MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – Cyber bulling and other political technologies have been actively used by the opponents of the current authorities during the election campaign, Director of the information and awareness-raising institution On-Trend Concept, political analyst Aleksandr Shpakovsky told the media on 9 August, BelTA has learned.
“The campaign has been difficult. The difficulties were caused by the use of political technologies by the opponents of the current leadership in the country. Because of the current situation, we were more preoccupied by economic issues, the consequences of the coronavirus infection. We missed something out in the internet at the initial stage,” Aleksandr Shpakovsky said.
First of all, it was related to aggressive attitude of the opponents in the internet, a kind of cyber bulling. People who expressed their pro-government position in the social networks faced threats, pressure and abuse. “Such steps were aimed at clearing the information field to get rid of pro-government viewpoints,” Aleksandr Shpakovsky said.
Secondly, it was the work in the social network. In 2017 the expert spoke about a network of political bloggers, which was actively developing. This was not an amateur approach, but the work of professionals with sound financing. “Thus, the social network, Telegram channels have become the main source of distributing destructive information,” Aleksandr Shpakovsky said.
The expert added that at the very beginning some candidates used the method of creating an allusion of the majority. “They showed their supporters that they are an absolute majority. The president has a very low rating. The election is already won. The only thing is to fight for the victory in the streets,” he explained.
Then, the current authority was able to take the situation under control. “The president became the main policy-maker and information supplier. A number of his recent steps, including the 9 May parade, the address to the nation, the interview to Gordon and other statements were not left unnoticed and helped turn the situation to the favor of the current leadership,” Aleksandr Shpakovsky said.
