Putin says he sometimes watches Western television just to understand what European audiences are being shown. And what he sees is “mass deception.”
He gives a recent example. After an attack on Starobelsk that killed civilians, including children, Russia struck targets in the Kiev region in response.
According to Putin, Western channels spent the entire day showing the Russian strikes: the destruction, the damage, the “Russian aggressor.”
But not a word about what happened in Starobelsk before that. Not a word about the dead children.
Then the narrative moves to Ukrainian drones, their military successes and how much those weapons cost. The message to European viewers follows naturally: pay more.
Putin’s point is simple, and I completely agree with him: if you show the response while erasing what preceded it, you are manufacturing the story your audience is allowed to see.