Tsikhanouskaya remains propaganda's number one enemy. Here are the new guidelines concerning portraits and security

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The news about Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's relocation from Vilnius to Warsaw provoked unprecedented bot activity.

Moreover, some new narratives have been added to the old ones aimed at discrediting her.

Lukashenka's supporters are clearly annoyed by the authority of the woman who defeated their leader in the 2020 presidential elections. Propaganda is also bothered by the fact that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya continues to seek the release of political prisoners in Belarus. Bots attack Tsikhanouskaya's manner of traveling the world and entering the highest offices with portraits of Belarusian hostages on her folder.

"Whose portrait is she carrying there?", "Who knows whose portrait she's carrying?", "She used to carry Serhiy's photo, but now whose?" — thousands of bots write, creating the appearance of ignorance.

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Other bot accounts immediately reply to them:

"She carries whoever her masters give her," "Whoever they gave her, she carries! Why are you, really, picking on the leader?!"

"Photo-carrier," "She runs around with portraits, maybe she's a photographer?", "Madness... Why does she carry a portrait? She's sick with a portrait, completely stupid."

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Some go further: "She's already carrying a photo of another man. The mental hospital and prison are crying out for her."

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Lukashenka's supporters and Russians also clearly want Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to be left without security.

"Who is she being guarded from?" — one of the bots sets the tone for the discussion. A number of others join the response:

"Who needs her, who to guard her from? Everyone is so tired of this freeloading woman!", "From dissatisfied clients," "From her associates from whom she stole money," "Unless it's from Serhiy."

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The topic of funding traditionally remains one of the propagandists' favorites.

"Pay and maintain them. These are very valuable citizens! Especially for Lithuania and Poland!" — writes one user.

Lukashenka's and Russian propaganda here appeals to the envy of European taxpayers — many of whom are Belarusians.

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Others reproduce old schemes about a coup d'état:

"Her sponsor is the European Union. They are eager to remove the current President of Belarus. It was the European Union and America in 2020 that allocated 3.8 billion dollars to the 'white-red-white people' to overthrow the President of Belarus and carry out a coup d'état in the country..."

Another direction of attack is an attempt to devalue the politician's status.

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"Maybe someone knows, please tell me: what does Tsikhanouskaya do, that is, what is her job? What is she paid for?"

"And who gave her the authority to speak for us, Belarusians? And we don't give a damn what Europeans think of us, because all her efforts are meaningless. But we will remind her of the sanctions she is begging for us," "Leader of what forces?", "And who elected her president?" — bots write en masse.

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Threats of imprisonment do not stop either.

"To Valadarka or Zhodzina," suggests one commentator, who is immediately reminded that "Valadarka" is already closed. "To Homel," "To Antoshkino to sew robes," "To Salihorsk," "Come home! Homel IK-4 will hospitably open its gates," — others suggest.

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Finally, the thesis is promoted that the relocation is allegedly an expulsion.

"Expelled for being useless," "She's not leaving, she's being expelled. And they'll soon kick her out of Poland too," "Not leaving, but being expelled," — the bots argue, comparing democratic forces to "traveling artists" and calling the politician a "traveling frog."

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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya entered politics by accident. In 2020, she registered as a presidential candidate after Alexander Lukashenka's regime imprisoned her blogger husband. Her candidacy aroused mass enthusiasm among Belarusians. She held the most numerous meetings with voters in the country's history, and data from polling stations where votes were counted transparently showed that she was defeating Alexander Lukashenka by a large margin.

However, Lukashenka's supporters did not hand over power to her, but forced her to leave the country. This provoked mass popular protests involving hundreds of thousands of people. In response, the authorities launched mass repressions. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians were forced to leave the country, tens of thousands became victims of criminal and administrative persecution.

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