Did Canada Fund Putin's Propaganda? Or Censor Journalism?

10 snips

Feb 17, 2025

Cornelia Principe, a documentary producer known for her work on 'Russians at War', discusses the ethical dilemmas of humanizing Russian troops during the Ukraine conflict. The canceled screening at TIFF due to protests reveals the tension between freedom of expression and political pressures. Topics include the role of Canadian funding in potentially fostering propaganda, the challenges of navigating media narratives, and the emotional toll of war storytelling. Principe encourages a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding censorship and storytelling in journalism.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Russians at War Misunderstood

The documentary "Russians at War" was initially understood as Canadian-funded Russian propaganda.
It was protested and denounced, leading to cancelled screenings at TIFF due to security concerns.

INSIGHT

Judging Without Viewing

Public figures like Chrystia Freeland condemned the film without having seen it, contributing to the misconception of it as propaganda.
This highlights the influence of pre-conceived notions and political narratives on public discourse.

INSIGHT

TVO's Withdrawal

TVO initially supported the film but withdrew support following political pressure, particularly after Chrystia Freeland's statement.
This suggests potential political influence on the broadcaster's decision-making.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

The documentary Russians at War shows the invasion of Ukraine from the point of view of Moscow's troops. The doc was supposed to screen during the Toronto International Film Festival, but organisers cancelled a screening amid protests and over threats to festival operations and public safety.

A large part of the film’s funding came through TVO, Ontario's public broadcaster. The filmmaker is a Russian-Canadian, Anastasia Trofimova, who once worked for Russian state-funded broadcaster RT. Trofimova made the film while living with front-line Russian troops for seven months.

How exactly did she do that? Not without the consent of the Russian army, one would assume. We are told again and again that Russia controls one of the most sophisticated misinformation, disinformation, propaganda machines the world has ever known.

Russia is in our algorithms, spreading fake news and skewing our elections. So, clearly, this Anastasia Trofimova is not somebody who we should be handing large sums of Canadian public money to so that she can tell us a story of sympathy for Russian troops.

But what actually happened here? Is this a story about Russian propaganda or is it really a tale of Canadian censorship? Those questions are tackled when Jesse sits down with the producers of Russians at War and its director, filmmaker and journalist, Anastasia Trofimova.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Guests: Cornelia Principe, Sean Farnel, Anastasia Trofimova

Fact checking by Sam Konnert