Diving Past Reality—How a War is Really Won
When left to their own devices, there is only one thing that one can trust the human race to do: kill. Whether it be over ideology or resources, that fact has been known since at least the beginning of recorded history. What’s interesting, though, is that when placed into the virtual sandbox which is EVE Online, nothing changes. Similar tactics of war in both realms, both real and not, prevail. One of these tactics, in particular, though, is the art of propaganda. If the subjects of a commander do not support his or her effort, it is sure to be futile. Propaganda is the only thing encouraging those subsidizing the struggle to continue to do so. 
So, where does EVE Online come into play? The recent event of World War Bee II exemplifies this tactic to the extreme. On one side, we have the far outnumbered Goonswarm Federation. On the other, a well-financed PAPI Alliance. In the beginning, it seemed like a decisive victory for PAPI as Keepstars in Delve burned. Villy, a leader of the PAPI Alliance, had started with the goal of exterminating Goonswarm from EVE Online, and to everyone watching it looked like he was making real progress. That is until the PAPI forces reached the doorstep of 1DQ1-A, Goonswarm’s home system. Fights broke out on the daily between the forces but it became clear that neither side was willing to use super capital class vessels to deter the other. Both had sacrificed too much to maintain their footing in the conflict. Confined to one main system, if Goonswarm had lost a majority of their super capital fleet, it was unlikely that it would be rebuilt in the usual time period considering the ongoing scarcity of resources in New Eden. For PAPI, the story was different. They were at a disadvantage. If they jumped super capitals into 1DQ1-A, it would be another bloodbath. With the homefield advantage, Goonswarm would likely both outnumber the attackers (as their forces weren’t split between two in-game regions) and require less critical mass to have an efficient Titan killing force on field with a super carrier docking tactic. 
Without supers, and roughly equal ISK loss, we are at a standstill. If either side drops their super capital force, they will lose. Unfortunately, that force is also the only way to easily kill the multitude of keepstars in 1DQ1-A. The question then becomes why Goonswarm is claiming a decisive victory. Let’s take a look at the Cold War. Ask Americans who won, it was unequivocally them. Same with Russians. If neither side truly accomplished anything, did either really win though? They both suffered the same loses with no gains. Same as in World War Bee II. 
The only thing that answers that question then is propaganda. The Mittani is a master of it. Even to the point that he has brainwashed people outside of his alliance to believe that he won. In reality though, Goonswarm was weakened just as much as PAPI. Why do they get to claim the victory? It was a clear draw. The answer? Propaganda.