Breitbart News Network has been a favorite news source of mine for years ‘n years so I’m not going to bash them too much here. Heck, they’re one of the few American news outlets that are not owned by the Democratic party. They’re one of the few American news outlets not promoting the ‘Sexual Grooming‘ of children. They’re one of the few American news outlets not promoting Transsexual and/or Transgender butchery of children. They’re one of the few American news outlets not promoting the racist Critical Race Theory (CRT).

Unlike the Democratic party’s MSM ‘Puppets‘, Breitbart also does not promote the Democrats Totalitarian governing concepts like ESG, Woke, forcing citizens to take shots & wear masks, #MeToo, War on Energy Independence, War on Mother Nature, etcetera etcetera etcetera.

See why I am hesitant to even suggest that Breitbart News is becoming the American ‘Mouthpiece‘ for Russia? Maybe Breitbart has been so focused on the Democratic party’s nonstop 24/7 attacks on America ‘n the ‘American way‘ that Breitbart doesn’t have any actual ‘War Correspondents‘.

OK, here goes…

Europe – Wars & World Wars

World War I occurred from 1914 to 1918, World War 2 was from 1939 to 1945, and both started in Europe. 78-years without some European country starting another World War. America ended up sending their own Troops to end both those World Wars, which required a lot of American ‘Boots on the Ground‘.

Ever see a “List of conflicts in Europe“? That list starts in 5000 BC wid the Talheim Death Pit. Long long list. I counted approximately 665 conflicts from 1300 BCE to World War 1 in 1914. Approximately 60 conflicts from the start of the Russian Civil War in 1917 to the start of World War 2 in 1939. Approximately 48 conflicts from the start of the Guerrilla war in the Baltic states in 1944 to the ongoing Russian reinvasion of Ukraine that started in 2022.

Now we’re on the verge of another World War that starts in Europe; however, this time the country being reinvaded by Russia is putting up such a great fight that American ‘Boots on the Ground‘ may not be needed in Europe for another World War.

If Americans want to keep American ‘Boots *OFF* the Ground‘ in Europe, then news sites like Breitbart News need to stop ‘Throwing Cold Water‘ on Ukraine’s efforts, which helps Russia to control the War’s information space.

Information Space

If Ukraine loses to Russia then we’re probably looking at a World War 3 scenario after that:

• 1) Putin’s Russia continues rebuilding their forces ‘n rearming, since Putin has no plans of stopping his invasion of Europe after a mere victory over Ukraine.
• 2) Putin is already thinking at least the old Warsaw Pact/Iron Curtain borders, with all of Germany instead of just East Germany this time.
• 3) American ‘Boots on the Ground‘ will be required in Europe, again, and the $100-billion+ aid assistance that has been sent to Ukraine will look like peanuts compared to what America would be paying at that point.

MEDIA – (DIS)INFORMATION – SECURITY:

What is information warfare?

Information warfare is an operation conducted in order to gain an information advantage over the opponent. It consists in controlling one’s own information space, protecting access to one’s own information, while acquiring and using the opponent’s information, destroying their information systems and disrupting the information flow. Information warfare is not a new phenomenon, yet it contains innovative elements as the effect of technological development, which results in information being disseminated faster and on a larger scale.

Russian ‘Trolls‘ are all over any negative news or negative support of Ukraine, and especially here in America where Russia is attempting to control the information space in order to cause Americans to drop their support of Ukraine. They are definitely on the Breitbart message boards, tho it is hard to spot them since so many Republicans are also on those boards complaining about helping Ukraine. “Stop sending our tax money to Ukraine because that is not our war!” They are worse than the Russian ‘Trolls‘!

Awareness of information warfare

At present, interest in information warfare has significantly increased in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. Russia has been influencing the Ukrainians and the international community in order to promote its own version of events. This was achieved using both traditional media controlled by the Russian authorities and social media, which were a field of operation of the troll factories.

Wake up Breitbart, your message boards are loaded wid Russian ‘Trolls‘ from those “troll factories” who are cheering your negative news on Ukraine, and agreeing wid the complaining Republicans on those same message boards.

Information war over the Internet

The Internet enhances and expands the possibilities of data acquisition, information defence and information disruption, and makes it easy to reach both the citizens of a given country and the international community. Given the speed of communication, wide coverage and low cost of (dis)information campaigns, social media play a crucial role. Social networking sites are also a valuable source of information on the target groups to which (dis)information activities are to be addressed. Information warfare over the Internet uses, among others: 1) Troll factories – entities employing people who post comments on the Internet in line with the goal of the ordering party, using fake profiles in social media. 2) Bots – programs sending out messages automatically, e.g. in response to the appearance of a keyword. 3) Fake news – messages intended to mislead media users.

For this post I am only focusing on Breitbart’s – Pentagon Chief Downplays Chances of Military Victory for Ukraine – article…more on that in a moment.

The journalists’ perspective

Media not only report on war conflicts, but they also become the targets of attacks involving, for example, disinformation through the dissemination of fake news. Journalists must be extremely careful in verifying information related to international relations, as the messages they receive may be part of disinformation activities. Another problem is often related to the hacking of websites whose profile is in opposition to the activities of the state conducting information warfare.

The perspective of media users

Media users become victims of information warfare conducted using both the so-called traditional media and the Internet. The signs of propaganda and disinformation are present in numerous media messages, including traditional media as well as social media. Media users are becoming increasingly aware that they are the objects of (dis)information activities aimed at affecting their perception of reality. With growing distrust towards information appearing in official circulation, Internet users are turning to alternative sources of information, including civil media. An important element of individual resistance to propaganda and disinformation is to escape the “information bubble” (“echo chamber”, a situation of a restricted access to information other than that those provided by algorithms based on the user’s previous activity) by diversifying the sources of information and acquiring information other than that suggested by algorithms regulating social media

Is Breitbart a ‘Mouthpiece‘ for Russia?

Judge for yourself:

Pentagon Chief Downplays Chances of Military Victory for Ukraine:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine, saying the war would likely end with negotiations.

In an interview with CNN taped on Thursday, Austin was asked, “Do you still ultimately think Ukraine can win this?”

Austin did not say “yes,” but instead said, “Ukraine’s goal is to take back as much of their sovereign territory as possible.”

And when asked if the war ends with negotiations or on the battlefield, Austin responded, “Most likely, it will end with some sort of negotiation.”

‘Austin did not say “yes,”‘ … ?!? Did Austin say “no”? Why does the article even have that in a so-called news report!?!

I can’t find that CNN interview, and for some reason Breitbart doesn’t seem to link to that interview. Breitbart news said that ‘Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘, but doesn’t provide a link where the reader can double-check what Breitbart is claiming that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has done, i.e., ‘has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘.

Here is as close to the actual “interview with CNN taped on Thursday” that Breitbart is reporting on, that I could find:

US defense secretary tells CNN military aid to Ukraine will ‘change the dynamics’ of war with Russia:

By Haley Britzky, CNN

Updated 8:24 PM EST, Thu February 23, 2023

CNN — The US believes the training and equipment it is providing Ukraine will “change the dynamics on the battlefield” in the war against Russia and allow Kyiv’s forces to “breach Russian defenses,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for “CNN This Morning” on Thursday.

“We’re training and equipping several brigades of mechanized infantry — that’s a pretty substantial capability,” Austin said. “In addition to that, additional artillery, and so they’ll have the ability to breach Russian defenses and maneuver, and I think that will create a different dynamic.”

Does that sound like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ‘has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘?

“As long as Ukraine continues to conduct operations and continues to work to take back its sovereign territory, we’ll be there with them,” he said, adding that “the international community will be with Ukraine once the fighting stops.”

Does that sound like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ‘has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘? That “sovereign territory” includes Crimea & other territory Russia is trying to take, and all recognized by the UN as being the “territorial integrity of Ukraine”.

“I think the things that we’re doing, the capability that we’re providing – again, capability, not just a platform – the capabilities that we’re providing I think will enable the Ukrainians begin to change the dynamics on the battlefield,” he said. “And so rather than having a stalemate, what you’ll probably see is Ukrainians shaping this fight so they can create opportunities for themselves and exploit those opportunities going forward.”

Does that sound like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ‘has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘? Does Breitbart news understand what the breaking of a “stalemate” means?!?

Ultimately, the war will most likely “end with some sort of negotiation,” Austin told CNN. In recent months, the prospect of negotiations taking place have seemed unlikely as Russia has continued to bombard Ukrainian infrastructure and population centers.

“What the Ukrainians are interested in is getting the Russians out of their sovereign territory,” he said. “And I think that’s probably going to be their going-in point, but I’ll let the Ukrainians speak for themselves.”

Does that sound like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ‘has downplayed the chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘? Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin thinks that the Ukrainians “going-in point” of the negotiations will be having Russia “out of their sovereign territory”. Ukraine having Russia “out of their sovereign territory” sounds like ‘victory for Ukraine‘ to me.

Now, back to the Breitbart article – Pentagon Chief Downplays Chances of Military Victory for Ukraine, and it continues wid:

Despite not predicting a military victory for Ukraine, Austin said the U.S. would continue supplying Ukraine with military equipment for as long as Ukraine is fighting.

SNIP … Austin is not the only U.S. defense leader who believes there will not be a Ukrainian military victory anytime soon.

Enough! This article appears as if it has been written by the Kremlin instead of the Breitbart News Network that I have known. This isn’t the only negative article by Breitbart on the Ukrainian’s War efforts ‘n our support of it, but this one has caught my attention.

• *UPDATE*: I had apparently overlooked the Twitter link to the CNN interview that this Breitbart article was referring to:

"We’re training & equipping several brigades of mechanized infantry," Def Secretary Austin told me in our interview. "In addition to that, additional artillery. So they’ll have the ability to breach Russian defenses and maneuver & I think that will create a different dynamic." pic.twitter.com/baDVlS1TfU

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 24, 2023

• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin *CLEARLY* does not ‘downplay‘ Ukraine’s ‘chances of a military victory for Ukraine‘ in that interview.

Conclusion

I will be checking Breitbart News Network’s articles on Ukraine ‘n the American support of the Ukrainian War efforts a lot closer in the future.

I was going to do a 2-part series on this, but it may turn into something much larger than just 2-parts.