One Year Later, Lessons from Ukraine in Fighting Disinformation

[Nevilledog]

https://www.justsecurity.org/85200/one-year-later-lessons-from-ukraine-in-fighting-disinformation/

The Kremlin’s playbook for its war on Ukraine relies on an utterly distorted portrayal of events. During the past year, Moscow’s rationalization of its violence in Ukraine – already hydra-like since its 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea and invasion of the Donbas region — has sprouted a number of narratives, including the frequent smear of Ukrainians as “Nazis” or “Satanists” and repeated allusions to illusory bioweapon labs. Yet despite these pervasive efforts at manipulation, it appears that Ukraine and its allies are, in key respects, winning the war in the information space across most of the transatlantic community.

To achieve this success, Ukrainians have employed critical adaptations to identify and overcome Russian government efforts to simultaneously delegitimize the idea of Ukraine as a sovereign and democratic state, legitimize and obscure the violence and depredations of the Russian invasion, and ultimately fracture the democratic alliance.

In its fight against the Kremlin’s distortions, Ukrainian society has seized three key advantages — deep preparation, networks of cooperation, and active utilization of new technology, including artificial intelligence — that have aided civil society organizations and governments to build trust and tell Ukraine’s story, unite Ukrainians and their allies, and ensure resilience in the face of a pervasive authoritarian disinformation campaign. These efforts have fortified public support across much of Europe and the United States, support that has been critical to Ukrainians’ ability to maintain the integrity of their State and defend themselves on the battlefield in the face of Moscow’s assault.

The Importance of Preparation

Ukrainians have learned to mitigate risks in the information space through hard-won experience. Moscow’s use of disinformation in Ukraine goes back to Soviet times and extends to Russian influence activities in the aftermath of the union’s 1991 collapse. As the Kremlin’s encroachments have intensified since 2014, Ukraine’s civil society, news media, and activist community have built their capacity, working with democratic partners to counter malign authoritarian narratives.

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