How Russia manipulates public opinion and shapes attitudes in Serbia - Should America respond?

As Russia carried out an illegal and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, on February 24, 2024, strange things are happening in Serbia, under the influence of Russian propaganda. As the situation develops, since then, one could think that it is a classic Hollywood "twist plot".

1. Russia attacks Ukraine, 80% of people in Serbia claim that Ukraine attacked Russia. The Russian army entered the territory of Ukraine and 80% of Serbs believe that the Russian army defends itself in this way.
2. 80% of people in Serbia believe that Ukraine is a Nazi state, and they do not know that in the Second World War Serbia was liberated from Nazism by the Third Ukrainian Front and that their general, Rodion Malinovski, was a Ukrainian from Odessa and that he is the official national hero of Yugoslavia (therefore also Serbia, which is a legal successor of Yugoslavia). In addition, these same people believe that Zelenski advocates Nazi ideology, and they are aware that Zelenski is Jewish.
In addition to such obvious lies, there are countless other lies that are just as obvious, but people believe them. This only shows how strong Russian propaganda is in Serbia, but also how incapable other actors are to protect Serbia from Russian propaganda.
The influence of Russian propaganda is increasing in the EU, where far-right parties have achieved success and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has been forced to call elections. The influence of Russian propaganda is flourishing, and the West is taking no measures to protect itself from enemy propaganda. But he will play bear in front of their door as well.
While they are thrashing around with paperwork and spending huge amounts of taxpayers' money, Russia is achieving a far greater effect with far fewer resources. While the Western parties are complicating things, Russia directly pays for propaganda texts from 300 to 800 euros or a monthly allowance from 2,000 to even 6,000 euros, which is what certain "prominent" creators of public opinion receive, depending on the standard of living in the given country. We can see that Russia is achieving far more, with far less money, and by all accounts this represents a far more efficient spending of money.

The natural habitat of Putinophiles and Anti-Putinophiles

Every politician has influence in certain circles, and so does Putin. We can see that pro-Putin parties in Serbia dominate in poor places, while anti-Putin parties dominate in urban parts of Serbia. Anti-Putin parties dominate in the most urban places such as the center of Belgrade and Novi Sad, and the central parts of Niš, Kragujevac and other larger cities are not left behind.
In addition to this distribution, we can see that anti-Putin sentiment reigns only in rich places, which are pro-Western oriented, where the salary is far higher than average, and pro-Putin sentiment reigns in poor places, where anti-Western sentiment reigns. We can take the example of Belgrade, where we have the municipalities of Stari Grad, Vračar, Savsi Venac, where the average salary is about 170,000 dinars, and they are pro-Western and anti-Putinist, while Barajevo, Grocka and Mladenovac have an average salary of about 80,000 dinars and are anti-Western and pro-Putinist. . To make matters worse, the rest of Serbia looks like Barajevo, not Vračar. The average Serb is pro-Putin oriented.
We can see how much easier it is for Russians to buy media space in Serbia than in the West. People who support pro-Western values earn twice as much as those who support Putin. In places like Bojnik, where the salary is 64,000, Putin is very popular. So, we can conclude that the poorer the place, the more popular Putin is.

Other benefits
In addition to monetary benefits, there are other benefits that an individual can have, apart from money. It is reputation in society, and in Serbia it can be the basis for a corporation, which can bring huge money. Popularity in society can please people, even though they don't necessarily benefit financially from it. Since 80% of Serbia supports Russia, it is logical to appear in front of the media and say that the Russians are our brothers, like all the other lies spread by Russian propaganda. Since Putinophily is dominant in small rural towns, where there is a main cowboy who brings order in that place, it is obvious that this opens a huge door for corruption. And speaking out against Putin can cost him a lot. Those places are poor and the average salary is around 70,000 dinars, so corruption can bring several average salaries. In translation, the anti-Putin story is simply not worth it to the local, pro-Ukrainian powers.
How much the Russians invest in propaganda

Now we can see how much the Russians are willing to invest in propaganda. In places where Putin is popular, salaries range from 70-80 thousand, and propagandists pay 2,000 euros, and because of this, they have the opportunity to profit from corruption, which can bring them even more than that.

We can conclude that these people earn 5-10x more than they would earn if they did an average job in the place where they live. Because of this, the aggressiveness of these individuals when consciously spreading propaganda should not be surprising, because it enables them to live well. In addition to this benefit, they gain popularity and can be the main ones in the tavern, as well as the fact that it allows them to be the main cowboys in the village and the law does not apply to them.
For the sake of better understanding, it's like someone having a salary of 7,000 euros in Vračar or for the sake of better understanding, it's like an annual salary in America, which amounts to 300-600 thousand dollars. When someone earns such a salary in America, he has to work far more than the average, while in Serbia you can get a far above-average salary, you just need to make false claims that are presented to you by Russian propaganda, and work 7x less than an American who earns above average salary. The only dignity you have to sell, but it seems to pay the best.
A hidden resource

How is it possible that more money comes from the West than from Russia, and Russian propaganda is much stronger? Russian propaganda is not that it is stronger, but it is dominant in Serbia, since 80% of people in Serbia believe in obvious lies, and the West, which has pumped much more money into Serbia's media space, is inferior. There must be a reason to explain this superiority of Russia. Not only is there a catch, but it is stupid and banal. Caka is based on an asset multiplier. Any money can be invested well or badly, and the Russians obviously use a multiplier of their funds. And how does that work?

For example, let's take Pink, where the prices for advertising seconds range from 50-200 euros. The American embassy takes and pays the price of a second at the market price and releases the "You are the world" advertising campaign that connects Serbia and America through Pupin, and that advertisement lasts 60 seconds, therefore it costs from 3,000-12,000 euros per broadcast. In addition, it is necessary to pay for the production of advertising.
After that, the Russians pay 300 euros to a guest, who is a guest in a show on Pink, to repeat America bombed Serbia and stole Kosovo 20 times, thereby canceling the advertisement of the American Embassy. The cost of the American Embassy is 10-40x higher than the Russian cost, and yet the Russians canceled the American campaign.

When the Americans understand how to use resources first, then maybe they will achieve something, only Russian propaganda will trample them like this, and this will not only happen in Serbia, but also at home. If they do not stop Russian propaganda in Serbia, and if they do not understand how Russian propaganda works, they will be defeated by Russian propaganda in their countries as well. And they will pay dearly for this mistake, because they are trying to maintain the status quo in a state of war.