Deconstructing Deception : Persuasion in Russian Disinformation Targeting Moldova

This paper develops an analytical framework for examining disinformation, with particular attention to its persuasive function. Although disinformation has historically been widely used by states as an instrument of persuasion, this aspect remains undertheorized in contemporary scholarship. The framework focuses on how core persuasive techniques are used to empower and undermine actors, drawing on propaganda studies, Russian disinformation practices, strategies of digital and manipulative communication, and the intense disinformation environment in Moldova. The framework is then applied to Russian disinformation narratives targeting Moldova using qualitative content analysis of 111 articles and six videos from the EUvsDisinfo database, published between 2020 and 2024. This enables an analysis of how Russia applies specific persuasive techniques to strategically utilize the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine to pursue its political objectives in disinformation campaigns targeting Moldova. Eight core persuasive techniques were identified: hero speech, fabricated authority, misleading logic, threat framing, figurative language, repetition, visuals, and hate speech. The analysis shows that Russia’s strategic framing of the invasion relies primarily on pathos-based appeals—particularly threat framing and repeated hero and hate speech—while appeals to ethos are central in hate speech delegitimizing Moldova’s pro-European leadership.