How propaganda blurs facts, erases victims, and distorts history.
By Jabir Deralla
“Truth is relative.” How many times have we heard this line in cafés, classrooms, and even parliaments? A dear friend of mine, a thought leader and politician, often says there is no single truth, and in a philosophical sense he is right: human beings live through different experiences, values, and perspectives. It is, indeed, true that what may be liberation to one people may feel like occupation to another. That is the richness – and the curse sometimes – of human diversity. These inspiring conversations bring me to today’s note.
When we step into the realm of facts – into the evidence of what happened or did not happen – truth is no longer plural. It is one.
We must sharply distinguish truth in philosophy from truth in reality.
When we speak about truth in philosophy, from Plato to Nietzsche and beyond, philosophers have wrestled with the concept of truth for centuries. In this sense, truth is tied to human perception, culture, and interpretation. We all carry our own versions of reality, shaped by upbringing, community, and belief systems.
This “plurality of truth” is healthy for a democratic society. It allows space for debate, dissent, and the search for meaning. The perceptions and perspectives open the possibilities of diving deeper in the experience of individuals, groups, and communities, providing basis for better understanding of how and why people create a certain standpoint and belief.
Yet, when it comes to describing concrete events – the reality – truth cannot be relative. Either a journalist was murdered, or she was not. Either a hospital was bombed, or it was not. Either women are forbidden from attending schools or from having an abortion, or they are not.
Facts are singular, verifiable, and indispensable for justice. They can be documented, cross-checked, and confirmed by evidence. Without this anchor, everything dissolves into doubt.
Here lies the danger. Propaganda exploits relativism. The Kremlin and its propaganda machine thrive on blurring the line between plural experiences and factual truth. Their tactic is not to replace one truth with another, but to destroy the very possibility of truth.
When Russia denies the Bucha massacre, despite overwhelming evidence, it is not offering an alternative account – it is sowing doubt. Similarly, when propaganda distorts the tragic civilian suffering in Gaza, the aim is not truth, but confusion and division. When Moscow pushes the narrative that “the West lies too,” the goal is not persuasion, but paralysis. If everyone is lying, then nothing matters. The ultimate goal of propaganda is not conviction, but doubt, relativization, and paralysis.
This relativism erases victims, obstructs accountability, and normalizes crime. It is the logic of denialism everywhere – everywhere in the world where tyrannical regimes rule – from genocide denial to election conspiracies.
This is why this matters. Democracy lives on pluralism of ideas, but it dies without a foundation of facts. If we treat facts as “just another perspective,” then perpetrators escape justice, disinformation spreads unchallenged, and the autocrats and tyrants rewrite history.
That is why defending the singularity of truth in matters of fact is not dogma – it is resistance. It is the difference between justice and impunity, between democracy and tyranny.
Finally, there are many truths when it comes to human experiences, interpretations, and values. That is the essence of pluralism. But when it comes to facts – especially war crimes, human rights violations, or acts of aggression – there is only one truth. We must be careful not to confuse the two. Philosophy is one thing – propaganda another. Confusing them is propaganda’s greatest weapon. And we must never hand that weapon to the enemies of democracy.
About The Author: Jabir Deralla is a writer, human rights defender, and democracy analyst. He writes on politics, disinformation, hybrid warfare, authoritarianism, and the future of democracy in Europe and beyond.
— Jabir Deralla
(pen name of Xhabir Memedi Deralla, used for writings in English)
The views and findings in this text are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of donors or other partner entities associated with the organization.
