Skillful distortion of facts is not the main factor in the success of propaganda. Facts are secondary here. Propaganda appeals to the emotions and feelings of people, so the propaganda tool is universal and works great for both religious fanatics of the East and enlightened Europeans.

Agitators play on the basic need for belonging (“our nation is the greatest and the one”); existential fear of the future — it is directed at a specific enemy, internal or external (“all evil is from Americans / Ukrainians / Jews”); they turn anger and dissatisfaction into the idea of ​​retribution: “we were treated unfairly, they will answer for it!”.

Propaganda relies on the delusions and fears that citizens already have — on the virtual reality that mistakenly seems to be reality. “If a person “sees” that the whole world is ruled by Jews, he will see it everywhere. If a person sees that we are at war with the Nazis, he will see these Nazis, especially since they will be shown on TV.”