The Ukrainian research initiative documents how Russian-origin narratives are repackaged, amplified and normalized across Western media and public discourse, tracing their origins and transformations through verifiable evidence.
Picture a narrative originating in Russian state or proxy media. It later resurfaces in another language or context, perhaps through a blog, podcast or newspaper column. Some sources challenge it, while others repeat or reframe it in ways that obscure its origins and lend it apparent credibility.
This process can constitute narrative laundering. Narratell, an independent Ukrainian research initiative, documents how such narratives move through seemingly independent sources, evolve and become normalized. The team has spent more than a year developing its research and methodology, while continuing to expand the technological infrastructure behind its public observatory.
Beyond Fact-Checking: Following the Laundering Chain
Fact-checking examines the accuracy and context of individual claims. Narratell focuses on a different dimension: how Russian-origin narratives are repackaged, amplified and normalized across information environments. Its research distinguishes legitimate reporting and independent discussion from documented patterns of narrative laundering.
That laundering is the part readers rarely see. A narrative can outlive the debunking of the claim that started it, because each retelling strips away a little more of its origin. When a framing turns up in a mainstream outlet or in a public figure’s remarks, many readers judge it by the messenger and never ask about the source.
“Information does not become reliable simply because it has been repeated by respected publications or influential public figures.”
Evidence first
Narratell’s team names one problem as its hardest: building a method that separates documented circulation from speculation about political motives or hidden coordination. A narrative can pass through several countries and media environments and change its wording at each step. Any attempt to map that movement invites guesswork about who meant what.
The initiative’s answer has been to restrict itself to what it can show. Its methodology puts verifiable evidence, original sources, chronological documentation and transparency about method ahead of any conclusion. The observatory aims to connect each documented narrative to specific publications, public statements, source materials and historical context, so that you can check each link in the chain for yourself.
That discipline shapes Narratell’s documentation practices. The initiative records where narratives appear, when they emerge, how they are presented and how their framing changes across sources. A narrative match alone does not establish motive, affiliation or coordination. Such conclusions require separate, independently verifiable evidence.
Building the observatory
Narratell already operates a public editorial platform at narratell.eu, publishing research and explanatory materials about information narratives and their influence. Building on this existing work, the initiative is developing a broader technological observatory to support evidence-based documentation, historical tracking and analysis of narrative laundering.
The intended users are the people who need a reliable record most. A journalist could check the earliest documented appearances of a framing before repeating it. An academic or investigator could study how a narrative gained ground in a particular country. Civil society organizations working on information integrity could point to documented examples instead of impressions. Over the next few years Narratell hopes to expand its research capacity, develop transparent documentation tools and make complex information processes easier for non-specialists to follow.
“Understanding the origin of a narrative is important, but understanding how it travels, changes, and gains credibility is equally essential.”
From the research desk to the classroom
The initiative’s longer-term vision reaches into Ukrainian schools. Narratell wants to contribute to media literacy and education in Ukraine, so that future generations learn to recognize how narratives are constructed, distributed and normalized. Founder Denys Kubriak has described that goal as his own.
“My personal ambition is to see the knowledge and methodologies we develop eventually become part of Ukraine’s education system. Understanding how narratives are formed and spread should be an essential part of modern education.”
Narratell’s advice to readers is easy to state and harder to practise. In its view, critical thinking needs evidence, context and “the willingness to question even familiar or widely accepted interpretations.” The observatory is the initiative’s attempt to supply the first two, in public, for anyone who wants to check.
Narratell is an independent Ukrainian initiative developing a public observatory to document the circulation, transformation and normalization of Russian-origin narratives in Western media and public discourse. The project focuses on evidence preservation, transparent methodology and tools for journalists, researchers and civil society. Learn more at narratell.eu.