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NATO has been quietly engaging with film and television screenwriters, directors, and producers across Europe and the United States, according to reports from The Guardian and the Russian state news agency TASS. The alliance has held meetings in Los Angeles, Brussels, and Paris, with another planned next month in London with members of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB). While NATO frames these discussions as an effort to foster cooperation and understanding of security issues, some invited writers have voiced concerns that they are being asked to contribute to propaganda for the alliance.Coverage Comparison
Reporting on the meetings comes from two outlets with starkly different editorial perspectives. The Guardian, a UK-based nonprofit news organisation, presented the story as an investigative revelation, describing the meetings as “closed-door” and quoting screenwriters who expressed discomfort. TASS, the Russian state news agency, framed the same events through the lens of a Russian diplomat’s allegations, suggesting NATO might be preparing a “staged massacre” in Ukraine.Despite the divergent framing, both sources agree on the core facts: NATO has held three meetings with film professionals in Los Angeles, Brussels, and Paris, and a fourth is scheduled in London. The Guardian adds that the meetings have already inspired “three separate projects” in development. TASS focuses on a statement by Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, who linked the meetings to the 2022 Bucha incident.
Key Claims
- NATO’s engagement with the arts: Both The Guardian and TASS report that NATO officials have met with film directors, scriptwriters, and producers in multiple cities, with a London meeting scheduled next month with members of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. NATO’s stated goal, as conveyed in emails seen by The Guardian, is to promote cooperation and compromise, with organisers noting that even a simple message of friendship finding its way into a story “will be enough.”
- Screenwriters’ reactions: Several screenwriters invited to the meetings have expressed discomfort. Alan O’Gorman, a writer whose film Christy won best film at the 2026 Irish Film & Television Awards, called the planned London meeting “outrageous” and “clearly propaganda.” Others felt they were being asked to “contribute towards propaganda for Nato,” according to The Guardian.
- Russian diplomat’s allegations: Yulia Zhdanova, the Russian diplomat, suggested that NATO’s meetings with cinema professionals could indicate the alliance is preparing another staged massacre, similar to the 2022 Bucha incident. The Guardian did not report this claim, and it remains unverified by independent sources.
- Think tank’s recommendation: The Guardian references a report by the Centre for European Reform, a think tank, which calls on governments to engage with cultural leaders to build public support for greater defence spending. This claim is sourced only from The Guardian.
- Previous meetings: The Guardian notes that in 2024, eight screenwriters were invited to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels to learn about security policy and met with then-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. This detail is not mentioned in TASS’s reporting.
Perspectives
NATO’s engagement with the creative industry can be seen from multiple angles. From NATO’s perspective, as reported by The Guardian, the alliance is seeking to foster dialogue and mutual understanding with the arts community, with the aim of generating support for collective defence. Organisers of the meetings emphasise cooperation and compromise, suggesting that any positive message woven into future stories would be a success.Screenwriters who have declined or criticised the meetings, however, view the outreach as an attempt to influence public opinion in favour of NATO, potentially crossing a line into propaganda. Their concerns reflect a broader unease about the militarisation of culture.
On the Russian side, TASS quotes diplomat Yulia Zhdanova, who interprets the meetings as evidence of NATO preparing a false-flag operation in Ukraine, echoing Kremlin narratives around the 2022 Bucha incident. This claim is not supported by any evidence presented in the reports and is not corroborated by The Guardian.
A more policy-oriented perspective, as represented by the Centre for European Reform’s report, suggests that governments should proactively engage cultural leaders to build public understanding and support for increased defence spending, implying that such outreach is a legitimate tool of public diplomacy.