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Bader Alsaleem
Profesor Batty
ENGL 113B
12February2015
Media Misrepresentation of Putin

In recent years the Russian president has been a major point of discussion in many media
houses and blogs around the globe. Most of the media articles and topics related to Putin have
demonstrated him as an evil man whose intention is to start a war in the world, so that he
controls the world economy. The western media have been leading this campaign of portraying
Russian, President Putin has an evil man who is heartless and wants to see the world sink into a
crisis so that he can benefit. It is wrong for the media to create a negative image of a leader or
any other individual because he is against some ideals that their countries advocate for around
the globe. I believe the media has misrepresented the true character of Putin, by showing him as
an evil person while in a real sense he is not an evil man. As an individual I believe Putin is a
good person from what the media wants people to believe.This paper will be aimed at showing
the ways in which the media have misrepresented Putin, and then I will give my stand on the true
personality and character of Putin.
To start with, Putin has been described by the media as a murderer. In his article titled
Putin, Just Evil Enough, Alexander Moylt points a number of cases in which Putin has been
suspected to have funded and directed people to be killed. For instance, in order to support his
argument that Putin is a murderer, Moylt point a case where Putin is believed to have funded and

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ordered the bombing of Russian citizens in 1999 resulting to the death of 300 people (Moylt 1).
Despite, the fact that this accusation is unfounded Moylt uses them to prove that Putin is a
murderer. On the other hand, Putin has been connected to the disappearance of the Malaysian
flight, resulting in the death of many passengers who were on board. Many media houses, such
as Readstatehave argued that Putin was the man behind the plane disappearance, leading to all
the passengers who were on board on that plane to be pronounced dead. The report of Putin
involved in the plane disappearance is aimed at showing the world that he is a murderer and does
not care at all about human lives as long as he gain more political powers globally.
Secondly, the media has presented Putin has a man who is evil and heartless. The western
media have been arguing that Putin is after attacking Ukraine so that he can restore USSR. For
instance, Aljazeera carried a story showing how the Putin attack of eastern Ukraine is aimed at
expanding Russian territory. Some CNN journalists, such as Moylt have argued that Putin is an
evil man because his intention is to start WW III without taking into account the possible losses
of lives and properties that may arise as a result of the war. Therefore, by reporting that Putin
intends to expand the Russian territory and cause WW III is aimed at creating picture among the
people around the globe of how Putin is evil and heartless. Misconception of Putin has resulted
in unwarranted fear being experienced in many European capitals (Traynor 1).
Thirdly, the media has presented Putin as a man who want to destroy Russia as his regime
is based on corruption (Walker 1). By showing that Putin regime has been encouraging
corruption, the media tries to show the world that Putin has no moral authority to be involved in
domestic matters of other countries as he has already failed in providing good governance in
Russia. Furthermore, the media also misrepresented Putin on the issue of Sochi Winter Games,
whereby they argued that he did not provide adequate support needed to ensure that the games

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were successful in terms of security and other logistics (Cohen 1). Some argue that the Putin
administration did not provide adequate security putting many people under the threat of terrorist
attack. This misrepresentation is aimed at showing the world that Putin is a man who does not
care about the security of others as long he is able to achieve his political goal at the expense of
the lives of other human beings. This is not the case since the Russians themselves have been
supporting Putin. Additionally, only the West and the United States are against Putin.
Most of the information presented in many media houses, particularly the western media
houses about Putin is untrue and is aimed at damaging his image so that their countries can
achieve certain political goals. Putin, just like any other president around the globe has a moral
duty to protect the political, economic and social interest of the people of Russia. Therefore, it is
wrong to term him as evil and murderers for attacking Ukraine. Many are the times that the U.S
has attacked other countries with an objective of protecting its political as well as economic
interests. The same case applies to Putin, who has been attacking Ukraine so as to protect the
economic interest of the Russian people. Russia-speaking people living in Ukraine and invested
heavily in the country had to be protected and therefore, Putin aggressively intervened.
Furthermore, it is morally wrong for journalists, such as Moylt to accuse Putin of
ordering the murder of 300 citizens without any proof. Lack of supportive evidence proves that
Putin is an evil man is a clear indication that the media has no ground to misrepresent Putin. It is
important for the media to have facts about his involvement in the Malaysian flight
disappearance as well as the murder of 300 citizens. I personally believe that the media has
conspired to preach propaganda against Putin due to his growing influence in the world politics.
Therefore, in order to tarnish his name the media has been used by western powers to create an

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image of Putin, who is heartless and evil, and whose main goal is to bring world war three so that
he can benefit politically.
Based on the achievement that Putin has been able to make when leading Russia, it is
clear that he is a man who is misunderstood and misrepresented by the media. His efforts are not
personal at all, but rather directed towards protecting the interest of Russia and its people in
global affairs by protecting Russia-speaking people leaving outside Russia. It is important for the
media to be balanced in their criticism instead of basing it on rumors and political propagandas
as it has been the case of almost all the stories related to Putin actions.
Given that there is no evidence provided to support the argument that Putin is evil,
murderous and inhuman, I can conclude that the media around the globe, particularly western
media has misrepresented Putin by giving negative information about his actions. The media
should not be biased; they should present both the positive and the negative actions about Putin
and let the readers make their own conclusion instead of giving biased opinions. Most of the
American and Western media personalities are biased while giving information about countries
or personalities opposing their views.

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Works Cited
Cohen, Stephen. 'Distorting Russia'. Thenation.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Motyl, Alexander. 'Motyl: Putin, Just Evil Enough'. CNN. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015
Traynor, Ian. 'Fear Of Vladimir Putin Grows In EU Capitals Amid Spectre Of Total War'. the
Guardian. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Feb. 2015
Walker, Shaun. 'Putin Is Destroying Russia. Why Base His Regime On Corruption? Asks
Navalny'. the Guardian. N.p., 2014. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.