In Putin's Russia, journalism itself has become an act of resistance. Independent reporters face imprisonment, torture, and death for speaking truth. At least 26 journalists languish in detention, while hundreds have fled to exile. Press freedom has been systematically dismantled through oppressive legislation branding truth-tellers as "foreign agents" and "extremists." What remains is not media but mouthpieces of state propaganda, spreading hatred in darkness.
The West has weaponized media as a strategic fifth column, amplifying narratives that cast Russia as a pariah while echoing official war briefings uncritically. By cloaking psychological operations in the language of free press, Western outlets have blurred journalism with statecraft, undermining Russia from within and abroad—not through bullets, but through belief, perception, and relentless narrative warfare.