Dismissing elections by portraying Western elites as indifferent to voters

What it claims

Political decisions and statements by Western officials are presented as proof that elections do not matter and that those in power ignore voters. Individual remarks about party leadership, election results and NATO unity are inflated into a picture of elites jointly disregarding democracy. Officials are labelled “unelected bureaucrats,” while cooperation among allies is portrayed as a conspiracy against citizens’ will.

Target audience

Examples (paraphrased)

We paraphrase rather than quote: propaganda's exact wording is built to spread, so we carry the claim and not the craft. Each example cites the post it came from.

• After an electoral setback, Merz will retain the offices of chancellor and party leader because in the West power is not gained through elections.

  Margarita Simonyan, 21 Sept 2026

  x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2101962967692513299

• NATO leaders will preserve military contracts regardless of whom voters in Germany or France elect.

  Margarita Simonyan, 23 Sept 2026

  x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2102705408964178115

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Goal

To strengthen Western audiences’ belief that democratic institutions do not represent citizens and to weaken support for political and defence cooperation among allies.

Techniques used

• Loaded LanguageA female official is called an “unelected bureaucrat,” reducing her position to personal ideological loyalty.
• Causal OversimplificationA politician’s intention to remain in a party post after an electoral setback is presented as proof that democracy is absent.

The real grievance it exploits

The narrative exploits understandable frustration when party leaders remain in office after setbacks and when decisions by international bodies seem distant from voters’ everyday concerns.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Notice the substitution: disagreement with an official or a decision is turned into the assertion that the entire electoral process is a fiction. This generalisation does not explain which procedures, powers or decisions are being challenged.
• Reframe: When assessing statements by politicians and international organisations, distinguish a dispute over a specific policy from claims that voters’ will has been abolished. Representative democracy includes elections, parliamentary scrutiny, party competition and public criticism; it cannot be reduced to one official’s remark.

Sources (all time)

• Margarita SimonyanTier 1560,000 followers
  4 posts · 21–23 Sept 2026

  • 23 Sept · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2102705408964178115
  • 21 Sept · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2102036326400856198
  • 21 Sept · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2102024193353097484
  • 21 Sept · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2101962967692513299