Abroad|Security policy
For example, the activities of neo-Nazis in Ukraine and the losses of Russians in the Donbass region have been highlighted. Ukraine has also been claimed to be preparing for an attack with chemical weapons.
Brussels
To Ukraine related disinformation, i.e. the dissemination of misleading information, has clearly increased in recent weeks.
According to East Stratcom, the EU’s eastern communications unit, the disinformation began to increase and became more aggressive from the end of November 2021, and there are clear patterns in its dissemination.
East Stratcom, which has been operating since 2015, searches for and rejects false news spread by non-EU countries.
Unit has accumulated approximately 13,000 over the years case study material disinformation. About 40 percent of cases joins Ukraine.
“Ukraine is therefore a very important destination, and in recent weeks we have seen an increase in activity in this regard,” a source in the official said.
However, he said, it is difficult to make an accurate quantitative estimate of the growth.
With regard to Ukraine, traces lead to Russia. In addition to state actors, there are various pro-Kremlin actors in the movement, such as Internet publishers appearing as news sites.
According to East Stratcom, the tactics of the players vary. In addition to precisely targeted disinformation, the tactic is to “throw mud on the wall and see how much it sticks”, that is, to push out at the same time completely false information, partly correct information, and information taken out of context.
In disinformation the aim is to confuse the facts and draw attention elsewhere, away from the main issue itself. Among other things, the aim is to sow discord and uncertainty among EU countries.
A typical example of disinformation is the news of who is responsible for the escalation of tensions in Europe.
“It shows three different narrative branches. According to one of them, Ukraine is a weak state that does not really have the right to exist because it is culturally influenced by Russia. In addition, it has slipped into a Western agent, ”an official source says.
According to another report, Russia is a victim besieged and betrayed by NATO. According to the third report, it is the EU and the West that started the intimidation.
East Stratcom has also found that disinformation now seeks to justify and justify future events – that is, to explain why Russia is forced to act once and for all.
Ukraine, for example, is highlighted neo-Nazis and the far right activities and the losses suffered by the Russians in the Donbass region. Ukraine has also been claimed to be preparing for an attack with chemical weapons.
There is also disinformation that Western military operations on Ukrainian territory could be used to provoke Russia and then bring the cause to Russia’s neck.
However, a similar type of story has also been told in the Western media: according to the US authorities, Russia would have already placed “saboteurs” in Ukraine ready for a provocation that Russia would interpret as an attack on Ukraine.
East According to Stratcom, the dissemination of disinformation about Ukraine has been coordinated in recent weeks. There are several sources as distributors, and the messages start spreading at the same time with the same content.
According to East Stratcom, the main way to combat disinformation is to increase people’s awareness and media literacy.
The main situation in Ukraine is better in this respect than in 2014, when the country was last attacked by Russia in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Read more: Research: Russian trolls have targeted commentaries on Western news media
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