ABSTRACT
In Russia’s ongoing information war against Ukraine, disinformation has become a powerful tool for shaping perceptions and manipulating values. This study aims to identify and analyse the values embedded in fake news narratives concerning the war in Ukraine and examine how these values are used to manipulate audiences. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines critical discourse analysis and linguistic–axiological analysis, the chapter analyses fake news articles published on Ukrainian portals in 2024 and 2025. A deductive coding framework is applied. Drawing on established value typologies (Rokeach, Schwartz, Inglehart, Huntington), five value categories are identified: ideological and political, security and threat-based, moral and ethical, cultural and religious, and economic and material. The findings show that fake news narratives strategically manipulate values to shape public perceptions and emotional responses. They present Ukraine as politically unstable, corrupt, externally controlled, and incapable of ensuring security or stability. These narratives amplify themes of chaos, vulnerability, and foreign exploitation. By framing Russia’s aggression as a justified response to Ukraine’s dysfunction and moral failure, disinformation aims to evoke emotions such as distrust, fear, outrage, and disillusionment, as well as to undermine support for Ukraine. The study highlights how values are weaponised to erode trust in Ukrainian institutions, polarise society, undermine morale, and influence international opinion.
