Alsaleem 1

Bader Alsaleem
Holly Batty
ENGL 113B
2-12-2015
Media Misrepresentation of Putin
Introduction
In the recent years the Russian president has been a major point of discussion in many
media houses and blogs around the globe. Most of the media articles and topics related to Putin
have depicted him as an evil man whose intention is to start a war in the world, so that he can
control the world economy. The western media has been leading this campaign of portraying
Russian President Putin as an evil man who is heartless, who want to see the world sink into a
crisis so that he can benefit. It is wrong for the media to create a negative image of a leader or
any other individual because he is against some ideals that their countries advocate for around
the globe. I believe the media has misrepresented the true character of Putin, by showing him as
an evil person while in a real sense he is not an evil man. As an individual I believe Putin is a
different person from what the media wants people to believe. Putin has been misrepresented by
the media, the other one taking about the true personality of Putin and the conclusion part
summarizing the main thesis statement.
This paper will be aimed at showing the ways in which the media have misrepresented
Putin, and then I will give my stand on the true personality and character of Putin. Therefore, the
paper will have three sections.
Ways in which Media have Misrepresented Putin

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To start with, Putin has been described by the media as a murderer. In his article Moylt
points a number of cases in which Putin has been suspected to have funded and directed people
to be killed. For instance, in order to support his argument that Putin is a murderer, Moylt point a
case in handwhere Putin is believed to have funded and ordered the bombing of Russian citizens,
in 1999 resulting to the death of 300 people (Motyl 1). Despite the fact that this accusation is
unfounded, Moylt uses them to prove that Putin is a murderer. On the other hand, Putin has been
connected to the disappearance of the Malaysian flight, resulting in the death of many passengers
who were on board. Many media houses, such as Readstatehave argued that Putin was the man
behind the plane disappearance, leading to all the passengers who were on board on that plane to
be pronounced dead. The report of Putin involved in the plane disappearance is aimed at showing
the world that he is a murderer and does not care at all about human lives as long as he gain more
political powers globally.
Secondly, the media has presented Putin has a man who is evil and heartless. The western
media have been arguing that Putin is after attacking Ukraine so that he can restore USSR. For
instance, Aljazeera carried a story showing how the Putin attack of eastern Ukraine is aimed at
expanding Russian territory. Some CNN journalists, such as Moylt have argued that Putin is an
evil man because his intention is to start WWIII without taking into account the possible losses
of lives and properties that may arise as a result of the war. Therefore, by reporting that Putin
intends to expand the Russian territory and cause WWIII is aimed at creating picture among the
people around the globe of how Putin is evil and heartless. Misconception of Putin has resulted
in unwarranted fear being experienced in many European capitals (Traynor 1).

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Thirdly, the media has presented Putin as a man who want to destroy Russia as his regime
is based on corruption (Walker 1). By showing that Putin regime has been encouraging
corruption, the media tries to show the world that Putin has no moral authority to be involved in
domestic matters of other countries as he has already failed in providing good governance in
Russia. Furthermore, the media also misrepresented Putin on the issue of Sochi Winter Games,
whereby they argued that he did not provide adequate support needed to ensure that the games
were successful in terms of security and other logistics (Cohen 1). Some argue that the Putin
administration did not provide adequate security putting many people under the threat of terrorist
attack. This misrepresentation is aimed at showing the world that Putin is a man who does not
care about the security of others as long he is able to achieve is political goal at the expense of
the lives of other human beings.
The Unbiased Information about Putin
Most of the information presented in many media houses, particularly the western media
houses about Putin is untrue and is aimed at damaging his image so that their countries can
achieve certain political goals. Putin like any other president around the globe has a moral duty
to protect the political, economic and social interest of the people of Russia. Therefore, it is
wrong to term, Putin has evil and murderers for attacking Ukraine. Many are the times that the
U.S has attacked other countries with an objective of protecting its political as well as economic
interests. The same case applies to Putin, who has been attacking Ukraine so as to protect the
economic interest of the Russian people.
On the other hand, it is morally wrong for journalists, such as Moylt to accuse Putin of
ordering the murder of 300 citizens without any proof. Lack of supportive evidence prove that

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Putin is an evil man is a clear indication that the media has no ground to misrepresent Putin. It is
important for the media to have facts about his involvement in the Malaysian flight
disappearance as well as the murder of 300 citizens. I personally believe that the media has
conspired to preach propaganda against Putin due to his growing influence in the world politics.
Therefore, in order to tarnish his name the media has been used by western powers to create an
image of Putin, who is heartless and evil, and whose main goal is to bring world war three so that
he can benefit politically.
Based on the achievement that Putin has been able to make when leading Russia, it is
clear that he is a man who is misunderstood and misrepresented by the media. His efforts are not
personal at all, but rather directed towards protecting the interest of Russia in global affairs. It is
important for the media to be balanced in their criticism instead of basing it on rumors and
political propagandas as it has been the case of almost all the stories related to Putin actions.
Conclusion
Given that there is no evidence provided to support the argument that Putin is evil,
murderous and inhuman, therefore, I can conclude that the media around the globe, particularly
western media has misrepresented Putin by being negative about his actions.

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Works Cited
Cohen, Stephen. 'Distorting Russia'. Thenation.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Motyl, Alexander. 'Motyl: Putin, Just Evil Enough'. CNN. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015
Traynor, Ian. 'Fear Of Vladimir Putin Grows In EU Capitals Amid Spectre Of Total War'. the
Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015
Walker, Shaun. 'Putin Is Destroying Russia. Why Base His Regime On Corruption? Asks
Navalny'. the Guardian. N.p., 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.