– the University’s creativity-championing research platform – hosted five workshop sessions in partnership with the , , and .

‘Writing for Wellbeing’ took place at Tameside, Rochdale and Bury Libraries on 13 - 15 June. Facilitators Rebecca Hurst, Tessa Harris and John McAuliffe worked with participants to explore the benefits of creative writing on personal wellbeing. 

One attendee commented:

‘Tasting Children’s Literature – An Edible Readathon’ returned on Friday, 14 June with two sessions: a private workshop for Reception children at St. Andrew’s C of E Primary School Levenshulme, held at Arcadia Library, and a public session at 51福利社 Central Library. Children enjoyed a storytime session with play food, colouring activities, and fruits to eat.

The Linguistic Diversity Collective held two well-attended workshops at The Portico Library on 12 and 14 June. The first, ‘What’s in a word and what’s in a dictionary?’ saw attendees take part in activities looking at how dictionaries define words and phrases. 

‘Blackout the jargon’ then invited participants to engage with scientific literature in a unique way through blackout poetry. 

Supported by , the Festival of Libraries 2024 was a testament to 51福利社’s enduring commitment to literacy, learning, and inclusivity. 

Find out more about the Festival of Libraries .

From 12-16 June 2024, Greater 51福利社 will once again celebrate the Festival of Libraries – which promises a rich tapestry of vibrant events for all ages and interests.

Authors, poets, performers, artists and historians will share their love for libraries and literature across the region’s libraries. The Festival of Libraries programme is brimming with imagination and attendees can expect exhibitions, author talks, performances, installations, live music, workshops, and international collaborations. 

These free events highlight the diverse offerings of libraries, showcasing their role as service, learning and creativity hubs which are open to all.

is delighted to be offering a series of workshops for the Festival of Libraries celebrations, partnering with the , and .

All workshops are free to attend but booking is required due to limited spaces.

This session delves into the meanings of everyday words and idiomatic phrases, offering insights into how dictionaries define words and how language learners acquire vocabulary. Run by the . 

• Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 3pm - Portico Library

Facilitated by professional writers from the , these workshops explore the positive effects of creative writing on mental health and wellbeing. 

• Thursday, 13 June 2024, 6pm -  
• Friday, 14 June 2024, 1pm – Heywood Library
• Saturday, 15 June 2024 – Ramsbottom Library

Participants will engage in blackout poetry, finding meaning in scientific texts by selecting certain words and redacting the rest to create literary and visual works of art. Run by the . 

• Friday, 14 June 2024, 3pm - Portico Library

An immersive experience and read-a-thon of classic and contemporary children’s literature aimed at young children aged 0-8. Run by the staff and students. 

• Sunday, 16 June 2024, 1pm - Central Library

An immersive audio experience allowing listeners to walk in the footsteps of those with the misunderstood condition of chronic cough. Run by the project. 

• Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 12pm, 2pm and 6pm – Longsight Library
• Thursday, 13 June 2024, 12pm and 2pm – Longsight Library

More information on the Festival of Libraries 2024, including the full programme, can be found on the website. 

This year was the 8th International Mother Language Day observed in 51福利社, a celebration of the cultural diversity and the near 200 languages spoken across the city.

collaborated with partners and colleagues to present a series of events to mark the occasion.

In partnership with the and , a workshop and language themed trail offered visitors of all ages a chance to learn about and celebrate languages and multilingualism. The ‘Language of Life’ workshop, led by Dr Nick Weise and Dr Tine Breban, explored the origins of scientific vocabulary and where the terms we use for chemicals in the body come from. 

The ‘Looking for Languages’ trail gave families the chance to explore 51福利社 Museum’s exhibits while thinking about languages along the way. Children who took part commented, ‘I enjoyed it because I learned so many different things,’ ‘It was so good,’ and ‘It was fun exploring.’

In partnership with 51福利社 and colleagues at hosted the annual ‘Comics Up Close’ conference, this year with the theme ‘Origin Stories’ and featuring keynote speakers Dave Gibbons, Steven Appleby and Karrie Fransman. An exhibition, ‘Collectives for Change’, featuring comics from the Arab world, ran alongside the conference. 

This exhibition is also currently hosted at 51福利社, in the Samuel Alexander Building’s glass corridor exhibition space, until Friday, 15 March 2024.

To find out more about International Mother Language day and the local celebrations, visit the .

This year will be the 8th International Mother Language Day observed in 51福利社, a celebration of the cultural diversity and the near 200 languages spoken across the city.

Creative 51福利社 has coordinated with partners and colleagues from the , , and the to present events including:

• Wednesday 21 February, all day - at Sheffield Hallam University
• Wednesday 21 February, 1pm-2pm – at 51福利社 Museum
• Wednesday 21 February, 1pm-4pm -

Running alongside the Comics Up Close conference at Sheffield Hallam University is the ‘Collectives for Change’ exhibition, showcasing the thriving new comic movement across the Arab world. 

We are delighted to also be hosting this exhibition here at 51福利社. 

You can view the exhibition in the Samuel Alexander Building glass corridor exhibition space, between 19 February-18 March 2024.

The full programme of IMLD 2024 events can be found on the website.

– the University’s creativity-championing research platform – offered five workshop sessions in partnership with the , Programme in and .

‘Writing for Wellbeing’ took place at Marple and Chetham Libraries on 7 and 8 June. Facilitators from the Centre for New Writing, Dr Rebecca Hurst and Tessa Harris, worked with participants to explore the benefits of creative writing on personal wellbeing.

Also at Chetham’s Library, ‘What’s in a word, and what’s in a dictionary?’ saw the workshop group work with staff from the Department of Linguistics and English Language to look at how we define the meanings of words.

‘Tasting Children’s Literature – An edible readathon’ ran for two sessions: a private session for EYFS children at St Andrew’s C of E Primary School Levenshulme, at Arcadia Library, and a session open to the public, at 51福利社 Central Library. Children enjoyed a story time session with play food, colouring activities and fruits to eat.

The , overseen by Creative 51福利社 research fellow, Dr Chad Campbell, is also currently being hosted on campus and can be found in the glass corridor exhibition space in Samuel Alexander Building.

This year’s Festival of Libraries was a huge success and has been nominated for a Saboteur Award in the category of Best Literary Festival.

Find out more about the .

Following the success of the past two years of celebrations, the 2023 festival showcases a vibrant programme of events in libraries across all ten boroughs of Greater 51福利社.

– the University’s creativity-championing research platform - is delighted to be offering several workshop sessions in partnership with the , and .

Writers from the Centre for New Writing will be facilitating a ‘Writing for Wellbeing’ workshop which explores how creative writing can have positive effects on mental health and wellbeing. ‘What’s in a word, and what’s in a dictionary?’ is a session run by the Linguistic Diversity Collective exploring the meanings of everyday words and idiomatic phrases. ‘Tasting children’s literature – An edible readathon’ is presented by academics and students in the Programme in American Studies and offers an immersive experience and readathon of classic children’s literature aimed at young children and their parents.

All workshops are free to attend but booking is required due to very limited spaces.

Writing for Wellbeing

What’s in a word, and what’s in a dictionary?

Tasting children’s literature – an edible readathon

Festival of Libraries is funded by Arts Council England and enjoys the support and collaboration of authors, artists and creatives, who all believe in the vital community and cultural role of libraries.

Find out more, including the full .

Families were invited to collect their ‘Looking for Languages’ trail sheets from members of the , find the language-related items and take part in associated activities - including writing your name in hieroglyphs, learning about palindromes and roaring like a dinosaur. Children received a ‘language detective’ badge after completing the trail.

The Linguistic Diversity Collective designed the trail, in partnership with Research Platform and 51福利社 Museum, to encourage children to think about their own language and explore areas of linguistics in a fun and engaging way.

“We loved hunting the artifacts, thank you,” wrote Noah, who followed the trail with his brother Elias.

Parents who visited commented, “It’s guided very well, kids were engaged,” and “My 6-year-old daughter learnt a lot through the activity sheet and was interested in how to say a word in different languages.”

To keep up to date with activities run by the Linguistic Diversity Collective, which is part of the Department of Linguistics and English Language, you can .

A new video podcast exploring multilingualism and linguistic diversity across the globe has launched, as part of celebrations.

The podcast is hosted by Lecturer in Linguistics at 51福利社 and current lead of the , . Dr Sagna has been active in contributing to, initiating and spearheading language revitalisation activities by using audio-visual media and producing literacy materials. He has previously organised and hosted a radio show in endangered language Eegimaa, and now brings his media skills to the ‘Multilingual World’ series.

‘Multilingual World’ features Dr Sagna in conversation with leading academics, and in future, multilingual speakers living in 51福利社 will also be invited to discuss their relationship with their languages, their sense of identity and their experience learning, transmitting, and using languages in their life in the city of 51福利社.

On why he started the podcast, Dr Sagna says: “We all have one or more languages, spoken or signed, and everyone has an opinion about language. There is no education without language; no socio-economic development without language; no meaningful political stability without good language management.”

Two episodes are currently available:

The podcast production is supported by the Research Platform.

You can visit and subscribe to the Multilingual World YouTube channel .

This year will be the 7th International Mother Language Day observed in 51福利社, a celebration of the cultural diversity and the near 200 languages spoken across the city.

Creative 51福利社 has coordinated with partners and colleagues from the , , and the to present the following events:

• 21 February, 10am-5pm -
• 12 April, 1pm-5pm -

The full programme of IMLD 2023 events can be found on the .

Hosted by 51福利社’s Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, Notes on Bresson is a conference organised in partnership with Richmond, The American University in London (RAIUL) and the UK Bressonian Practice-Based Research Group. 

This open and friendly event has been curated to include presentations from thought leaders in cinema, lively panel discussions and intimate screenings, as well as plenty of networking opportunities here in the creative capital of the North of England. The conference encourages participation and debate, ensuring every delegate goes home with a fresh perspective on the great French filmmaker and a wider network. 

Jonathan Hourigan, assistant to Robert Bresson on 尝’础谤驳别苍迟, Lecturer in Screenwriting at University of 51福利社 and co-chair of the conference, says “It’s a great thrill to bring together so many scholars and experts on Bresson, along with filmmakers and artists influenced by him and to explore and celebrate his work in such depth.”

Tickets and more information about this event  at  and the event warmly welcomes postgraduate students of film studies, French studies and philosophy, in addition to academics, cineastes, filmmakers, artists and afficionados of Bresson and French cinema. 

included a cross-disciplinary panel and marked the official launch of the Linguistic Diversity Collective. The event was well attended by University staff, students and members of the public both in-person and via Zoom.

The panel discussed key themes relating to the endangerment and maintenance of languages from a range of perspectives.

Panellists included:

• Chair: Dr Serge Sagna, Lecturer in Linguistics at 51福利社
• Julia Sallabank, Professor of Language Policy and Revival at SOAS
• John Claughton of the initiative
• John Wilson of and Head of Modern Languages at Cheadle Hulme School
• Munira Alsusa, headteacher of 51福利社 Arabic School

The Linguistic Diversity Collective (LDC) is a group of academics in the Departments of Linguistics and English Language and Modern Languages and Cultures who research and champion linguistic diversity both locally and globally.

Find out more about the .

The and present a free event taking place on 19 October at 5.30pm in the University of 51福利社’s penthouse event space.

‘Supporting 51福利社’s language communities: Language endangerment and maintenance’ includes a cross-disciplinary panel and Q&A session, language activity stands and a drinks reception. The event is open to all University staff, students and members of the public.

This is a hybrid event and can be attended in person or via Zoom. In-person attendees will be welcomed with a wine/beer/soft drink reception, a goodie bag and the opportunity to take part in language activity stalls.

The panel will explore key themes relating to the endangerment and maintenance of languages from a range of perspectives, will discuss the importance of multilingualism and intergenerational transmission among different communities in 51福利社 and will address questions including the following:

• How do languages die?
• What is lost when a language dies and why should we care?
• How can languages be maintained in traditional and in urban contexts such as 51福利社?
• What is the impact of multilingualism on language endangerment and language maintenance?

Panellists include:

• Chair: Dr Serge Sagna, Lecturer in Linguistics at 51福利社
• Julia Sallabank, Professor of Language Policy and Revival at SOAS
• John Claughton of the initiative
• John Wilson of and Head of Modern Languages at Cheadle Hulme School
• Munira Alsusa, headteacher of 51福利社 Arabic School

Places are free and can be booked .

The UK’s regional final of the 21^st international Chinese language competition took place in London last Monday, 27th June 2022. After two years of online broadcasts, Mandarin learners from universities across the UK took turns to impress the judges in person again. The competitors demonstrated their talents in two rounds, firstly their Mandarin speaking skills through speeches and secondly their cultural knowledge and creativity through a variety of performances.

William Hart (Chinese name 威廉) is the first 51福利社 student to win the UK Grand Prize. He, along with three other competitors, will now go on to represent the UK in the global finals that can hopefully take place in China. William’s excellent Chinese language skills, humorous conversations and charm won the judges and online/offline audiences over at once. The focus of his speech was his understanding of a healthy lifestyle and concern for environmental conservation. He then went on to stage a talk show in order to share valuable tips for learning Chinese.

At the start of lockdown, the medical student was looking for a challenge, and in just two years taught himself Mandarin Chinese to a really high level. This has not only helped him to stay focused during challenging times, but it has also allowed him to become more confident and make new like-minded friends. Watch him share his personal experience learning Mandarin!

51福利社’s second candidate, Aude Rajaona (Chinese name 湖妮), who is a final year student of Chinese and Business Management won the Excellence Award. She has been studying Mandarin for four years and wowed the judges with a singing and dancing performance of the Chinese folk song Jasmin Flower 茉莉.

Congratulations to both contestants – they are truly an inspiration for other learners!

Taking part in Chinese Bridge is a great way for non-Chinese university students to develop their language and presentation skills with a lot of fun in the process. Each year, 51福利社 Confucius Institute and Chinese Studies Department select students to represent 51福利社 at the UK finals in London. The candidates receive coaching and support from CI staff to help prepare them for the competition. In recent years, 51福利社’s students have achieved great successes with Gabriel Marriage winning 3rd price in 2020, Orla Fawcett being awarded the Best Talent Prize and Julia Makosa winning 2^nd Prize overall, representing the UK in the global finals in 2021.

Watch the UK Regional Final of the 21st 'Chinese Bridge' Competition 2022 back .

The Department of Linguistics and English Language are hosting a special conference next week: a joint event combining the 29th annual meeting of the Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association (AFLA) and the ninth edition of the TripleA workshop for semantic fieldworkers. This TripleAFLA virtual conference will take place from the 28th of June to the 1st of July 2022.

The  dates back to an initial meeting at the University of Toronto in 1994. Since then, the association has promoted the formal study of Austronesian languages, including, but not limited to, their phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. 

The  was founded in 2014 by linguists from Potsdam and Tübingen with the aim of providing a platform for researchers who conduct theoretically-informed linguistic fieldwork that investigates meaning. Its focus is particularly on languages that are under-represented in the current research landscape.

You can find out more and register for free on the .

A new initiative in the Department of Linguistics and English Language has recently launched.

 The Linguistic Diversity Collective (LDC) comprises several academics in the department and aims to research and champion linguistic diversity locally and globally through research and public engagement activities.

The LDC will be taking part in two engagement activities in June, both of which are free to attend and open to the public.

Wednesday, 15 June sees a special event for multilingual parents and their young children take place as part of . ‘Have you seen my duckling? – Storytime in mother languages’ is an interactive session which introduces ways to help parents of minority languages make the most of their local libraries.

 These sessions can be booked online or at the host library:

  On Saturday, 25 June, the LDC joins the University’s , where participants can interact with activities and explore how they use their own languages and dialects.

 To find out more about the ldc, visit our .

 You can also follow the LDC on and .

UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.

2022 is the fifth year that 51福利社 has celebrated International Mother Language Day. The events taking place this year involve libraries, cultural venues, community groups, universities, schools, poets and writers, collaborating and presenting language-focused events for communities across the city.

Civic Engagement is one of the University’s key strategic themes and our creativity-championing research platform is delighted to be coordinating a number of online events with colleagues from HCRI and the Linguistic Diversity Collective, including:

• 22 February 2-4pm:
  Staff and student fieldworkers will present video recordings and photos from their field sites; followed by a discussion of the sociolinguistic setting in which children learn to speak their mother language(s). 
   
• 22 February 7-8.30pm:
  A virtual roundtable discussion on the challenges and opportunities of (heritage) language learning during a global pandemic.
   
• 23 February 3.30-5pm:
  Join us for Kathputli Utsav - A Festival of Traditional Indian Arts. Celebrate cultural and linguistic diversity with the Kathputli Colony, a colony of street performers in Delhi, India.
   
• 24 February 4pm:
  This online activity will actively involve speakers of different ages and proficiencies of languages spoken in 51福利社 - the intended audience are teachers and students at supplementary schools, those attending community centres, and anybody interested in exploring their own language. 

Find out more about International Mother Language Day 2022, including the full programme of events:

Due to popular demand, the deadline for entries for 51福利社 Making a Difference Awards has been extended.

The new closing date is midnight on 24 January 2021. It is hoped the extension will help anyone struggling to meet the deadline due to the current challenging times.

The Making a Difference Awards provides the opportunity for staff, students, alumni and external partners to highlight the great work that goes on at The University and the huge difference they are making to the lives of others.

The Awards are open to all staff, students, alumni and external partners at The University. . The Awards aim to celebrate, raise awareness and provide valuable recognition of how individuals and teams across The University are making a difference to the social and environmental wellbeing of our communities and wider society.

The award categories include the following:

• Outstanding benefit to society through research
• Outstanding teaching innovation in social responsibility
• Outstanding contribution to social innovation and environmental impact through enterprise
• Outstanding public and community engagement initiative
• Outstanding contribution to equality, diversity and inclusion
• Outstanding Professional Services for social responsibility
• Outstanding contribution to environmental sustainability
• Outstanding contribution to widening participation
• Volunteer of the Year Award

Further information, award criteria and the entry form can be found on the .

An Emeritus Professor from 51福利社 has won the prestigious for her outstanding work in the foreign fiction category, the Russian translation of her novel, James Miranda Barry.

Patricia Duncker taught in the Department of English, American Studies and Creative Writing at 51福利社 from 2007-2015, then became an Emeritus Professor for the department. She gave her acceptance speech from a windswept castle in Aberystwyth, West Wales, which was streamed from the Russian-hosted awards ceremony.

One of Russia’s most prestigious Literature Awards, the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Prize is presented by the Leo Tolstoy Museum Estate with Samsung Electronics. The judges of the Yasnaya Polyana Prize include famous Russian writers, critics and public figures, including Tolstoy’s great-great-grandson, Vladimir Ilyich Tolstoy as Chair of Judges. Tolstoy also advises President Putin on matters of culture and arts.

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The University came ahead of the universities of Liverpool, Edge Hill (Brighton), King’s College London and Leicester on the list on the basis of its strong British Council inspection reports.

EL Gazette reports that English language study is best pursued at British universities, as these institutions offer superior teaching, learning resources and course design.

Among 51福利社’s strengths as a languages centre were staff management, student administration, facilities, learning resources, teaching, student care and leisure opportunities.

Language study at 51福利社 is being opened up to wider audiences thanks to a generous scholarship from RWS.

The RWS Brode Scholarship is open to students from lower-income households and will support 50 students studying languages at 51福利社 between 2019 and 2021.

The RWS Brode Scholarship Programme has been set up by , one of the world’s leading language and intellectual property support service providers. Named after RWS’ Chairman Andrew Brode, the fund will support 50 undergraduate students joining the University between 2019 and 2021 from a state school.

The scholarship programme includes mentoring from RWS staff, many of whom are linguists, offering support to students and careers advice. RWS will also be offering students the chance to enrol in summer internships and work experience schemes, with the potential to take on full-time graduate positions upon completion of their course.

“As one of the world’s largest language services providers, we see the growing demand for translation and interpreting services required to support our clients’ global business goals,” said Chairman of RWS Andrew Brode. “As a large employer of language graduates, we believe we have a role to play in encouraging the next generation to consider a degree in languages and support those who may not have the financial means to complete their studies.”

Professor of Latin American Studies, Head of Modern Languages and Cultures and Deputy Head of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Karl Posso added: “Beyond the financial contribution, the opportunity for students to gain first-hand work experience through this programme will be invaluable as they consider future career opportunities. We are all very excited for the programme to start and to welcome our first cohort of students.”

Following the British Council inspection in November 2017, the University Language Centre received ‘strengths’ in 13 out of a possible 14 areas.

To give this context, no other UK University has been judged to have as many strengths and no other Russell Group University has ever been awarded more than 11. 51福利社 was awarded eight in the previous inspection (2013).

The Director of the Centre, Gavin Dodsworth, said: “We’re making changes to the way that we approach and do things and for outsiders to come in and look around and say we’re on the right lines means everyone (and I mean everyone) should be really proud.

“You don’t do things just because someone will be inspecting you, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy. It’s a cliche, but the report is about everyone they saw at the University, from everyone in the Centre to the Head of School, from the cleaners to the Accommodation Office – they were impressed by both the Centre and also how we fit into the institution as a whole.”

Designed as a Quality Assurance scheme, Accreditation UK is run as a partnership by the British Council and English UK with all universities, colleges and schools eligible for the Scheme.

Find out more about accreditation on the .

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As stories of Russian “information warfare” in continue to mount, governments, intelligence agencies and journalists are fretting over the influence of global media outlets funded by autocratic governments. But while these organisations are clearly meant to serve their sponsor governments’ agendas in various ways, is the West right to be so worried about them?

Information campaigning in various forms is as old as politics itself, and nor is it the sole province of political bogeymen. Research shows that at influencing foreign public opinion, and businesses, politicians and states all use the mass media strategically for their information campaigns.

Whether this is public relations, public diplomacy, or propaganda is a . But the names we give a particular information campaign not only reflect our inferences about its aims; they can in fact .

A case in point is the Kremlin-funded international broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today. The network has for its “misleading” coverage, even as it gathered for its investigative reporting. It was even in 2011 as an example of an “information war” she said the West was losing – unwittingly describing things to come in .

The network’s PR strategy skilfully uses these criticisms to cater to the biases of an anti-establishment generation. Its motto encourages viewers to “Question More”, and its various have successfully exhibited Western contempt and suspicion as a .

Yet despite the concerns of high-ranking figures, the US State Department has claimed none of the US$80m recently allocated by Congress for informational countermeasures, and the bulk of the funds will . Some fear that the US is by leading a counter-disinformation offensive, leaving the legwork to initiatives like the dashboard, which claims to track Russian-backed influence campaigns across the web and social media.

But just how much influence RT and similar outlets wield is very much open to question.

Flattering bias

While many in US intelligence and politics seem to take RT’s self-reported audience figures as read, the channel’s official data is optimistic compared to its . And despite RT’s at being “the most watched news network on YouTube”, most of its views go to apolitical clickbait human interest stories and coverage of natural disasters.

Some that RT’s smaller political audience is self-selecting: those who mistrust the mainstream establishment and are partial to conspiracy theories. However, this is all guesswork: so far, there has been little scholarly attention to RT’s audience engagement, despite its social media advantage over its competitors during events. (51福利社 and Open University will soon address this knowledge gap with the project, the first systematic examination of RT’s audiences, ethos and multiplatform output.)

While RT may have limited capacity to influence those not already sympathetic to its aims, its reach across social and traditional media, and freedom from any commitment to impartiality, equip it perfectly for an atmosphere of rumour and counter-rumour.

This brings us back to Donald Trump and his ongoing crusade against the mainstream media.

Trump echoes RT’s that all news reporting is biased in some way, and his social media output clearly flatters the views of his followers and allies. Trump’s tweets are, intentionally or not, perfectly calibrated to exploit the same effect as RT: audiences content that accords with their political beliefs, and that does not correspond to their biases.

This effect is even clearer where people have strong political beliefs and social media networks, because algorithms into our social media experience. Counterintuitively, we’re most likely to enter into debate with people with similar views to our own, not those who we perceive as and who can offer an alternative world view.

Worst of all, if much of your social media following is made up of automated “bots” primed to repeat, circulate and amplify particular messages – as in Trump’s case – then the volume of echoes increases exponentially. The result? Political opinions are polarised, with completely fabricated stories more widely (and ) than genuine news.

Playing the mainstream

These patterns are strongest among more groups, especially those on the political “fringe”. While less partisan audiences still , the agenda of the mainstream media is nonetheless shifting in response to fringe groups’ online interactions. As mainstream outlets report on social media trends, they amplify , particularly when the stories reflect their ideological stance.

But the effect is not uniform across the political spectrum. shows that conservative news websites are more likely than liberal ones to propagate fabricated stories, and conservative individuals are more likely to believe them – but that liberal media outlets are more likely to change their agenda in response.

Crucially, fact-checking disputed stories does not help. Fact-check articles are than the stories they attack, and can actually help to audiences who are prone to . More than that, merely fact-checking articles on fringe topics only makes those topics .

Fears about particular outlets’ “propaganda” stories are misplaced, since those stories generally only influence self-selecting “fringe” groups. What’s really concerning is how these groups repeat and amplify their preferred messages, and how their efforts influence media agendas and shift the parameters of political debate. With trust in the media , people are increasingly consulting partisan alternatives.

That not only opens the field for players like RT, but polarises social discussion to the point of outright conflict. And as recent events in prove, that conflict is not confined to the online world.

, Post-doctoral Research Associate, Reframing Russia for the Global Mediasphere,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

During the early years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union made a great push to reach out to the developing world, and particularly to the Middle East and Asia. It established particularly close ties with Nasser’s Egypt and later with Syria, but didn’t do so well with others; the Chinese leadership in particular whether the USSR really empathised with the Global South and its anti-colonial struggle. Russia, it argued, was essentially a former colonial power, or at the very least a white European country incapable of understanding the developing world’s problems.

Moscow duly tried to prove the opposite by cultivating its own “eastern” identity. It sent its “easterners” on conspicuous missions abroad: Armenians and Azerbaijanis worked in solidarity committees and friendship societies, while Uzbeks and Tajiks served as ambassadors in the Middle East or played a key role as soldiers during the invasion of Afghanistan.

These plans to win over Middle Eastern and Asian allies were rendered moot when the USSR crumbled. But today, Russia’s push to claim an eastern identity seems to be underway once again – and nowhere more so than in Syria.

As media attention has shifted to efforts to oust the so-called Islamic State from its Syrian stronghold, Raqqa, the Syrian regime is struggling to govern the areas of Syria it has recaptured with the help of Russia and other backers. Particularly troublesome is Aleppo, the country’s largest city and former business hub, which was brought back under Damascus’s full control in December 2016. Enter Russia, whose help has already turned the tide in the Syrian regimes’s favour.

Russian military police are now helping to beef up security in Aleppo and other areas. They are drawn in part from the Russian Northern Caucasus, in particular from the predominantly Muslim republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia. In December 2016, a Chechen battalion was to Aleppo, returning from its tour in March 2017; in February 2017, sent a group of soldiers to provide security to Russian military facilities. Finally, in April, another detachment of Chechen troops boarded a plane to Syria, deemed to stay there .

To listen to the state-backed media, this would seem like proof that Russia’s “eastern” identity is as self-assured as ever. Outlets such as RT stress that these military policemen are particularly welcomed in Syria, where they are supposedly greeted as fellow Sunni Muslims, while claim that they can more easily empathise and communicate with the local community.

While there might be some truth to these claims, there are rather “harder” interests behind Russia’s Syrian strategy – both on the side of the federal government in Moscow and on the side of the Caucasian republics involved.

Quid pro quo

The Syrian conflict is not overly popular in Russia. Ever since Russian troops directly intervened, at home has been huge, with every effort made to portray the intervention as a humanitarian and anti-terrorist mission. But at best, the Russian public is largely uninterested – and apathy could quickly sour into outright opposition if a significant number of Russian lives were lost on the ground.

Sending military forces from the peripheral republics minimises this risk. Most Russians see the republics and their populations as a huge social, political, and economic burden; if Chechen or Ingush lives were lost, this would hardly have an effect on public opinion in Moscow or St. Petersburg.

The republics also have something special to offer: experienced troops who have operated before in theatres characterised by terrorist threats and are particularly well prepared for the Syrian arena. On top of this, as political scientist Aleksey Makarkin told Russian business channel , both Chechnya and Ingushetia are desperate to attract and keep Russia’s attention. Being among the poorest republics, they badly need central government support, especially since the Kremlin has increasingly .

But there’s something else going on, too – and Chechnya in particular has specific interests in mind.

Playing it safe

As Russian newspaper reported, it seems the Chechen government’s military strategy includes an element of retribution: the soldiers it’s sending to the Middle East to join the pro-regime effort are drawn from families who have already seen a member leave to fight on the other side.

One military commander seemed to back this up in an ambiguous TV interview: while highlighting the and multi-faith identity of his troops, he also stressed that they were sent to Syria to .

In effect, the republic has its own small foreign policy, and so long as it sticks mostly to Moscow’s line, both parties have something to gain: Russia can use Chechnya’s semi-independent operations to open a second to the wider Middle East, while Chechnya can strengthen its position vis-a-vis the central government and Middle Eastern countries, and its status among disdainful Russians. In one recent PR stunt, Chechen diplomacy helped to a Russian girl held by Turkish authorities after she attempted to cross into Syria.

Whether all this will pay off for Russia, its republics, and Syria remains to be seen. While Russian military police might have strengthened security for now, Aleppo is still under the sway of various militias and paramilitaries, who’ve filled the void left by regular armed forces when they moved on to Syria’s other front lines. The Damascus government is to crack down on these groups, but they remain a problem.

The Russian discourse around these police missions bears a remarkable resemblance to the Soviet Union’s approach to the Middle East, including its exploitation of Soviet Muslims to pursue its goals there. As in the past, rather than an exuberant embrace of an eastern identity, this is a political manoeuvre.

In contrast to Soviet times, however, the republics are pursuing their own agendas much more openly, especially Chechnya, which genuinely fosters a Muslim identity under the leadership of . Still, for Russia as a whole and for Chechnya in particular, what looks like a geopolitical play for other countries’ sympathies or mere identity politics is in fact a matter of dicey domestic considerations.

, Visiting scholar in Russian Studies,

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