As Russia tries to cut off the flow of information in Ukraine by attacking its communications infrastructure, the British news network BBC is reusing a very popular broadcast tactic in World War II: shortwave radio.
The BBC said this week it would use radio frequencies that can travel long distances and be accessed by portable radios to broadcast its World Service news in English for four hours a day in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, and parts of Russia.
“It is often said that the truth is the first casualty of war,” Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, said in a statement. “In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda are rampant, there is a clear need for factual, independent news that people can trust.”
On Tuesday (1st), Russian shells hit Kiev’s main radio and television tower. Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, wrote on Twitter that Russia’s aim was to “break the resistance of the Ukrainian people and army”, starting with “a rupture of connection” and “the massive spread of false messages that the leadership of the Ukrainian country agreed to give up”.
Shortwave radio has been a useful vehicle for reaching listeners in conflict zones for decades, for delivering crackling dispatches to soldiers in the Gulf War, sending codes to spies in North Korea, and reporting through the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. . But more modern forms of radio, along with the Internet, eventually pushed shortwave out of the picture; the BBC retired its shortwave broadcasts in Europe 14 years ago.
In the last week of February, viewership for the BBC’s Ukrainian-language site more than doubled from a year earlier to 3.9 million visitors, the broadcaster said. The BBC also provides news coverage in the country through its website and networks such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Viber and Espreso TV.
Millions of Russians are also turning to the BBC, the broadcaster said. Viewership for its Russian-language news site hit a record 10.7 million last week, more than tripling its weekly average so far in 2022, the company said. Visitors to the BBC’s English site within Russia rose by 252% to 423,000.
In the country, the BBC also publishes updates on Telegram, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Other Western media outlets also experienced an increase in viewership. Visits to the digital platforms of the English newspaper The Guardian by Russian and Ukrainian audiences increased by 180% compared to January.
The BBC’s coverage caused complaints from Russian officials. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a press conference broadcast by RT, the Kremlin-backed Russian media outlet, that the country was a victim of “unprecedented information terrorism” that was “dedicated to to discredit Russian actions” and “create hysteria around Ukrainian events”.
The BBC “plays a determined role in undermining Russian stability and security,” Zakharova said, without providing evidence.
Earlier on Friday (4), the BBC’s Russian service reported problems accessing its website in Russia.
