The staging is clear: Here is the unembellished truth. Supposedly what the media would hide. Uncutnews.ch is enlightening.
However, it is the exact opposite. The website is a hodgepodge of crude conspiracy theories. There is something for everyone here. Corona is an invention, vaccination is dangerous or even deadly and the media lies anyway. Among the authors is, for example, the Swiss conspiracy theorist Daniele Ganser (49).
Especially with Corona, Uncutnews.ch has gained a lot of reach. Daily visitor numbers have increased fivefold since 2018, as the «Tages-Anzeiger» reported. In numbers, that means around 3.2 to 3.6 million visits per day. That is a lot. For comparison: The “Aargauer Zeitung” has around three million visits.
“This is Kremlin propaganda”
Now the portal has pounced on the Ukraine war and is taking a stand for Russian President Vladimir Putin (69). The Kremlin boss is not portrayed as a warmonger, but as a clever strategist.
The portal also spreads Russian propaganda that Ukraine is developing nuclear or biological weapons. In mid-March, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that there was a network of biological laboratories in Ukraine working on behalf of the US Department of Defense. Uncutnews.ch also takes up this theory.
“That’s Kremlin propaganda, and it’s pretty straight forward,” says social scientist and expert on conspiracy theories Marco Kovic to the “Tages-Anzeiger”.
What is striking is that the operator of the site hardly appears as the author, he rather takes over from other sites. Sometimes content is simply translated, copied directly or something is changed. Around 20 to 30 new articles are added every day.
The influence of the portal should not be underestimated
Even if the site is registered in Switzerland, the majority of visits come from Germany. And the influence should not be underestimated. For example, during the federal elections last year, the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (Cemas) examined the extent to which conspiracy theories influenced the elections. For this purpose, it was also examined how the crude ideas are spread.
More on conspiracy theories
In addition to Telegram, Youtube and Twitter, Uncutnews.ch also appears. The portal achieved particular reach with corona-skeptical content. Now the same is being attempted with the Ukraine war.
No imprint, but appeal for donations
Behind the page is a man (59) from Winterthur. According to his son, the former head of a video store no longer lives in Switzerland, but has emigrated to Thailand, as reported by the “Tages-Anzeiger”. The operator does not want to comment on his conspiracy site on the Internet.
There is no correct imprint on the site. There is an explanation for this. It says: “Unfortunately, we keep getting packages with threatening and disgusting content. Our neighborhood was also repeatedly harassed and questioned, so that we were forced to change the location and now keep it secret.» At the same time, donations are requested. (jmh)
More on the Ukraine war