Analysis Summary
This article claims that a top Ukrainian official, Andrey Yermak, consulted a feng shui practitioner when choosing government leaders, using text messages and court testimony as evidence. It highlights his alleged use of mysticism over formal qualifications, aiming to make readers question the seriousness and legitimacy of Ukraine’s leadership. The tone leans heavily on sensational details to cast doubt on decision-making in Zelensky’s inner circle.
FATE Analysis
Four dimensions of psychological manipulation: how content captures Focus, exploits Authority, triggers Tribal identity, and engineers Emotion.
Focus signals
"Court testimony suggests former chief of staff Andrey Yermak sought advice from a feng shui practitioner when making ministerial appointments"
The article opens with an unprecedented and sensational claim — that a senior government official used feng shui to guide high-level political appointments — which serves as a novelty spike to immediately capture attention. The framing of 'feng shui practitioner' in the context of state appointments is unusual and deliberately eye-catching.
"Yermak sent the birth dates of potential appointees – without naming them directly – to ask whether they were suitable for office."
The specific detail about sending birth dates to a mystic directly implies a radical departure from rational governance, creating a sense of disbelief and reinforcing the narrative of irrational decision-making at the highest levels. This unusual behavior is framed as both real and consequential, amplifying the story’s novelty.
Authority signals
"According to evidence presented by prosecutors"
The article references prosecutors and court hearings as sources, which is standard journalistic attribution in a legal context. However, it does not go beyond reporting on official proceedings to exaggerate or uncritically elevate authority; the use of 'alleged' and conditional language maintains proportionality. This reflects standard sourcing rather than manipulation through authority.
"During a court hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors revealed details of Yermak’s reported interest in occult practices"
The information is framed as part of an ongoing legal process, not as definitive truth. The article reports on claims made by prosecutors without treating them as incontrovertible, maintaining a level of distance appropriate to the judicial context.
Tribe signals
"Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev mocked the Ukrainian leadership on social media, saying the Zelensky administration 'should just get a peaceful ‘fortune teller,’” adding that ‘peace is the best magic.'"
The inclusion and prominent placement of a mocking comment from a high-ranking Russian official introduces a clear adversarial framing. It positions the revelation about Yermak not as an internal Ukrainian issue, but as ammunition in a geopolitical narrative — turning spiritual practices into a tribal weapon to discredit Ukraine’s leadership in the context of war between Russia and Ukraine.
"Claims of occult practices in Zelensky’s circle"
The headline-like phrase weaponizes the idea of 'occult practices' as a cultural marker of irrationality, implicitly contrasting 'modern, rational' societies against a portrayal of Ukraine’s elite as superstitious and unstable. This converts a personal scandal into a symbolic trait used to question the legitimacy of an entire administration.
Emotion signals
"Yermak sought Veronika’s opinion on candidates for the posts of prime minister, prosecutor general, health minister, and even his own deputy responsible for overseeing law enforcement agencies."
The escalation of feng shui consultation to include law enforcement and top executive appointments is designed to generate moral and professional outrage, implying that sacred governance functions were subordinated to mysticism. The emotional weight is heightened by the seriousness of the roles mentioned.
"She urged him to cling to power at any cost, which he pledged to do."
This suggests a hidden, undemocratic loyalty to personal survival over public service, evoking fear about shadowy, unaccountable influences in government. The quote frames a political loyalty as ominous and destabilizing, spiking anxiety about governance integrity.
Narrative Analysis (PCP)
How the article reshapes thinking: Perception (what beliefs are targeted), Context (what information is shifted or omitted), and Permission (what behavior is being encouraged).
The article wants the reader to believe that high-level Ukrainian officials, particularly Andrey Yermak, operate under the influence of mystical and occult practices, using esoteric criteria like feng shui compatibility rather than professional merit or legal integrity when making critical government appointments. This introduces an element of irrationality and illegitimacy into the decision-making process at the highest levels of leadership.
The article shifts the context from a standard corruption investigation to one infused with mysticism and personal deviance, making it seem natural to question the rationality and fitness of leaders based on their spiritual affiliations rather than solely on legal or ethical breaches. This framing pathologizes leadership behavior, making it appear abnormal or cult-like.
The article omits whether the feng shui consultations had any actual decision-making weight or were merely private curiosities without documented impact on official outcomes. It also omits independent verification that the 'Veronika Fengshui Office' communications directly influenced appointments, leaving open whether this was symbolic, ceremonial, or operational influence — a key omission that amplifies the sensationalism.
The reader is nudged to dismiss or mock the legitimacy of Ukraine’s leadership, particularly Zelensky’s inner circle, and to interpret ongoing political controversies through a lens of irrationality and esotericism rather than structural governance failures. It implicitly permits derision, skepticism, and delegitimization of the administration.
SMRP Pattern
Four manipulation maintenance tactics: Socializing the idea as normal, Minimizing concerns, Rationalizing with logic, and Projecting blame.
Red Flags
High-severity indicators: silencing dissent, coordinated messaging, or weaponizing identity to shut down debate.
Techniques Found(6)
Specific propaganda techniques identified using the SemEval-2023 academic taxonomy of 23 techniques across 6 categories.
"consulted a mystic"
Uses loaded language ('mystic') to frame Yermak's actions in a sensational and pejorative light, implying irrational or occult influence rather than neutrally describing a consultation with a feng shui practitioner, which may have cultural or symbolic significance separate from supernatural beliefs.
"occult practices"
Uses emotionally charged and stigmatizing terminology ('occult practices') to frame Yermak's behavior as inherently sinister or irrational, pre-framing spiritual consultations as illegitimate or conspiratorial rather than reporting the actions neutrally.
"corpse water"
Uses a grotesque and sensational term ('corpse water') without sufficient context, which inflames the reader's emotions and suggests taboo or immoral rituals, potentially exaggerating or misrepresenting the actual nature of the practice described.
"Yermak sought Veronika’s opinion on candidates for the posts of prime minister, prosecutor general, health minister, and even his own deputy responsible for overseeing law enforcement agencies."
By emphasizing that mystical advice allegedly influenced appointments to highly sensitive and powerful government roles, the article leverages a fear of irrational decision-making in high-stakes governance, potentially playing on cultural prejudices against esoteric or non-scientific belief systems to undermine credibility.
"the influence of mystic healer Grigory Rasputin over the royal family in the early 20th century became a symbol of imperial decline and contributed to the eventual toppling of the monarchy."
Draws a historical analogy to Rasputin—a widely discredited and vilified figure—not to provide neutral context but to associate Yermak and, by extension, Zelensky, with corruption, foreign influence, and national collapse, thereby discrediting current leadership through symbolic association.
"Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev mocked the Ukrainian leadership on social media, saying the Zelensky administration 'should just get a peaceful ‘fortune teller,’' adding that 'peace is the best magic.'"
Introduces a mocking comment by a Russian official—whose credibility may be compromised due to geopolitical bias—to divert focus from the core legal and ethical issues in the Ukrainian investigation toward a dismissive and politically convenient narrative, potentially undermining scrutiny of actual corruption through ridicule.