Millions of Ukrainians are encountering russian propaganda every day. It spreads through TV, radio, media, social networks and by word of mouth. To defeat the enemy, we must fight it on all fronts. To this end, we have prepared a daily compilation of Russian fakes.
Today, the russian information space is reacting to the sinking of the cruiser “Moskva”. The dominating narratives are consolidating around the ideas of revenge and “full-on war”, as if what was happening recently was some minor skirmish. Somehow, the destruction of a ship that had attacked Ukrainian cities crossed a line, while what russia has been doing in Ukraine is perfectly fine. The pressure is ramping up, probably to rouse popular support for full mobilization, since russians are not in any hurry to join the army at the moment. russian propaganda is sending full-on threats to Sweden and Finland, warning them that joining NATO will hurt their safety, rather than increasing it. Oksana Marchenko, the wife of captured russian agent Medvedchuk, accused Ukraine of torture and illegal arrest of her husband, forgetting that he was already arrested before the war and actually escaped custody.
Main fake narratives:
- US developed anti-russian bioweapons in Ukraine
- Ukraine is being controlled by the west
- Russians don’t commit war crimes
- World is blind to Ukrainian war crimes
- Ukrainian refugees are causing crime and bring disease
- Sanctions against russia are destroying Europe
- The world is dominated by russophobia
FAKE: Female escorts in Kherson were working for Ukrainian Special forces and were planning terrorist attacks
Source:
Disproof:
Russian propaganda has tried its best to humiliate and diminish Ukraine in the last decades. According to Russia, Ukrainians are greedy, cowardly, ungrateful, uncultured and stupid, and it would be better if they were to be ruled by smart and honorable Russians, since Ukrainians are only good for working in the fields and are incapable of governing themselves.
A part of that narrative is the notion that most Ukrainian women are prostitutes and gladly sell their body to anyone with money, preferably dollars or euros. This was supposed to reinforce the notion that Ukraine is a nation without an allegiance, eager to sell out to the highest bidder.
Now, the Russian propaganda combines this narrative with the one about Ukrainians committing war crimes. Two birds with one stone, no matter how fake and ridiculous it looks. But the main problem is that the documents Russians present as proof are written in russian. They often make this mistake when fabricating Ukrainian documents. Furthermore, the questionnaires have no mentions of anything related to war, diversion, or, even, Ukraine.
FAKE: Ukrainians are getting aid from Satanists, so Ukrainians worship Satan
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Disproof:
So, you come from a religious country, and you need to portray a group of people as pure evil. How about accusing them all of worshiping Satan? That should do the trick!
By telling their audiences that Ukrainians worship the Devil, Russian propaganda creates an illusion that all the atrocities against Ukrainians, both past and future, are justified. After all, what can be worse than worshiping Satan?
Only, Ukrainians are not Satanists. Even the Satanic Temple, which, indeed, provides aid to Ukrainian refugees and is the basis of this fake, is not Satanist. Nobody in this story is a Satanist.
The Satanic Temple is a nontheistic religious and human rights organization that uses Satanic imagery, humor, and satire to promote egalitarianism, social justice, and the separation of church and state, supporting their mission “to encourage benevolence and empathy [among all people].” They don’t believe in Satan and don’t worship him.
It is ironic, in a way. You know you f**ked up, when both the Satanic Temple and the Catholic Church say that you need to stop.
FAKE: The destruction of nationalist battalions is the main goal of the war
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Disproof:
Let us see how Russian goals evolved in the past two months:
- We are not going to attack, we want to conduct a military exercise
- We would like to replace the Ukrainian government and denazify Ukraine
- We would like to demilitarize Ukraine to ensure its neutral status
- We just want to secure Donbass to protect its people from genocide
- We just want to destroy the “nationalist battalions”
What’s next?
Be advised: Russia is waging a full-scale information war against Ukraine. There are multitudes of new fakes swarming through the mass-media every day. To protect you and your family, be sure to obtain and share your information only from official sources.
Official information channels:
· Office of the President of Ukraine
· General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces
· Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
· Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
· Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine
· Ministry of Internal Affairs
· State Emergency Service of Ukraine
· State Border Guard Service of Ukraine
· Centre for Strategic Communication
· Centre for Desinformation Resistance
· State Special Communications Service of Ukraine
Information about transportation and infrastructure:
· State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine
· Boryspil International Airport”
· Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority
· Danylo Halytskyi International Airport Lviv
· State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety
Keep calm and trust only official sources. Ukraine will prevail!
The material was prepared by ZMiST. Please follow ZMiST on Twitter and Facebook.
