The Ukraine focus
Russia's information campaign around the war against Ukraine — across two lenses, under one admission rule.
What and why
This is Syto's original focus. We track persistent narratives rather than individual fakes — claims that dozens of channels repeat for weeks until they start to sound like common sense. Such a narrative rarely asks you to believe something outright; it wears you down, shifts the frame, and lets you draw the conclusion yourself.
The focus carries two lenses, split by audience rather than by source type, because the same narrative is told differently depending on who is being persuaded:
- In Ukraine — Telegram channels and Russian-language X accounts addressed to Ukrainians at home, to soldiers, and to their families.
- In the West — English-language outlets and X accounts carrying the same narratives to Western readers, where what is at stake is the political will to keep supporting Ukraine.
The direction test
In scope: a post is admitted when it indicts Ukraine, Ukrainians, Ukrainian institutions, or Western support — making them look weak, criminal, corrupt, or illegitimate. For example: “Ukraine is collapsing”, “draft offices are kidnappers”, “Ukraine shells civilians”, “Western aid is being stolen”.
Out of scope: posts that celebrate Russian forces and actions — liberated, downed, destroyed, donate to our troops. That is pro-Russia war reporting, and it stays out even when it implies a Ukrainian setback: a Russian battlefield success is not an anti-Ukraine narrative. Neutral and off-topic posts are out too.
The working check an analyst applies: restate the post's point as “[subject] is [judgement]”. If the subject is Russia and the judgement is positive, it is out. Only “Ukraine or the West is [something bad]” is in.
The rule is about direction, not about the source: a channel is monitored for the narratives it carries, not simply for being “pro-Russian”. How a source enters the registry, and what the T1–T3 tiers mean — source vetting.
In this focus
- Sources in Ukraine — pro-Russian Telegram channels and X accounts with state-institution attribution.
- Sources in the West — English-language outlets and accounts carrying the same narratives to the West.