The image of White Helmets in Russian media
By: Hwag, Ukraine Crisis Media Center
Tags: White Helmets, Syrian War, Propaganda, Syria, Russia

Photo credit: scene from “The White Helmets”, Netflix documentary

According to the research by the Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group, Russian state-owned media promotes four main narratives in their portrayal of the Syria Civil Defense, widely known as the White Helmets. All these narratives reinforce negative image of the said organization, claiming it has ties both to the terrorist groups active in Syria and to the Western secret services, namely that of the USA. Additionally, efforts of the volunteers are undermined by the idea that their purposes are not humanitarian but that of self-promotion. Thus, in order to achieve the goal of creating positive image for themselves and, by proxy, for the terrorist organizations they are allegedly connected to, the White Helmets are said to stage the significant amount of the incidents the victims of which they assist, often doing more harm than good.

The most essential narratives regarding the White Helmets are as follows:

1. They are portrayed as extremists and/or a part of terrorist organizations active in Syria. Sometimes Russian media calls them “war criminals” or “militants” (using a word that has negative connotations in Russian language), implying that Syrian Civil Defense is, in fact, not civil, but an armed militant group actively participating in combat. Sometimes this idea is narrowed down by claiming that the White Helmets are a part of known terrorist groups, usually al-Nusra Front — a Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. Establishing this connection, especially considering that it is repeatedly underlined, creates firm negative associations and mistrust towards the volunteers.

2. The White Helmets are funded by the West in order to be used by the secret services, namely by the CIA. Russian media repeatedly stresses that this organization is not and could not possibly be independent, since the significant part of the funding is provided by the Western European countries such as the Great Britain and the USA. Motives behind these contributions are said to be far from charitable — they are supposed to help the secret services use the organization for their own purposes. The nature of these covert operations is rarely explained by the Russian so-called experts, but it can be speculated that they are connected to narrative 4.

3. Allegedly, the White Helmets act not to save people but to promote their own “brand” via orchestrated fake videos. This is the most popular accusation, which is just another way to incite mistrust in the viewers, portraying the volunteers not as people providing humanitarian assistance but as cynical manipulators who are interested in self-promotion. Evidence of the White Helmets’ activities is called fake and set-up, vocabulary used by Russian media in this regard is often tied to the themes of theater and film-making. This instrument distances the viewers from the events, undermines their significance and strengthens the idea that participants of the Syria Civil Defense are merely actors. To put further emphasis on their supposedly selfish interests that come before providing assistance, Russian media tends to imply that on certain occasions creation of said videos puts civilians in danger.

4. These “fake” videos are used as political instruments by the US government. This narrative is closely intertwined with narrative 2 and narrative 3, ultimately directing the alleged dependency on the West and creation of “set-up” videos to reaching political goals in the best interest of the USA. Here Russian media mainly accuses the White Helmets of “staging” chemical attacks so that the American government may later put the blame on Bashar Assad. This propaganda element contributes to the more general discourse on the Syrian civil war, in which Russian government is actively involved on the side of Assad while vehemently criticizing America’s policy in the region. Such message serves several purposes:

Blame for using chemical weapons is lifted from Assad, improving his public image in the eyes of Russian viewers and thus justifying Russian support;

If the use of chlorine takes place, responsibility for it can be transferred to America’s “pawns” on the ground (in this case, the White Helmets) and, by proxy, to the USA themselves;

Syrian Civil Defense is, again, portrayed as a dependent actor not to be trusted.

The major role of these narratives is to justify Russia’s questionable activities on the international arena, specifically in Syria. Once again, the idea of geopolitical confrontation with the USA, for which, of course, America is to blame, is widely and rather openly promoted.

However, it can also be speculated that chosen narratives on the White Helmets assist Russian propaganda in achieving two other, local and more subtle goals. First, the popular notion of “fake” and “set-up” videos, their positive portrayal in the Western media solidifies the idea that Western sources of information should not be trusted and Russian news are the only reliable source. Second, in addition to strengthening the propaganda this way, negative perception of Syrian Civil Defense and mistrust to this volunteer movement might be used as another way to discourage Russian citizens from participating in any grass-root organizations/movements not sanctioned by the government — and, therefore, potentially dangerous to it.