Disappearing Act: Putin's Conflict in Ukraine Fades as Focus Shifts to Gaza
Amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza, media attention has shifted away from Ukraine, leaving the devastating consequences of Putin's brutal war hidden from public view
When was the last time you witnessed a live television news report from Ukraine? It has probably been quite some time.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has overshadowed the prolonged war in Eastern Europe, resulting in limited media attention towards Vladimir Putin's aggressive actions against Ukraine. The recent Israel-Hamas conflict has diverted the spotlight from Ukraine, causing a significant drop in coverage of the war on cable news networks. According to analysis of closed-captioning data from the Internet Television Archive by the GDELT Project, CNN's coverage of the Ukraine war decreased drastically after the shocking terror attack conducted by Hamas on October 7th. Prior to the Israel-Hamas conflict, CNN dedicated approximately eight percent of its television coverage to the Ukraine war. However, following the attacks, CNN's coverage of Ukraine decreased to less than one percent, making it the network with the least amount of coverage on the issue.
The chaos surrounding the election of a new House speaker in Washington led to an increase in mentions of Ukraine on cable news networks. However, the focus of the coverage mostly revolved around U.S. funding of the embattled nation rather than the actual state of play in the war.
According to data from ComScore, an Internet analytics firm, a similar trend was observed online. The data revealed a significant decrease in social media discussions about the Ukraine war following the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict. Additionally, the data indicated a general decline in attention towards Putin's invasion in recent months.
The decline in media coverage of the Ukraine war, amidst the recent violence in the Middle East, is not entirely surprising. The heinous acts carried out by Hamas in Israel have captured global attention, even from those who typically pay little attention to international affairs. Furthermore, U.S. news outlets have been preoccupied with various other significant stories, such as congressional disarray, Donald Trump's legal issues, and a horrific mass shooting in Maine.
However, this lack of attention towards Ukraine has undoubtedly benefited Putin. The authoritarian Russian leader, responsible for committing unspeakable atrocities during his invasion of a sovereign nation, has been able to proceed with his war with minimal scrutiny on his appalling actions.
According to Paul Kolbe, a former 25-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency and current senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Putin is likely pleased that the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has diverted US attention away from Russia's continued strikes on Ukrainian cities and civilian targets. Kolbe believes that Western press coverage of the conflict in Ukraine has decreased, allowing Russia to spread its own campaign of lies and misinformation. He also suggests that Putin's strategy involves wearing down Western patience and support while exploiting domestic divisions within the United States, as well as targeting NATO members who may sympathize with Russia.
In addition to conducting military operations, Putin is actively engaging in an information warfare by utilizing various tools to deceive and conceal the brutal acts being perpetrated against innocent civilians as per his instructions. Kolbe, who I spoke with, highlights that Putin's media campaign, aimed at portraying Ukraine as internally divided, corrupt, and a mere puppet of the U.S. and NATO, is a crucial component of his strategy.
The limited coverage from the press further facilitates his endeavors.
