Belgian newspaper De Morgen puts Russian front page on its back page to show dangers of alternative truths.

Brussels, March 5th - In his war against Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s most dangerous weapons aren’t guns or bombs, it’s his state-sponsored propaganda. He uses national media to legitimise his invasion by calling it an operation to “liberate” and “denazify” the country. To highlight the dangers of alternative truths, Belgian quality newspaper De Morgen printed the front page of the Russian newspaper Российская газета on its back page.

Independent Western media all label Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine an “invasion”. In Russian media like Российская газета however, it’s being called a “liberation”. The Russian newspaper also shows a poster that claims the Ukrainian region Donbass as part of the Russian motherland. To understand the reaction of the Russian people towards this conflict, we must first understand the version of the truth they are being shown by their government. As a quality newspaper, De Morgen stands for independent and objective journalism. The message to their readers is simple: “Clearly we don’t all get to read the same truth anymore. Read all about the consequences in De Morgen.”

Joost Berends, Creative Director at advertising agency mortierbrigade responsible for the ad, says: “This campaign is part of an ongoing brand strategy by De Morgen to keep its readers clearly informed in times of fake news and alternative facts. Journalism has been under attack in recent years, also in the Western world, and this was an opportunity for us to show the consequences of a world without access to independent journalism. When that’s under attack things can escalate quickly, as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is making painfully clear.”