Lies about the war in Ukraine come in all shapes and sizes – here are a few examples of what lies in fake news
Manipulation, propaganda, lies and half-truths that create rifts even between relatives on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine border – the battle against truth is being waged on the digital front as the promoters of confusion run massive campaigns to influence the masses, destroy faith and sow discord.
In the ongoing battle for the heart and mind, news stories, photos and videos are being chosen as powerful weapons in the information war and are being shared with viewers around the world. Social media platforms make information both true and false easier – and it’s faster. Not surprisingly, news websites and TV are still there Many people go to places to get their news And so, confusion and misinformation can play a big role in propaganda.
In Russia, for example, 54% people Still “trust television” over other media, a number that has risen 10 percentage points since the invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, only 17% of people get their news online, with about 30 million unique users checking Yandex News every month, publishing news from only one. Limited number of outlets registered in Russia.
TikTok, a new (information) battlefield
Meanwhile, after years of experience with social media and spreading polarization and hateful content, Troll factory I have learned that bots do not have the same effect as organic posting and shared content Write a new strategy: recruit people on social platforms and spread their message through comments and shares using their real profiles. Companies like TikTok and Twitter have noticed that militant accounts have increased the number of their followers in a matter of days. Twitter has removed more than 100,000 accounts and labeled or deleted 50,000 pieces of content for violating its spam policy.
Even in Russia, where TikTok Blocked Even after uploading new content, users can turn on the VPN and add new videos to their account via the web version of the app. However, this is not happening on a large scale and users with this content can easily identify it by using the Russian flag in their profile pictures.
Fake, debunked
Journalists and fact checkers have spent some sleepless nights exposing false stories of the war. Here are some examples:
The President of the Russian Federation announces the surrender of Russia. Russian soldiers, drop your weapons and go home alive! pic.twitter.com/5wWC3UlpYr
– Serhiy Sternenko (Sternenko) March 16, 2022
March 16M, Two Deepfakes appeared on Twitter showing the Ukrainian and Russian presidents announcing Kiev’s “surrender” in an attempt to change the course of the war. The videos are Doctor’s Edition Real video from the press conference.
If the reality is not enough to confirm the falsity of these videos, it is possible to compare them with the videos. Real conference. This too Inconsistencies are easy to find Between the movement of their lips and the sound. Zelensky confirmed to his officer Instagram account That video is fake.
Identifying a dipfek at first glance is often difficult-impossible; In the end, they have the power Decay People believe in what they see and hear. Truth itself becomes a relative value depending on one’s beliefs.
Photo source: Politifact
The picture above is Real, But not from Ukraine. This is, in fact, a 2016 celebration of Yuri Gagarin’s 55th birthday in space, these kids tried to recreate. The photo was taken in Kemerovo, Russia Make sure After searching the reverse image.
Image source AFP
This same technique, including taking video footage from context, is very commonly used. In this case, a Video From Moscow in 2020 Presented Recording in Ukraine.
“We do not do politics. “But we think it is important to provide unbiased information about what is happening in Ukraine and the Donbass region, because we are seeing the signs of an information war against Russia.” [WarOnFakes.com]
The messaging platform Telegram has become a major place for fake news due to its large Russian-speaking audience. One of the most successful channels is “War on Fax”. According to its owners, “Our goal is to ensure that information is replaced by purposeful publications.”. The fight against counterfeiting is available in six languages, with the aim of reaching out to people outside of Russia. In Russian, the channel has reached 705,000 subscribers In just two months.
Although the reality is horrible. Their channel (and website) uses conspiracy theories and blatant lies to claim that Russia is not responsible for most of the events in Ukraine. Their nets have been debunked by news outlets and fact-checking websites Part of an international fact-checking platform.
Livestreams have an immediate effect, and when stories happen we see them unfold in real time and with our own eyes. In TikTok, however, the reality is not what it seems. Several accounts have been viewed Broadcast Fake live footage of loop videos with dubbed sound that often has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.
TikTok’s platform design makes it easy to spread misinformation about Ukraine. Just use an old audio. The audio used here is one year old.
The caption says “join live” because livestreams are profitable TikTok has seen a surge in fake Ukraine livestreams for donations. pic.twitter.com/sJaqN5nUhp
– Abby Richards (abbieasr) February 28, 2022
- CGI, film and video games
Ukrainian soldiers are leaving their wives to fight in this way. Please come back soon. 3# Ukraine#Russia # Ukraine pic.twitter.com/RGD2fTKdHW
– Dave Tekz (techz_dave) February 25, 2022
War movies and video games have become closer to reality. Now, they are being used as real battle footage. The scenes above are from the 2017 “War of Chimeras” Film By two Ukrainian directors. The video has been shared thousands of times.
Reality – a matter of faith?
Calling fake news real and copying fact checker concepts would be an increasingly common way to distort reality. Although for now we can follow a few rules to fight against misinformation, even in a war it will be difficult to do without the support of automated tools.
In the end, the truth itself becomes a web of lies with victims and an abundance of information where reality is simply a matter of belief.
