In the Ukraine Conflict, Fake Fact-Checks Are Being Used to Spread Disinformation

[Nevilledog]

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Tweet text:

Craig Silverman
@CraigSilverman
NEW: Over a dozen Russian-language videos spreading on social media claim to debunk Ukrainian disinfo.

But they’re actually part of a disturbing campaign that spreads disinformation by disguising it as fact-checking.

A story & 🧵on debunks-as-disinfo:

propublica.org
In the Ukraine Conflict, Fake Fact-Checks Are Being Used to Spread Disinformation
Social media posts debunking purported Ukrainian disinformation are themselves fake. That doesn’t stop them from being featured on Russian state TV.
2:16 PM · Mar 8, 2022

https://www.propublica.org/article/in-the-ukraine-conflict-fake-fact-checks-are-being-used-to-spread-disinformation

On March 3, Daniil Bezsonov, an official with the pro-Russian separatist region of Ukraine that styles itself as the Donetsk People’s Republic, tweeted a video that he said revealed “How Ukrainian fakes are made.”

The clip showed two juxtaposed videos of a huge explosion in an urban area. Russian-language captions claimed that one video had been circulated by Ukrainian propagandists who said it showed a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city.

But, as captions in the second video explained, the footage actually showed a deadly arms depot explosion in the same area back in 2017. The message was clear: Don’t trust footage of supposed Russian missile strikes. Ukrainians are spreading lies about what’s really going on, and pro-Russian groups are debunking them. (Bezsonov did not respond to questions from ProPublica.)

There’s no evidence the video was created by Ukrainian media or circulated anywhere, but the label at the top says the video is a “New Fake from Ukrainian media.” The central caption inaccurately labels the footage as “Kharkiv is again under attack by the occupants!” falsely attributing the claim to Ukrainian media. The lower caption correctly identifies the event as “Fire at the ammunition depot, the city of Balakliya, 2017.” Credit: Screenshot taken by ProPublica

It seemed like yet another example of useful wartime fact-checking, except for one problem: There’s little to no evidence that the video claiming the explosion was a missile strike ever circulated. Instead, the debunking video itself appears to be part of a novel and disturbing campaign that spreads disinformation by disguising it as fact-checking.

*snip*

[underpants]

1. Our Putin Patriots here buy BS when delivered in a straight forward way

There’s no way they can wrap their heads around this.

[Nevilledog]

2. They don't even understand 1 dimensional chess.