligence has not commented on Bäckman publicly. Regarding Nashi demonstrations organised by Bäckman in Helsinki in March 2009, the Finnish security police spokesman replied they heard "rumours" about the demonstrations but would not comment on issues regarding free democratic activism. On 26 April 2009, Bäckman

6958-438: The newspaper Eesti Ekspress reported a link between Bäckman and the Finnish neo-nazi Risto Teinonen , alleging both of them are connected to the reputed former KGB agent Vladimir Ilyashevich residing in Estonia, all of whom are linked to the Russian historian Alexander Dyukov . In the assessment by Kaitsepolitseiamet , Bäckman, Teinonen and Ilyashevich are working as a team with support from Moscow, attempting to undermine

7056-552: The other, specifically to injure the opponent's reputation even though the case is groundless and may later be dismissed. By the time these facts can come to light, the voters have cast their ballots. In the U.S. judicial system, discrediting tactics (called witness impeachment ) are the approved method for attacking the credibility of any witness in court, including a plaintiff or defendant . In cases with significant mass media attention or high-stakes outcomes, those tactics often take place in public as well. Logically, an argument

7154-646: The pages of their newspapers." In June 2007, Vedomosti reported that the Kremlin had been intensifying its official lobbying activities in the United States since 2003, among other things hiring such companies as Hannaford Enterprises and Ketchum . In a 2005 interview with U.S government-owned external broadcaster Voice of America , the Russian-Israeli blogger Anton Nossik said the creation of RT "smacks of Soviet-style propaganda campaigns". Pascal Bonnamour,

7252-442: The paper claimed. Bäckman wrote he won the cases against five persons, all of whom are female Finnish citizens. Bäckman has a child from a previous relationship with Jaana Niemi. Niemi was born in the Soviet Union with Finnish origins, but was brought up in Russian culture. The family also spoke Finnish. In 1990, Niemi, then aged 15, moved from the Soviet Union to Finland. Bäckman and Niemi's relationship lasted six months and ended in

7350-573: The past decade are " apartheid " and represent a "criminal discrimination of Russians". In the Bronze Soldier he dismissed the Soviet occupation of Estonia as a "Nazi myth". Bäckman has gained publicity in Estonia for denying the Soviet occupation during 1940-1941 and 1944-1991: "In my opinion speaking or writing of Soviet 'occupation' should be criminalised as a form of racist propaganda." In connection to

7448-622: The presence of alleged misinformation on their platforms and interactions users may have had. In January 2017, Twitter estimated that approximately 677,000 users had "interacted with Russian propaganda or bots during the 2016 campaign". Three weeks later Twitter officials said that it is probably more than 1.4 million users were exposed to content stemming from these accounts. In 2018, Twitter deleted approximately 200,000 tweets that were found to have stemmed from accounts linked to Russia. On October 31, 2017, executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter testified on Russia's alleged use of social media in

7546-464: The principles of freedom of speech. The University of Helsinki distanced itself in a statement holding that Bäckman's political views are his own and do not represent the University's. The Estonian Internal Security Service (Kaitsepolitseiamet) official Andres Kahar said in the Estonian press that Bäckman is "a Russian propagandist" spreading disinformation similar to claims made in Moscow. In March 2009,

7644-544: The pro-Kremlin Nashi and Walking Together . According to Bäckman, the freedom of the press in Russia is considerably higher than in Finland, and Estonia is not free at all. In a 2013 interview, the Finnish Academy chairman Arto Mustajoki said that Bäckman is five times more visible in the Russian media than then-Finnish Premier Jyrki Katainen or then-President Tarja Halonen . According to Mustajoki, Russians treat Bäckman as

7742-537: The publication of the book in September 2008, Bäckman gave several interviews, including one in which he claimed Estonia will join Russia within a decade. Bäckman also claimed that the "destruction" of the Bronze Soldier grave site and monument in April 2007 by the Estonian government was "the end of history of Estonia". He speculated that most of the Russian youth all over Russia, including children, hate Estonia and deny her

7840-466: The right to exist. Bäckman went on to predict that in ten years at most, the Nashi would come to power in Russia, leading to an end of the Estonian statehood shortly afterwards. After the publication of the book, Finnish and Estonian cultural figures, scholars, journalists and politicians, including Henrik Lax , Lasse Lehtinen and Sofi Oksanen , addressed the University of Helsinki in an open letter of protest, partly in relation to Bäckman teaching

7938-624: The state of human rights." In 2023, New Yorker reported that Mohamed bin Zayed was paying millions of euros to a Swiss firm, Alp Services for orchestrating a smear campaign to defame the Emirati targets, including Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood. Under the ‘dark PR’, Alp posted false and defamatory Misplaced Pages entries against them. The Emirates also paid the Swiss firm to publish propaganda articles against

8036-593: The statement is technically true. Smear campaigns are considered by many to be a low, disingenuous form of discourse; they have been identified as a common weapon of psychopaths , borderlines , and narcissists . In many countries, the law recognizes the value of reputation and credibility. Both libel (a false and damaging publication) and slander (a false and damaging oral statement) are often punishable by law and may result in imprisonment or compensation or fees for damages done. Smear tactics are commonly used to undermine effective arguments or critiques. During

8134-600: The subject of debate about Finnish-Soviet relations during the Cold War , the war history of Finland and the Soviet Union, organized crime in Estonia and the Russian Mafia , terrorism, and the history of Estonia . As a proclaimed spokesman for the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee , he is against the integration policies of Estonia and Latvia, claiming they are " apartheid polities". On the whole, he does not recognize Estonia and Latvia as states. Bäckman has supported Russia in

8232-575: The targets. Multiple meetings took place between the Alp Services head Mario Brero and an Emirati official, Matar Humaid al-Neyadi. However, Alp’s bills were sent directly to MbZ. The defamation campaign also targeted an American, Hazim Nada, and his firm, Lord Energy, because his father Youssef Nada had joined the Muslim Brotherhood as a teenager. Amid the Gaza war, the US-based Jewish think tank ISGAP

8330-428: The war, don't believe the propaganda, here you are being lied to." On 5 April 2022, Russia's opposition politician Alexei Navalny said the "monstrosity of lies" in the Russian state media "is unimaginable. And, unfortunately, so is its persuasiveness for those who have no access to alternative information." He tweeted that "warmongers" among Russian state media personalities "should be treated as war criminals. From

8428-405: The war, including an "approved" version of the conflict. One manual explicitly claims Russia's war in Ukraine "is not a war". Russian teachers faced prosecution for expressing anti-war views in and outside the classroom. Putin signed legislation expanding Russia's foreign agent law . Under the expansions, any persons or organizations who receive support of any type, not just financial, are added to

8526-466: Was "well-known assistant of American and Baltic special services." Presented statements led prosecutors to formally charge Bäckman for harassment and aggravated defamation of Aro. In October 2018, Bäckman received a 12-month suspended jail sentence for aggravated defamation and stalking. Bäckman said he would appeal the verdict. In February 2022, the Supreme Court of Finland upheld the verdict that Bäckman

8624-552: Was accused by the US authorities for efforts to spread fake news and propaganda in an attempt to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election . Russia is alleged to have used tactics such as creating fraudulent social media accounts, organization of political rallies and online political advertisements in an effort to help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump win the election. Senior executives of American social media platforms made an effort to counter alleged Russian propaganda by deleting automated accounts and alerting users of

8722-463: Was again denied entry into Estonia and sent back to Finland. Bäckman has been a commentator of Finnish-Russian child custody and "grandmother cases" in Russian media. He has claimed that Finnish authorities persecute Russian mothers and take custody of their children without a reason. The Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle , quoting Timo Vihavainen , a professor of Russian history, speculated that this has happened due to fact that Bäckman's opinions match

8820-405: Was created with the backing of the European Union in order to counter Russian efforts to spread misinformation and fake news. On 14 March 2022, Marina Ovsyannikova , an editor for Russia's main state-controlled TV station Channel One , interrupted the television's live broadcast to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, carrying a poster stating in a mix of Russian and English: "Stop

8918-566: Was detained after his disembarkation from a ferry in the Tallinn Passenger Port and expelled from the country under an entry prohibition. The Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that Johan Bäckman has been declared persona non-grata in Estonia. Among reasons for expulsion, the Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs listed the first of all twelve statements by Bäckman in the Estonian press and in his blog, claiming Estonia

9016-515: Was guilty of stalking of Jessikka Aro, while the defamation charge was dropped. Bäckman was given a 60-day suspended prison sentence, and he was ordered to pay Aro a compensation of 9,000 euros and an additional 9,200 euros for her loss of earnings. Bäckman has voiced support for Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian War . In March 2014, Bäckman was invited to participate as an observer by the Eurasian Observatory for Democracy & Elections (EODE),

9114-558: Was in the late 1980s when he played bassoon in the EBU Young Soloists Competition on national television. He also played bassoon in the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Bäckman is highly critical of the modern Finnish historiography of World War II and challenges the traditional Western account that Finland waged a separate Continuation War against the aggression of the USSR. According to Bäckman,

9212-441: Was noted running a smear campaign against Qatar through, its media campaigns. ISGAP’s links with UAE-based think tank TRENDS Research & Advisory showed that UAE was behind the campaign. Their primary objective was to prove Qatar as a sponsor of terrorism. ISGAP & Trends RA held joint conferences, where ISGAP’s Interim Managing Director Haras Rafiq collaborated with Awadh Al Breiki, Chief Global Officer at TRENDS RA. Furthermore,

9310-575: Was published by Russian news website Life.ru . The supposed voice of Poroshenko was revealed to be Russian pranksters. Russia has been comparing Ukrainian government forces in Donbass to members of ISIS . Political scholar Nikolay Kozhanov has claimed that Russia has used propaganda to convey nationalistic as well as pro-Assad messages during the Syrian Civil War . Kozhanov claims that Russia has made an effort through propaganda to paint Russia and Syria as

9408-614: Was revealed that an anonymous website that attacked critics of Overstock.com , including media figures and private citizens on message boards, was operated by an official of Overstock.com. Countries, particularly those outside the Western hemisphere, have accused Western powers of smear campaigns to bring down their governments. Gambia accused the United States and Britain of backing "so-called Gambians to set up organisations and media facilities to spread nothing but lies against The Gambia by making false, outrageous and unfounded statements about

9506-449: Was tracked and reported by Helsingin Sanomat as part of an international investigative journalism collaboration project. The project was coordinated by OCCRP , a network of journalists specializing in crime and corruption, and The Intercept organization. As revealed by the project, Bäckman has for years provided the Russian state radio and television company VGTRK with news material defaming Finland and other Western countries. VGTRK

9604-532: Was used by RT and Sputnik news agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Continuing Russian propaganda led to several people experiencing the denial of their experience of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 , even by family members from the other side of the information iron curtain. Russian state-controlled media systematically downplayed both civilian and military losses, denouncing reports of attacks on civilians as "fake" or blaming Ukrainian forces. Although

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