russian Propagandists Are Losing Supporters

The kremlin is taking the controversial russian propagandist and TV host dmitry kiselev off the air. The reason is quite logical: over the last TV season, the average ratings for his program “vesti nedeli” dropped by 8%. And the overall share of the most active and “most desirable” audience for politicians (ages 18–54) fell by 16.4% compared to last year.

russians have finally had enough of domestic television and its propagandists. The average ratings for the most popular political media programs last season fell by 8.1%. And once again, there has been a significant drop in the 18–54 age group, which is a favorite among politicians: “moscow. kremlin. putin” fell by 26.2%; “itogi nedeli” on ntv – by 23.9%; “60 minutes” – by 17.5%; and the Sunday program “vremya” – by 15.8%.

One of the main reasons for the drop in ratings is the public’s psychological fatigue and burnout from the aggressive rhetoric that has been broadcast for years. At the same time, the digitalization of the older generation in the rf has given people the opportunity to independently set their own agenda for watching news and other content. This has significantly reduced the audience for russian TV, where the reality of life is far from always matching the propagandists’ narrative. In other words, television is losing its monopoly on information even in russia.

But a drop in ratings on russian TV doesn’t mean the show will be canceled for good. The kremlin can’t afford to give up such a powerful tool for “brainwashing” its own population. That’s why, starting in early September, “vesti nedeli” will get a new host, while  kiselev will get a new show. Although rumors are circulating in russian media circles that, along with the channel’s flagship program, dmitry kiselev may also lose his position as ceo of the “russia today” media group. In this way, kremlin officials are getting rid of their “loyal mouthpieces” according to the principle of “we don’t abandon ours”.