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{{Merge to |Russian–Ukrainian information war |date=February 2022 }}
[[Disinformation]] has been distributed by governmental agencies in relation to the [[2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis]].<ref name="MoscowTimes_info_war" /><ref name="Telegraph_four_RU_false_flags" /><ref name="Guardian_dumb_and_lazy" />
[[Disinformation]] has been distributed by governmental agencies in relation to the [[2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis]].<ref name="MoscowTimes_info_war" /><ref name="Telegraph_four_RU_false_flags" /><ref name="Guardian_dumb_and_lazy" />


Revision as of 12:25, 28 February 2022

Disinformation has been distributed by governmental agencies in relation to the 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis.[1][2][3]

Aims and attribution

In January 2022, aims of disinformation (misinformation intended to deliberately deceive) distributed by Russian authorities included using "wedge issues" to encourage disunity among Western countries in support for Ukraine; to counter themes promoted by the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); to create plausible deniability for human rights violations carried out by Russian forces;[4] and to create a casus belli for further invading Ukraine.[3]

Disinformation attributed to both Ukraine and Russia since the 2014 beginning of the Russo–Ukrainian war aimed to show the other side being involved in serious human rights violations.[1]

Effects

In February 2022, Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat judged that the quality of Russian misinformation videos had weakened, but remained especially effective for the older generation of Russians.[3]

Disinformation themes

17 February invasion

On 17 February 2022, the United States warned that Russia would invade Ukraine that day.[5] This invasion never came, however Russia did invade Ukraine seven days later.

Prerecording of "urgent" call to evacuate

On 18 February 2022, leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), the separatist areas of Ukraine involved in the War in Donbas, broadcast what was presented as an urgent appeal for citizens to evacuate to Russia. Metadata from Telegram showed that the recordings had been uploaded two days earlier, on 16 February.[1][2]

Fake assassination attempts

According to Bellingcat, a supposed bombing of a "separatist police chief" by a "Ukrainian spy", broadcast on Russian state television, showed visual evidence of the bombing of an old "green army vehicle". The old car's registration plate was that of the separatist police chief, but the same licence plate was also seen on a different, new SUV.[1][2][3]

On 18 February 2022, LPR showed video appearing to show the removal of a car full of explosives that had been prepared for blowing up a train full of women and children evacuating to Russia. The video's metadata showed that it had been recorded on 12 June 2019.[2]

Fake sabotage attempts

The DPR released a video on 18 February 2022 that was claimed to show Poles trying to blow up a chlorine tank. The video was distributed further by Russian media. The video's metadata showed that it was created on 8 February 2022, and included a mix of different pieces of audio or video, including a 2010 YouTube video from a military firing range in Finland.[2][3]

Ukrainian intelligence attributed responsibility for the video to the Russian intelligence service GRU.[3]

Fake Moscow anti-war protest

StopFake, a Ukrainian fact-checking group, showed that photos of a protest in 2014 were used to wrongly claim that a "large anti-war protest" took place in Moscow during the 2021–2022 Russo–Ukrainian crisis.[1]

Claim of genocide in Donbas

See also: Humanitarian situation during the war in Donbas

In mid February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed that Ukraine was carrying out genocide in Donbas. The Guardian interpreted the 2021 exhumation of mass graves of victims killed in 2014 during the Donbas war as being "used politically" to give a "grossly misleading" impression that genocide was occurring.[3]

Responses

The United States Department of State and the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU) published guides aimed to respond to Russian misinformation.[4] Twitter paused all ad campaigns in Ukraine and Russia in an attempt to curb misinformation spread by ads.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Zaks, Dmitry (2022-02-21). "Information War Rages Ahead of Feared Russian Invasion". The Moscow Times. AFP. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bowman, Verity (2022-02-21). "Four Russian false flags that are comically easy to debunk". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harding, Luke; Roth, Andrew; Walker, Shaun (2022-02-21). "'Dumb and lazy': the flawed films of Ukrainian 'attacks' made by Russia's 'fake factory'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2022-02-22. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  4. ^ a b Scott, Mark (2022-01-27). "As Ukraine conflict heats up, so too does disinformation". Politico. Archived from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  5. ^ "Timeline: After months of tensions, Russia attacks Ukraine". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  6. ^ Wagner, Kurt (January 25, 2022). "Twitter Pauses Ads in Russia, Ukraine to Keep Focus on Safety". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
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