‘Russia isn’t a country of Putins!’: How RT bridged the credibility gap in Russian public diplomacy during the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Crilley, R. , Gillespie, M., Kazakov, V. and Willis, A. (2022) ‘Russia isn’t a country of Putins!’: How RT bridged the credibility gap in Russian public diplomacy during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 24(1), pp. 136-152. (doi: 10.1177/13691481211013713)

Abstract

In the context of deteriorating relations with ‘Western’ states, Russia’s state-funded international broadcasters are often understood as malign propaganda rather than as agents of soft power. Subsequently, there is a major credibility gap between how Russian state media represents itself to the world and how it is actually perceived by overseas publics. However, based on the study of RT’s coverage of the Russian hosted FIFA 2018 World Cup and the audience reactions this prompted, we find that this credibility gap was partially bridged. By analysing over 700 articles published by RT, alongside social media and focus group research, we find that RT’s World Cup coverage created an unusually positive vision of Russia that appealed to international audiences. Our study demonstrates how state-funded international broadcaster coverage of sports mega-events can generate a soft power effect with audiences, even when the host state – such as Russia – has a poor international reputation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by the AHRC under Grant No. AH/P00508X/1.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Crilley, Dr Rhys
• Authors: Crilley, R., Gillespie, M., Kazakov, V., and Willis, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: British Journal of Politics and International Relations
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 1369-1481
• ISSN (Online): 1467-856X
• Published Online: 27 May 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in British Journal of Politics and International Relations 24(1): 136-152
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License