Environmental Activism and Propaganda: Exploring Communication Strategies of Environmental NGOs in Autocracies

Extensive media censorship in Russia, especially after February 2022, has forced environmental NGOs to avoid geopolitical statements and engage in less political activities. Independent NGOs tend to self-sensor their published posts to avoid state repression while Government-organized NGOs (GONGOs) actively engage in political discussion, support the invasion to Ukraine and work in “new” annexed Russian territories Donetsk, Lugansk, Crimea, Zaporozhie. The main goal of this study is to investigate to what extent environmental NGOs in Russia are involved to state propaganda after February 2022. Therefore, the main question of the study is how the main propaganda narratives are represented in the public discourse of environmental NGOs after February 2022? To answer this question, I conduct comparative quantitative text analysis of the news publications of 41 Russian NGOs for 2023 that participate in major government-organized public forums. NGOs from the original dataset were mapped into 7 different categories, from GONGOs and NGOs affiliated with authorities, to non-profits affiliated with private and public Russian business. The main outcome of the study is the differentiation of disseminated propaganda narratives through different NGOs types. Government-organized NGOs more actively refer to patriotic narratives on the military prowess, aimed at garnering domestic support for the Ukraine conflict. Instead, government and business affiliated NGOs contribute in the dissemination of soft narratives regarding family values, economic and social prosperity, state institutions effectiveness together with the support of the President actions. This study contributes to the academic research on propaganda and disinformation in authoritarian regimes, bringing the novel perspective on the role of government and business organized NGOs in state narratives dissemination.