Disinformation
Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate.
The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...
has been distributed by governmental agencies and
web brigades
Russian web brigades (also called Russian trolls, Russian bots, Kremlin Bots, Kremlins or Rustapar) are state-sponsored anonymous Internet political commentators and trolls linked to the Government of Russia. Participants report that they are or ...
of the Russian Federation, the
Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and the
Luhansk People's Republic
The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...
(LPR) separatist areas of Ukraine in relation to the
2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
In March and April 2021, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to begin massing thousands of personnel and equipment near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilization since the anne ...
and the subsequent
Russian invasion. Russian disinformation and
fake news
Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...
stories have focused on themes such as
false flags claims of Ukrainian and NATO aggression, claims of
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
violations and even genocide carried out by
Ukrainians on Russian speakers (such claims often attempt to attribute
Russian war crimes
Russian war crimes since 1991 are the violations of the law of war, including the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Geneva Conventions, consisting of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of genocide, which the official ar ...
to the Ukrainian side), claims that
NATO and Ukraine develop biological weapons targeted at Russia, and claims of widespread local populace support for the Russian "liberation". Some of the disinformation has been aimed at promoting anti-refugee sentiment, intending to weaken international support for Ukraine.
Russian disinformation has been particularly pervasive and successful in Russia itself, due to
censorship of war news and
state control of most media. While due to the extent of misinformation, Russian media have been restricted from operation and suffered from reputation loss in many
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
developed countries
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
, they have met with more success spreading their point of view in many
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
. In particular,
Chinese state media has been very sympathetic to the Russian side, and has repeatedly censored war news or reproduced Russian fake news and disinformation.
Ukrainian media has been accused of telling propaganda stories to support their cause, such as
Ghost of Kyiv
The Ghost of Kyiv (, ) is the nickname given to a mythical MiG-29 Fulcrum flying ace credited with shooting down six Russian planes over Kyiv during the Kyiv offensive on 24 February 2022. Various reports, including the Security Service of U ...
, though such stories were not comparable to Russia's disinformation campaign.
Both sides have been accused of exaggerating the military losses of the opposing side while minimizing their own.
Aims and attribution
Disinformation largely attributed to Russia (both state agencies and
web brigades
Russian web brigades (also called Russian trolls, Russian bots, Kremlin Bots, Kremlins or Rustapar) are state-sponsored anonymous Internet political commentators and trolls linked to the Government of Russia. Participants report that they are or ...
) since the 2014 beginning of the
Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...
aimed to generate support for Russia, for example by alleging Ukrainian involvement in serious human rights violations.
In January 2022, aims of
disinformation
Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate.
The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...
(
misinformation
Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ...
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;
and to create a
casus belli for further invading Ukraine.
Facebook uncovered a Russian campaign using fake accounts, and attempts to hack the accounts of high-profile Ukrainians. There are reports of paid Russian government staff searching for "organic content" posted by genuine users in support of the Kremlin, while making sure that these do not run afoul of platform guidelines, then amplify these posts. Researchers have found that the
Internet Research Agency
The Internet Research Agency (IRA; russian: Агентство интернет-исследований, translit=Agentstvo internet-issledovaniy), also known as ''Glavset'' (russian: link=no, Главсеть) and known in Russian Internet sla ...
(IRA) has operated numerous
troll farm
A troll farm or troll factory is an institutionalised group of internet trolls that seeks to interfere in political opinions and decision-making.
One study showed that 30 governments worldwide (out of 65 covered by the study) paid keyboard armies ...
s who spam critics of the Kremlin with pro-Putin and pro-war comments.
China state media has largely used Russian state media stories and information from Russian officials, including echoing misinformation and conspiracy theories. In March 2022,
China Global Television Network
China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in five languages. CGTN is reg ...
(CGTN) paid for digital ads on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
targeting global users with briefings and newscasts featuring pro-Kremlin talking points about the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
after
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc., (file no. 3835815) trade name, doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebo ...
banned Russian state media advertisement buys. The same month, CGTN repeated
unsubstantiated Russian claims of biological weapons labs in Ukraine. A leaked internal directive from Beijing News ordered its employees not to publish news reports that were "negative about Russia or pro-West." An analysis found that nearly half of Weibo's social media posts used Russia sources which were pro-Putin or described Ukraine in negative terms, while another third of posts were anti-West and blamed expansion of NATO, while very few posts described the war in neutral terms. Several history professors have penned an open letter that strongly opposed China's support for "Russia's war against Ukraine" but their post was quickly deleted by censors, while a celebrity who criticized Russia over the invasion had her account suspended.
Due to
Russian fake news laws, Facebook and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
were blocked by Russia authorities, while
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
has purportedly banned new uploads as of May 6. However a study by ''Tracking Exposed'' found out that TikTok had blocked all non-Russian content, but has continued to host old videos uploaded by Russia-based accounts and permitted Russian state media to continue posting, described as establishing a "
splinternet
The splinternet (also referred to as cyber-balkanization or internet balkanization) is a characterization of the Internet as splintering and dividing due to various factors, such as technology, commerce, politics, nationalism, religion, and diverg ...
" within a global social media platform. TikTok's vague censorship has permitted pro-Kremlin news but blocked foreign accounts and critics of the war, as a result "Russians are left with a frozen TikTok, dominated by pro-war content".
Effects
In February 2022,
Eliot Higgins
Eliot Ward Higgins (born January 1979), who previously wrote under the pseudonym Brown Moses, is a British citizen journalist and former blogger, known for using open sources and social media for investigations. He is the founder of Bellingcat, ...
of
Bellingcat
Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014 ...
judged that the quality of Russian misinformation videos had weakened, but remained especially effective for the older generation of Russians.
Some observers noted what they described as a "generational struggle" among Russians over perception of the war, with younger Russians generally opposed to the war and older Russians more likely to accept the narrative presented by state-controlled
mass media in Russia
Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Even though the Constitution of Russia guarantees freedom ...
.
Kataryna Wolczuk, an associate fellow of
Chatham House
Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is an independent policy institute headquartered in London. Its stated mission is to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is ...
's Russia and Eurasia programme, said that "
lderRussians are inclined to think in line with the official 'narrative' that Russia is defending Russian speakers in Ukraine, so it's about offering protection rather than aggression."
About two-thirds of Russians use television as their primary source of daily news.
Many Ukrainians say that their relatives and friends in Russia trust what the state-controlled media tells them and refuse to believe that there is a war in Ukraine and that the Russian army is shelling Ukrainian cities.
Some Western commentators have claimed that the main reason many Russians have supported Putin and the "special military operation" in Ukraine has to do with the
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
and disinformation. At the end of March, a poll conducted in Russia by the
Levada Center
The Levada Center is a Russian independent, nongovernmental polling and sociological research organization. It is named after its founder, the first Russian professor of sociology Yuri Levada (1930–2006). The center traces back its history to ...
concluded the following: When asked why they think the military operation is taking place, respondents said it was to protect and defend civilians, ethnic Russians or Russian speakers in Ukraine (43%), to prevent an attack on Russia (25%), to get rid of nationalists and "denazify" Ukraine (21%), and to incorporate Ukraine and/or the Donbas region into Russia (3%)."
In China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, the Arab world, and Latin America, some social media users trended towards showing sympathy for Russian narratives. A study performed by
Airlangga University
Airlangga University ( Indonesian: ''Universitas Airlangga''; jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦮ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦄꦲꦶꦂꦭꦁꦒ, abbreviated as Unair or UA) is the second-oldest university in Indonesia and also a public university located in Su ...
revealed that 71% of Indonesian
netizen
The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and '' citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general. s supported the invasion. This support was due to affection for Putin's strongman leadership, as well as anti-US and anti-Western political alignments. Additionally, many Indonesians supported Russia due to positive reports of
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov ce, КъадаргӀеран Ахьмат-кӏант Рамзан, translit= (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician who currently serves as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated to the ...
and claims of the
Azov Battalion
The Special Operations Detachment "Azov" (), also known as the Azov Regiment ( uk, Полк «Азов», translit=Polk "Azov") and formerly the Azov Battalion ( uk, батальйон «Азов», translit=Batalion "Azov"), is a unit of the N ...
covering their bullets with lard to be used against
Chechen troops in the invasion.
A series of four online polls by Alexei Navalny's
Anti-Corruption Foundation
The Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF or FBK; russian: Фонд борьбы с коррупцией (ФБК), Fond borby s korruptsiyey (FBK), Foundation for combating corruption) is a non-profit organization established in 2011 by Russian opposit ...
found that between 25 February and 3 March, the share of respondents in Moscow who considered Russia an "aggressor" increased from 29% to 53%, while the share of those who considered Russia a "peacemaker" fell by half from 25% to 12%. On 5 April 2022,
Alexei Navalny
Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, Russian opposition ...
said the "monstrosity of lies" in the Russian state media "is unimaginable. And, unfortunately, so is its persuasiveness for those who have no access to alternative information." He tweeted that "warmongers" among Russian state media personalities "should be treated as war criminals. From the editors-in-chief to the talk show hosts to the news editors,
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
should be sanctioned now and tried someday."
Russian themes
Numerous themes of disinformation either originated in Russia or favoring the Russian point of view have been reported.
Delegitimization of Ukraine as a nation and state
Russian imperialist, ultranationalist, and pejorative themes about Ukrainians as "
Little Russia
Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Ру ...
ns", part of an "
all-Russian nation
The All-Russian nation (russian: общерусский народ, ) or triune Russian nation (russian: триединый русский народ, label=none, ), also called the pan-Russian nation ( uk, пан-руський народ, ), i ...
", or junior partner in a "triune Russian nation" have been part of official Russian imperial rhetoric since the seventeenth century, and Soviet nationalities policy in the twentieth. Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly questioned Ukrainians' identity and Ukraine's legitimacy for years and explored conspiratorial views of Ukraine's identity as an "anti-Russia project" in his 2021 essay "
".
After the 2014
Revolution of Dignity
The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, , Russian rhetoric delegitimized successive Ukrainian governments as the "Kyiv regime", a "Nazi" or "fascist junta", denigrated it as led by a "band of drug addicts and neo-Nazis", and claimed it is under "external control" by the West or the United States.
Such denial of nationhood has been cited as part of a campaign of incitement to genocide by the Russian state.'
Allegations of Nazism
One of the reasons given by Putin for starting the invasion were misleading comparisons of the Ukrainian government to
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s while announcing that one of his objectives is "de-Nazification of Ukraine". These allegations were rejected as false, as part of a wider Russian campaign to incite hatred against Ukraine or an illusion of a "fake threat scenario". Ukraine government was not run by Nazis; instead, president Zelensky is Jewish and speaks Russian. The
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum ( pl, Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) is a museum on the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim (German: ''Auschwitz''), Poland.
The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwi ...
denounced Russian invasion, issuing a statement: "Once again, innocent people are being killed purely because of insane pseudo-imperial megalomania", and called for the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
to put Russia on trial. A ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' analysis of 8,000 Russian websites recorded a sudden spike of allegations of Ukraine and Nazism on the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In reality, all the far-right parties combined received only 2% of 2019 parliamentary votes in Ukraine, well below the 5% threshold for representation. One expert explained this distortion as an attempt to calm down Russian
cognitive dissonance
In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information, and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person's actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environment. ...
when faced with Russian war crimes, such as the
Bucha massacre
The Bucha massacre ( uk, Бучанська різанина, Buchanska rizanyna) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians by Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the Ukrainian city of Bucha amid the Russian invasi ...
: "It helps them justify these atrocities". The
Jews of Ukraine similarly rejected Putin's propaganda.
Claims of Ukrainian and NATO aggression
Spokesmen of Russian state media, the breakaway Donetsk People Republic, or
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
have made unsubstantiated claims of aggression by NATO
or Ukraine against Russian citizens, including assassination,
sabotage,
genocide,
and the development of bio-weapons
including birds carrying fatal diseases.
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
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
.
On 18 February 2022, the
Luhansk People's Republic
The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...
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
Metadata is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including:
* Descriptive metadata – the descriptive ...
showed that it had been recorded on 12 June 2019.
Sabotage attempts
The breakaway
Donetsk People's Republic released a video on 18 February 2022 that claimed to show
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
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
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
Ukrainian intelligence attributed responsibility for the video to the Russian intelligence service
GRU
The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
.
Genocide in Donbas
In mid February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin baselessly claimed that Ukraine was carrying out
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
in Donbas.
He said the purpose of the military "operation" in Ukraine was to "protect the people" in the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Donbas who, according to him, "for eight years now,
adbeen facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kyiv regime".
Putin's claims were dismissed by the international community, and Russian claims of genocide have been widely rejected as baseless.
More than 3,000 civilians were killed as a result of the war in Donbas, but there is no evidence to support the claim that Ukraine committed the genocide of Russian-speaking people.
The
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
has also rejected the allegations as "Russian disinformation". The
US embassy in Ukraine called the Russian genocide claim a "reprehensible falsehood".
Ned Price
Edward "Ned" Price (born November 22, 1982) is an American political advisor and former intelligence officer serving as spokesman for the United States Department of State since 2021. He worked at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2006 ...
, a spokesperson for the
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
, said that Moscow was making such claims as an excuse for invading Ukraine.
In March and April 2022, propaganda in the state-controlled media and on pro-Kremlin
Telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
channels has falsely accused Ukrainian troops of attacking civilian targets in
Mariupol
Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
and bombing Ukrainian cities.
Moreover, the fatality rate of the War in Donbass was actually falling prior to the 2022 Russian invasion: in 2017, there were 117 conflict-related civilian deaths, while in 2020 this was down to 26 deaths, and further down to 25 deaths in 2021.
Biological weapons labs
In March 2022, Russia made unsubstantiated allegations that Ukraine was developing biological weapons in a network of labs linked to the US.
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...
and Chinese
state media
State media or government media are media outlets that are under financial and/or editorial control of the state or government, directly or indirectly. There are different types of state and government media. State-controlled or state-run media a ...
amplified Russian claims.
QAnon
QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...
promoters were also echoing the disinformation.
BBC Reality Check found no evidence supporting the claims. The United Nations also refuted the claim.
Russian biologists in and outside of Russia have debunked the claims, stating that the allegations are "transparently false".
According to researcher Adam Rawnsley, the Kremlin has a history of discrediting ordinary biology labs in former Soviet republics, having previously spread conspiracy theories about
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
similar to the accusations deployed against Ukraine.
Birds as bio-weapons
Prior to March 2022, the
Russian Ministry of Defense
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...
had made unsubstantiated accusations that the United States was
manufacturing bio-weapons in Ukraine. In March, the Ministry followed up with another conspiracy theory, which claims that the U.S. is training birds in Ukraine to spread disease among Russian citizens, according to a statement given by Major General
Igor Konashenkov
Lieutenant General Igor Yevgenyevich Konashenkov (russian: Игорь Евгеньевич Конашенков; born 15 May 1966) is a Russian military officer serving as the chief spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federa ...
, spokesman of the Ministry to Russian state-controlled media. Specific details were given about diseases involved, including the name of a specific strain of flu with 50% mortality, as well as
Newcastle disease
Virulent Newcastle disease (VND), formerly exotic Newcastle disease, is a contagious viral avian disease affecting many domestic and wild bird species; it is transmissible to humans. Though it can infect humans, most cases are non-symptomatic; ...
. Media reports included maps, documents, and photos of birds with American military insignia, and also claimed that live, infected birds had been captured in eastern Ukraine.
The claims were laughed off by U.S. State Department spokesman, who called them "outright lies", "total nonsense", "absurd", "laughable" and "propaganda". Director of the CIA William Burns told the U.S. Senate that Russia was using such claims to prepare the terrain for a biological or chemical attack by Russian forces against Ukraine, which they would then blame on the United States and Ukraine.
Combat-mosquitoes
On 28 October 2022,
Vasily Nebenzya
Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya ( rus, Василий Алексеевич Небензя; born 26 February, 1962) is a Russian diplomat and the current Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations. His official title is Ambassador Extra ...
, the
Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations
The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations is the leader of Russia's diplomatic mission to the United Nations.
Vasily Nebenzya is charged with representing Russia in the United Nations Security Council and the for ...
, accused Ukraine of using drones with "combat
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
es" which spread "dangerous viruses".
Andrii Yermak
Andrii Borysovych Yermak ( uk, Андрій Борисович Єрмак; born 21 November 1971)[plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...](_ ...<br></span></div>, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, laughed off these accusations.
<h3><br><p> Ukrainian plans to use a dirty bomb </h3></p>
In March 2022, Russian state-controlled news agencies claimed, without evidence, that Ukraine was developing a <div class=)
-based
dirty bomb
A dirty bomb or radiological dispersal device is a radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the dispersal agent/conventional explosion with ...
nuclear weapon at the
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP; ; ), is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine border, ...
.
In a series of calls to foreign defense officials made in October 2022,
Russian Minister of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...
Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...
similarly claimed that Ukraine was preparing a "provocation" involving the use of a dirty bomb.
The
Institute for the Study of War
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a United States–based think tank founded in 2007 by Kimberly Kagan, providing research and analysis regarding issues of defense and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian War, the War ...
suggested a desire to slow or suspend
foreign aid to Ukraine as a possible motive for the allegations.
The
foreign ministries of France,
the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
rejected "Russia's transparently false allegations".
In a briefing, the Russian Ministry of Defence used photos of the
Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station
The Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station (NPS; russian: Белоярская атомная электростанция им. И. В. Курчатова []) was the third of the Soviet Union, Soviet Union's nuclear plants. It is situated by Zarechny, ...
, the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and a photo from a 2010 presentation by the Slovenian as "evidence" for its claims.
Claimed success of Russian efforts
Flight and surrender of Ukrainian President
The Russian state media agency TASS claimed that Zelenskyy fled Kyiv following the invasion and also that he had surrendered. Zelenskyy used social media to post statements, videos and photos to counter the Russian disinformation.
Russian state-owned television channel
Russia-1
Russia-1 (russian: Россия-1) is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship ch ...
spread false claims that Volodymyr Zelenskyy fled Ukraine following the
10 October 2022 missile strikes.
Other claims
Ukrainian satanism and use of black magic
In May 2022, as the invasion continued, Russian state media claimed that Ukraine was using black magic to fend off the Russian military.
RIA Novosti
RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...
claimed that evidence of black magic had been found in an eastern Ukrainian village; according to their report, Ukrainian soldiers had allegedly consecrated their "weapons with blood magick" at a location with a "satanic seal".
In October 2022, assistant secretary of the
Security Council of Russia
The Security Council of the Russian Federation (SCRF or Sovbez; russian: Совет безопасности Российской Федерации (СБРФ), Sovet bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii (SBRF)) is a constitutional consultative bo ...
Aleksey Pavlov called for the "de-
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
ization" of Ukraine, claiming that the country had turned into a "
totalitarian
Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...
hypersect". In an article for the Russian state-owned ''
Argumenty i Fakty'' newspaper, he identified the
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
Hasidic movement as one of the "hundreds of
neo-pagan
Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...
cults" operating in Ukraine. Russia's chief
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Berel Lazar
Shlomo Dov Pinchas Lazar (born May 19, 1964), better known as Berel Lazar, is an Orthodox, Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi. He began his service in Russia in 1990. Known for his friendship with Vladimir Putin, since 2000, he has been a Chief Rabbi ...
wrote a letter to Russian authorities, asking them to condemn Aleksey Pavlov's comments, which he described as "a new variety of old
blood libel
Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...
s". About 70% of Ukrainians are religious, and half of those attend religious services.
False flag fakes
In March 2022, videos were discovered purporting to show Ukrainian-produced disinformation about missile strikes inside Ukraine which were then "debunked" as some other event outside Ukraine. However, this may be the first case of a disinformation false-flag operation,
as the original, supposedly "Ukraine-produced" disinformation was never disseminated by anyone, and was in fact preventive disinformation created specifically to be debunked and cause confusion and mitigate the impact on the Russian public of real footage of Russian strikes within Ukraine that may get past Russian-controlled media. According to Patrick Warren, head of Clemson's Media Forensics Hub, "It's like Russians actually pretending to be Ukrainians spreading disinformation. ... The reason that it's so effective is because you don't actually have to convince someone that it's true. It's sufficient to make people uncertain as to what they should trust."
Olenivka prison massacre
On 29 July 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a building housing Ukrainian prisoners of war in a Russian-operated prison in Molodizhne near Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, was destroyed, killing 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and ...
, described by most independent experts as a Russian-orchestrated sabotage, has been reported by Russian media as a missile attack by Ukraine. While the exact cause of the incident has still not been conclusively confirmed, most experts conclude the Russian version highly improbable.
Anti-refugee sentiments
Russian disinformation and fake news have also attempted to promote anti-refugee sentiments in Poland and other countries dealing with the
influx of mostly Ukrainian refugees from the war. Social media accounts identified as having ties to Russia have been promoting stories such as those about refugees committing crimes or being unfairly privileged, or about locals discriminating against the refugees (in particular, on the racist grounds). Such disinformation intends to weaken international support for Ukraine.
News masquerading as Western coverage
During the crisis, a number of fabricated CNN headlines and stories went viral on social media.
Misinformation spread on social media included a faked image of CNN reporting that
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
had been seen alongside the Russian military,
false tweets claiming that a CNN journalist had been killed in Ukraine,
a CNN
lower third
In the television industry, a lower third is a graphic overlay placed in the title-safe lower area of the screen, though not necessarily the entire lower third of it, as the name suggests.
In its simplest form, a lower third can just be text ...
that was digitally altered to include a claim that Putin had issued a statement warning India not to interfere in the conflict,
and another that was altered to claim that Putin planned to delay the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine until "Biden delivers weapons to Ukraine for Russia to capture", as well as a fabricated CNN tweet supposedly reporting on a figure referred to as "the Kharkiv Kid finder" alongside an image that actually portrayed the YouTuber
Vaush, who resides in the US and was not in Kharkiv at the time.
In addition to fake news with CNN logo, other Western stations have had similar fakes distributed, for example
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
since March 2022. The grandmother with a red flag was turned into an iconic image by Russian propaganda. Allegedly, it represents the desire of "ordinary Ukrainians" to reunite with their "Russian brothers".