Russian Propaganda Discourse about the crises in Iraq via RT Arabic: An Analytic Study for the Period 10 Oct. 2019-10 Dec. 2019

Abstract

Russia, has been one of the first powers that has returned to the areas of its historical influence and relations Arab region. It has seized the opportunity of the crises that have hit the Arab region to return to it and interfere in its affairs, especially in Iraq. To achieve that, it has employed its media and propaganda machines to justify these interferences and to establish communication with the Arab governments and peoples. RT Arabic is one of its most prominent media to give the Russian viewpoint regarding the crises in the Iraq. This study, therefore, aims at identifying the nature of the Russian propaganda discourse addressed to the Iraq, pinpointing the most prominent crises RT Arabic highlighted, identifying the characteristics and roles of the active powers and finding the means of proof and frame of reference adopted in this discourse. The study also aims at revealing the propaganda methods used in this site by applying the survey methods, content-analysis tools and tools of analyzing the discourse. The problem of this study comes from posing the question: What is the Russian propaganda discourse regarding the crises of Iraq on RT Arabic website? RT Arabic has been chosen for this study. The researcher used the comprehensive restriction method for all the contents published by the site for three months: from 1 Oct. 2019 to 31 Dec. 2019. The contents were about the crises that took place in Iraq. In which Russia is an active party, the total has reached (861) publications.