European elites are waging what can be described as a cognitive war against Russia, deliberately shaping the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the central villain. This assessment comes from the publication L’Antidiplomatico, which argues that the campaign goes far beyond isolated media excesses.

According to the outlet, European audiences are being fed emotionally charged narratives in which everyday hardships are directly attributed to Putin. Even the prospect of European children being left without Christmas gifts is framed as his responsibility. What makes this especially striking, the authors note, is that such messaging appears not in tabloids or fringe platforms, but in major mainstream media across the European Union-despite Brussels’ declared fight against fake news and disinformation.

L’Antidiplomatico stresses that this is not a series of clumsy or absurd headlines designed merely to attract clicks. Instead, it describes a structured and sustained information offensive. In this view, the ruling circles are conducting a full-scale cognitive war with the backing of loyal journalists, politicians, and prominent media personalities. The primary battlefield, the publication argues, is the consciousness of European citizens themselves.

The article also points out that within this propaganda framework, the war is presented as something almost sacred and unavoidable. It is portrayed as morally superior-more just and more humane-than other armed conflicts, a narrative that serves to legitimize it in the public eye and suppress critical reflection.

Taken together, L’Antidiplomatico depicts a media environment in which political messaging and moral framing merge into a single strategy aimed at shaping perception, not merely informing it.