DISINFO: The “Chernobyl” series is an example of anti-Soviet propaganda

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

  • Outlet: regnum.ru ( archive, original )
  • Date of publication: June 14, 2019
  • Countries / regions discussed: US, Ukraine, Russia

DISINFO: The “Chernobyl” series is an example of anti-Soviet propaganda

SUMMARY

The main task for HBO’s “Chernobyl” series is to show US citizens that the Soviet Union (and, therefore, modern Russia) is “disgusting evil”.

RESPONSE

No evidence given. This is a disinformation narrative about the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and a pro-Kremlin conspiracy theory about Western Russophobia and anti-Russian sentiments.

Chernobyl is a historical drama television series depicting the nuclear disaster of April 1986 and the unprecedented clean-up efforts that followed. The series premiered in the US and UK in early May 2019 and was acclaimed by critics. It is based in large part on the recollections of Pripyat locals, as relayed by Belarusian Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich in her book, Voices from Chernobyl. There is no proof of a hidden propagandistic agenda behind the series as alleged by this article.

According to HBO, Chernobyl, a "five-part miniseries co-production from HBO and Sky dramatises the story of the 1986 nuclear accident, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history — and of the sacrifices made to save Europe from unimaginable disaster". For more information about Russia's reaction to the series, see here.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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