We may not know for certain what is happening in Ukraine at any given time or for any given instance or who is to blame. But what we do know is that the Western official narrative is not truthful and there is sufficient evidence to initiate investigations into the atrocities occurring against both Ukrainian civilians and Russian soldiers. Yet, calls for such investigations by Western governments and corporate media are noticeably lacking. Silence from our governments coupled with an institutionalised media which disregards that it is their job to challenge authority is deeply disturbing.
On Sunday, April 3, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry stated that they had found 410 bodies of slain Ukrainians in Bucha, Irpin and other towns and villages during the first two days since Russia initiated attacks in these regions. The Defence Ministry added that the exact number of victims of Russian armed forces “will be much higher”. On the same day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba released images of “horrors caused by retreating Russian armed forces in Bucha city.”
As an example of the media campaign that ensued, in typical corporate media fashion, without so much as a question let alone an investigation to confirm the facts, The Independent amplified a report from Reuters:
“Pope Francis has condemned “the massacre of Bucha” and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and corpses poked out of a mass grave at a church.
“[The flag] comes from the war, precisely from that martyred city, Bucha,” he said, kissing it and holding it up for the audience of several thousand, which broke into applause.”
A few days before the pontiff had “implicitly criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine,” The Independent reported.
It’s not that this report in isolation is proof of corporate media’s lack of investigative journalism. But rather that it is one article, just one small part, of a much larger campaign.
At the time of writing, a search on The Independent’s website returns 16 articles published by them in the last week including the term “Bucha massacre” and at least 100 articles are listed within the last 3 days which include the term “Bucha killings.” A number of those articles are likely due to the terms included in the titles of the “recommended” reading list included in the article rather than forming part of the article’s subject matter. However, it does indicate how determined corporate media is to push their version of this story as widely as possible and keep it at the forefront of the public’s psyche.
Read more: Audio Recording May Provide Further Evidence “Bucha Massacre” Was Staged by Ukrainian Military