DISINFO: There is a crisis of adult authority in the West

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: There is a crisis of adult authority in the West

SUMMARY

The authority of adults throughout the western world suffers from a crisis, and adults are increasingly associated with negative characteristics. A feeling among adults of their inability to provide good guidance to the youth is also growing in parallel. Therefore, the other side of the erosion of the authority of the adults appears to be the tendency to approach the youth and adolescents in search of solutions and answers. This is the reason for the depreciation of the value of the “adult” in Western society compared to the increasing value of the young and “their wisdom”.

We can say that the most horrific manifestation of this trend is the scene of politicians and dignitaries as they listen to Greta [Thunberg] in high-level international meetings; the mere appearance of this symbol of “childish” political culture at any of these events generates a storm of applause.

RESPONSE

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative portraying the West as decadent, moving away from traditional values, and suffering from a moral value crisis. Russia in this context is usually being portrayed as superior to the West in terms of morals.

The narrative about “threatened values” is also adapted to a wide range of topics and is typically used to discredit liberal Western attitudes towards the environment, rights of women, ethnic and religious minorities and LGBTI groups, among others. It is one of the most common narratives used by pro-Kremlin outlets.

Read earlier cases alleging that in contrast to Russia, western Europe is abandoning Christian roots and that unlike Russia, the West is not about fairness or solidarity and it degrades traditional values and endangers societies.

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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