Misinformation in Ukraine

article written by Andre Reis Botelho Gomes da Silva

Whilst most headlines about the current conflict in Ukraine focus on the actions of the Russian and Ukrainian military, many people are finding it difficult to distinguish between real news and misinformation. This may be largely due to the fact that this is one of the first major conflicts in which the public can see events unfolding in real time through social media platforms.

Social media companies don’t exactly have the best track record of tracking and appropriately handling misinformation, and the Ukraine crisis has exacerbated this problem. Clips taken out of context portray many Ukrainians as ‘crisis actors’ in a Russian attempt to de-legitimize claims of atrocities committed against Ukrainians.

The world has lived through a major crisis with the existence of social media before (Covid-19). However, misinformation in Covid-19 was easier to debunk due to the fact that science could be used to provide context to false claims. Meanwhile, it is much more difficult to debunk false information in the Ukraine crisis because the information being spread is largely video-based, which can not scientifically be disproven.

The difficulty of debunking misinformation about Ukraine is further amplified by the actions of the Russian government, who provide disinformation to their own people, as well as to the world through Twitter. Over 70% of tweets made by official Russian government accounts are false. Additionally, most Russian misinformation is spread through the use of ‘whataboutism,’ a common tactic used to divert negative attention by pointing to the failings of another party, or in this case, country. Some examples of this is shown below:

All in all, it is important to remember the sheer amount of misinformation being spread through social media by both official and unofficial Russian accounts. As we research the Ukraine crisis, please verify any information you encounter, read from only trusted sources, stray away from whataboutisms, and remain skeptical of all one-sided claims. Furthermore, we must demand more accountability from social media companies and urge them to renew their misinformation policies to combat this issue.