Davey Alba: ‘I’ll Stand on the Side of Russia’: Pro-Putin Sentiment Spreads Online

The online conversations reflect how pro-Russia sentiment has increasingly penetrated Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, right-wing podcasts, messaging apps like Telegram and some conservative media. As Russia attacked Ukraine this week, those views spread, infusing the online discourse over the war with sympathy — and even approval — for the aggressor. The positive Russia rhetoric is an extension of the culture wars and grievance politics that have animated the right in the United States in the past few years. In some of these circles, Mr. Putin carries a strongman appeal, viewed as someone who gets his way and does not let political correctness stop him.

Also this morning, I was listening to Pivot, and I heard Kara Swisher get more worked up over the latest attempts to attack and dehumanize LGBTQ people, including a clip from another podcast where they praise Putin for his “handling” of queer people. Needless to say, I find this all abhorrent.