The first technique is characteristic of official state media websites such as SB. Belarus Segodnya or Vecherniy Mogilev. The second technique is often found in anonymous Telegram channels such as ZhS Premium.

Let us analyse both techniques using concrete examples.

“Western ideology of destroying family and family values has deeply penetrated our country.”

“In society, there is a growing demand for strengthening traditional family values. Today we see that in the West the word ‘family’ refers not only to the marriage of a man and a woman. Our country opposes the imposition of alien standards that do not correspond to our national values; in particular, this is the promotion of the LGBT agenda, support for sexual minorities, the introduction of such notions as parent 1 and parent 2. That is why at the constitutional level we define family as a priority, and its protection as the most important state function.”

In this comment by Galina Lagunova, Deputy Chair of the Standing Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on Economic Policy, given on the occasion of Mother’s Day, “which marks the start of the Week of Parental Love”, we can see an almost complete set of elements used to demonstrate the alleged negative influence of LGBT on society.

First of all, there is a double opposition between traditional values, allegedly inherent to Belarusian society, and non-traditional values, allegedly typical of the contemporary West. This opposition manifests itself in the attitude towards marriage and family: on the one hand, the marriage of a man and a woman, a family consisting of a mother and a father; on the other hand, same-sex marriage, a family consisting of parent 1 and parent 2. This opposition is reinforced by the contrast between “our values” and “alien standards”, as well as between “imposition” and “protection.”

In addition, there is the consistent use of the expression “sexual minorities,” which creates tension between the calm and chaste majority of society and the loud and perverse minority trying to push its agenda.

Finally, emphasis is placed on the state’s efforts to protect society from the destructive influence of Western LGBT propaganda.

Sometimes, alongside these elements, other references are added, such as “child-free” (always without explanation of what it means) and “gender transition” (usually described as a crazy whim of young people brainwashed by LGBT propaganda).

“A fugitive failed prankster, who everyone sends to hell, got offended and came out at the Vilnius gay pride.”

Using a typical post in the Telegram channel ZhS Premium, one can observe how references to LGBTQ+ are used to discredit political opponents:

“The zmagars [a derogatory term for Belarusian opposition activists] have their own pride:

They look down on heterosexuals.

In Vilnius, at the local gay pride, a Belarusian ‘column’ marched through the streets. And, by the way, not a small one — just so you understand how many ‘rainbow’ people are among the zmagars. The number of all kinds of queers among them significantly exceeds average values.”

What stands out is the much more informal vocabulary compared to that used on media websites, with active use of slang and jargon to create a negative image both of LGBT people and of political opponents. In such publications, the authors primarily seek to create and amplify an association between their political opponents and LGBT, trying to present their opponents as “abnormal,” opposed to “ordinary people.” Very often, terms such as “coming out” and “gay pride” are used to describe public political actions such as protesting against state violence, refusing to support Lukashenka, or participating in rallies. Moreover, support for gay prides as such is often considered a discrediting circumstance.

It should be noted that such manifestations of hate speech are found not only in pro-government Telegram channels, but also in independent ones — albeit much more rarely — but with the same goal of discrediting political opponents:

“And a bit more about yesterday’s witches’ sabbath. Why did the so-called Prosecutor General Shved, who ‘is committing genocide,’ not smile when the blue-faced, blue-lipped man started talking about ‘perverts’ and ‘the vilest of the vile’ — meaning gays.”

In its regular monitoring of hate speech, Journalists for Tolerance has already noted that the situation with the representation of the LGBTQ community in Belarusian media remains dangerous, but still leaves room for hope. Constant repetition of the same messages can strengthen the propaganda effect, but at the same time independent journalists can focus on exposing these monotonous and uncreative techniques.

[1] “There is a growing demand in society to strengthen traditional family values” — Deputy Lagunova (sb.by)

[2] Telegram: Contact @sewerfsefsd

[3] Telegram: Contact @nic_and_mike

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