Between war propaganda and attempts at disinformation, more and more dubious or clearly bogus images and videos circulate on social media, erroneously referring to the conflict in Ukraine. This was reported by the fact-checking journalistic service of Bbcaccording to which footage of previous conflicts in Ukraine or other parts of the world and images of troops in training are published.
Among these, some have gone viral, in which it is incorrectly stated that they are Russian military aircraft engaged in flying over low altitude or hitting Ukrainian territory. In one there is even an American F-16 jet which among other things has never been in service in the military aviation of Moscow or even in that of Kiev. Another clip claims, again incorrectly, to show Russian paratroopers landing near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The editorial staff of the Bbc he applied the stamp with the wording “false” to many videos and photos. Social media platforms like Twitter try to take an active role in addressing unverified and clearly bogus content by removing a lot of material, even if it’s not easy given the sheer volume of what’s being posted these days.
Boris Johnson against the lies of disinformation
Boris Johnson has promised the House of Commons – against the backdrop of the winds of war in Ukraine – that he will unleash a full-blown counter-offensive against what he called “the torment of lies and disinformation” attributed to Russia. Prime Minister Tory argued that fake news accused of the Kremlin, in particular as a pretext for attacking Ukraine, must be answered by spreading the truth. During the debate, marked by an almost unanimous condemnation of Moscow expressed in very harsh tones, representatives of the majority and opposition even asked Johnson to evaluate military initiatives against Moscow. And there was no shortage of calls to target TV in the UK Rtsubsidized by the Kremlin, a broadcaster whose fate the prime minister has also entrusted once again to the decisions of Ofcom, the British independent media surveillance authority, in compliance with the legislation in force in the country.
Meanwhile, outside the Parliament of Westminster, the former Scottish first minister and former leader of the SNP, Alex Salmond, announced the suspension “until further notice” of the program that he had been conducting for some time as anchorman from the screens of Rt Uk: an activity that had earned him the accusation of complicity on the island with an instrument of “Russian propaganda”, including by former party comrades of the SNP.
Italians are the most worried in Europe
Precisely on the front of the tensions on the Euro-Asian border, the discussion on the spread of fake news is more current than ever, and joins that on Covid. Readly, Europe’s leading provider of digital newspaper and magazine subscriptions, examined Italians’ perception of artfully created news, also in comparison with the European trend. 66% of Italians say they are “worried” or “very worried” about the spread of fake news and 60% believe they are targeted by them every day. 62% think that the circulation of fake news in the media is set to increase in the next three years.
These percentages are the highest in Europe: on average, in other countries, only 39% of citizens say they are worried about fake news and only 44% feel exposed to fake news on a daily basis, with a downward peak for Sweden, where 28% of respondents say they feel exposed to fake news every day. However, today, Italian citizens are the least likely to pay to access “qualified” information content: in fact, only 7% do so, compared to an average of 12% in European countries.
Almost one in four Italians, however, declare themselves willing to acquire paid information content already today, while 22% intend to evaluate the expenditure only in the event of an increase in exposure to fake news. “The dissemination of artfully created news has been an ever-present issue during the pandemic, and it seems to reach new heights in pre-election periods or when conflicts between economic powers intensify. However, our investigation shows that in general we have become increasingly aware of our personal responsibility to verify the content we receive and the sources of information we rely on, ”says Marie Sophie Von Bibra, Head of Growth for Italy at Readly.
Social networks are also starting to take a stand against fake news: recently it was the turn of Twitter, which said it will brand posts containing false information and misleading news about the pandemic as “misleading content”. However, today Italian readers prefer to rely on traditional media to access information content: they trust above all TV (28%), newspapers and magazines (23%) and information sites (19%). Only 5% of the Italians interviewed consider themselves reliable social media for information.
«From the data of our research it emerges that the majority of respondents believe the incidence of fake news is increasing. We therefore also expect a greater demand for journalistic content from credible sources and responsible publishers. At the same time, the total range of magazines and newspapers that we are able to offer to readers on our platform is increasing: today there are 313 Italian newspapers on Readly, in addition to the main national daily press in seven European countries “, continues Marie Sophie Von Bibra , Readly’s Head of Growth for Italy. One in five Italians believe that information affects their political values. Most Italians (57%) believe that the media have an impact on their life. 36% believe that they are directly correlated with the growth of their level of knowledge, 31% that the media influence the learning of fundamental issues, which otherwise would not be considered; 20% think that the media shape their political values, 18% that they influence passions and interests and 17% that they influence their life values. “What we read in the media has a great impact on various areas of our daily life. One in five Italians say that media consumption shapes their political values: it is therefore of the utmost importance to access verified news from different perspectives », continues Marie Sophie Von Bibra.
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