Expect to be inundated with a lot of disinformation about the situation in Ukraine. Even here at DU.
You're probably going to hear a lot about appeals about a desire to supposedly be "anti-war" or "anti-imperialism." Expect to hear a lot about NATO expansion in Europe, about the US invasion in Iraq or prior CIA actions in places like Chile or Iran. Expect to hear about how the 2014 Maidan protests in Ukraine were actually a US sponsored coup, or how the current Ukrainian government is corrupted by fascist or neo-Nazi elements.
A lot of this might sound good on the surface, especially to persons--myself included--who fashion themselves pacifists or at least a fan of diplomacy over military action when it comes to foreign affairs.
However, a lot of it is either blatantly untrue, heavily distorted versions of the truth, or simply irrelevant to the current situation at hand.
Use proper discernment and consider the sources being used. Fact check using reliable sources of information. Don't just go on what might sound good on the surface.
This might seem obvious considering that is what we've had to deal with with persons on the right, but the left can--and has been--susceptible to agenda-driven disinformation efforts as well.
And this is not our first go-around here at DU. Perhaps some might remember back in 2014 and 2015 these same talking points making the rounds heavily on DU in light of the Maidan protests and then the Russian annexation of Crimea and their instigation and infusion of pro-Russian fighting in Eastern Ukraine.
There were a lot of posts that went unchallenged and were accepted as true because too many people thought what was being said sounded good. Even some long time DUers fell victim to these trappings.
Thankfully, we're better prepared these days. In 2014-15, the notion of disinformation and false news was still a great unknown, but the 2016 election and subsequent right-wing oriented disinformation efforts have served as a great wakeup call. And a lot of the DUers who participated in spreading the disinformation about Ukraine eight years ago left in the middle of 2016 because they didn't want to get behind the Democratic Party nominee.
But that doesn't mean we should let our guard down. I've already seen disinformation about the Ukrainian situation seeping its way back onto DU, and we can only expect more if matters take a turn for the worse in coming days.
All you have to realize throughout are some very simple truths:
1. Ukraine is a sovereign nation, and whether it desires to join NATO or the EU is its own decision, not anyone else's
2. Putin is the sole aggressor in this situation. Not Ukraine. Not NATO. Not the US.
3. The US has no plans to put boots on the ground in Ukraine, nor does Ukraine expect the US to put boots on the ground in Ukraine
4. Ukraine is a democracy--a flawed and fledging democracy, but a democracy nonetheless--and providing material support to a democracy in the face of unjustified aggression is not a bad thing
5. Being "anti-war" or "anti-imperialism" does not mean acquiescing to unchecked aggression by an autocratic regime against its democratic neighbor simply because you think that's "peace." That's not "peace" at all.
In the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic liturgies that are prevalent throughout Ukraine, there is at one point in the mass where the celebrating priest--before reading the gospel--announces to the congregation, "Wisdom! Be attentive!"
Now, putting aside any discussion of religious belief or lack thereof, on a simply secular level, that's still very good advice to be had in any type of given situation.
Wisdom.
Be attentive.
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These are needed warnings. You rock.
Oh surely not! 
What misinformation?
Needed to be said.
I'm glad I don't use Twitter, and I wish our DUers wouldn't post these Twitter rumors here on DU.
We have to keep calm and not over- react to this stuff. And right now it isn't easy to do.
