The day before Russia invaded Ukraine, Donald J. Trump said that President Putin was smart.
Right-wing commentators including Joe Oltmann and Candace Owens jumped into the online debate with posts that supported Mr. Putin and rationalized his actions against Ukraine.
Some in the Telegram groups criticized President Biden's handling of the conflict and expressed support for Russia, with some saying they trusted Putin more than Mr. Biden.
The online conversations show how pro-Russia sentiment has spread to other websites and apps. The online discourse over the war between Russia and Ukraine was infused with sympathy and even approval for the Russians.
The right in the United States has been influenced by culture wars and grievance politics in the past few years. In some circles, Mr. Putin is seen as someone who gets his way and does not let political correctness stop him.
The strength that Trump pretended to have is embodied by Putin.
Support for Mr. Putin and Russia is being expressed online in a variety of facts, observations and opinions. According to a review of posts by The New York Times, commenters have praised Mr. Putin and wrongly accused NATO of violating fake territorial agreements with Russia.
Conspiracy theories about the war have been spread by others. There is a popular lie that Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump are working together. There is an idea that the war is about taking down a group of global elites.
In the past week, pro-Russian narratives on English-language social media, cable TV, and print and online outlets soared 2,580 percent compared to the first week of February, according to an analysis by the media insights company. In the past week, those mentions have increased by more than 5,000 times, compared to the first week of February.
According to The Times review, the narratives have flourished in dozens of Telegram channels, Facebook groups and pages. The Telegram channels have more than 160,000 subscribers, while the Facebook groups and pages have 1.9 million followers.
It is difficult to be precise on the scope of pro-Russian narratives on social media and online forums because they are difficult to track.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was viewed by many Americans as a foe. Influence from Russia helped shift the attitude. Kremlin-backed groups used social networks like Facebook to inflame American voters before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, creating more divisions and resistance to political correctness.
After Mr. Trump was elected, he appeared to be a fan of Mr. Putin. The positive view of Mr. Putin among Mr. Trump's supporters was caused by that.
According to the chief executive of Card Strategies, Putin has an ally in Mr. Trump.
Conspiracy theories spread online that are very divisive. The QAnon movement claims that Democrats are Satan-worshiping child traffickers who are part of an elite group trying to control the world.
Some Americans are viewing the Russia-Ukraine war through the lens of conspiracy theories. According to a survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute, 41 million Americans believe in a conspiracy theory. The invasion of Ukraine by Mr. Putin was the beginning of a global war against sex traffickers.
The founder of a company that helps fight online misinformation said that the pro-Russia statements could be harmful.
The actions of Mr. Putin have been condemned by conservative social media users, mainstream and Republican politicians, even as some have criticized how Mr. Biden has handled the conflict.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, said in a statement on Thursday that the invasion of Ukraine was reckless and evil.
Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois who was censured recently by the Republican Party for participating in the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, criticized House Republicans for attacking Mr. Biden.
What is the root of this invasion? Russia considers Ukraine to be within its sphere of influence, and it is worried that the country might join NATO or the European Union. The United States and Europe give financial and military aid to Ukraine.
Are these tensions starting now? The Russian military crossed into Ukrainian territory after the overthrow of their Russia-friendly president. There was a cease-fire in 2015, but fighting continues.
How has the Ukrainians responded? The state of emergency was declared after cyberattacks knocked out government institutions. Volodymyr Zelensky declared martial law after the attacks. The foreign minister called for the world to stop the attacks.
Those with a pro-Russia stance are louder online. The Gateway Pundit, a far-right website, published a story about Russia and Ukraine before the invasion. According to data from CrowdTangle, the article spread in groups that support Mr. Trump, reaching up to 556,300 followers.
Stephen K. Bannon praised Mr. Putin and suggested the Ukrainian conflict was not our fight.
Some online users blended Mr. Putin's motives with conspiracy theories about Covid-19. The War Clandestine account claimed that Mr. Putin was targeting biolabs that were operated by the United States. The author said that the idea was made more believable because of the conspiracy theory that the United States engineered Covid-19 at a lab in China.
The thread was amplified by pro-America people like Mikel Crump and John Basham. People continued posting screen recordings of the thread online even after the War Clandestine account was suspended for trying to evade the ban.
The accounts by the user were permanently suspended for violating its abusive behavior policy and it was monitoring emerging narratives that violate its rules. The two men did not respond to a request for comment.
Some pro-Russia commentators said they were correct. Many blamed Mr. Biden for his son's employment at a Ukrainian gas company. Conservatives seized on the narrative during the 2020 election that there was no wrongdoing by the Bidens.
Mr. Oltmann said that he had no idea about Ukraine. You didn't do the right thing when it came to the fraud and corruption of Biden, so people support Russia. I pray for the people in Ukraine but also for the people who helped the communist agenda in the U.S.
The Russia-Ukraine war was Mr. Biden's fault, according to Ms. Owens.
According to polling from the Economist and YouGov, Mr. Putin was viewed more favorably by Republicans than Mr. Biden. Sixty percent of Republicans think Mr. Putin is a stronger leader than Mr. Biden.
The sentiment was echoed in an informal poll online on Wednesday, when a QAnon influencer asked followers of the Patriot Voice group on Telegram if they trusted Mr. Putin. Almost all of the people who responded said yes.
Ben was involved in research.
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