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The COVID World post date: Feb 28th, 2022

Past Kit Knightly

We're simply four days into Russia's military operation in Ukraine, and yet the propaganda cogs are whirring fast every bit lightning, churning out "news", opinion and content grist for the media manufacturing plant.

In just the last 48 hours dozens of stories, images, narratives and videos take circulated as being taken from the fighting in Ukraine, a huge percentage of which are fake.

Now, some of it could be attributed to misunderstandings, mistaken identity, misattribution…just many and about are probable deliberate deceptions designed to provoke a response. Let's dive correct in.

one. "THE GHOST OF KIEV"

Early Friday morn it was reported that a single Ukrainian aeroplane, a MiG-29, was patrolling the skies above Kiev. The English-speaking press chosen the unnamed airplane pilot "The Ghost of Kiev", and claimed he had downed 6 Russian jets in air-to-air combat in less than 2 days, making him an official Fighter Ace, and probably one of the fastest to always earn that title.

The trouble is there is almost no bear witness this happened at all. To quote Newsweek:

There is nil evidence the "Ghost of Kyiv" exists.

Neither side tin can ostend Russian federation has lost half-dozen planes in total, let alone to one man inside a single day. And a video alleged to be "the Ghost of Kiev" in gainsay – shared by the Ukrainian Armed Forces – is confirmed to actually be footage taken from a video game.

Yet, he already has his own Wikipedia page. A testament to how fast a lie tin can move while the truth is putting its boots on.

2. "RUSSIAN PLANES Flying OVER KIEV"

A lot of people have been sharing a short video of Russian planes allegedly flying depression over the metropolis of Kiev. The Times used a notwithstanding from it in their story "Volition sanctions stop a Russian shell?":

The trouble with that is it'south non Kiev, it'southward Moscow. And it's not today, information technology'south two years ago. It's footage of what is likely a rehearsal for the 2020 Victory Mean solar day Parade flyover.

3. "ZELENSKIY VISITING THE TROOPS"

Perchance no politician in history has had a PR makeover quite every bit fast as Vlodomyr Zelenskiy. Last calendar week he was but some guy, this calendar week he's a state of war hero, there'due south talk of building statues of the man. A (not at all staged) "leaked" phone call had him turning downward the US offer of an airlift to safety.

Twitter is dotted with people sharing photos of him in combat fatigues, comparing him favourably to Trump and Trudeau and asking "what other leaders would fight aslope their troops?"

But the problem with that is the photos are all nigh a year one-time, taken when he visited the troops last April:

4. "LUHANSK POWER STATION EXPLOSION"

Early on in the confrontation, this video started doing the rounds on social media:

The video went viral, receiving 100,000s of views. Hundreds of accounts shared it, even major news networks used it, all challenge information technology shows a power station in Luhansk exploding afterward being hit with Russian missiles.

It does not, it's a chemical plant exploding in Tianjin, Cathay in 2015.

5. VIDEO GAMES. Again.

This footage, challenge to show Ukrainian ground forces downing Russian aircraft, also went viral recently, fifty-fifty appearing on Castilian goggle box news:

…Information technology's from the video game ARMA 3.

6. "RUSSIAN WARSHIP Get FUCK YOURSELF"

This was the first major propaganda narrative following Russia's accelerate onto Ukrainian territory. Allegedly leaked audio showed Ukrainian border guards on tiny Serpent Island in the black sea communicating with a Russian warship. Upon being told to surrender, the guards say:

"Russian warship become fuck yourself."

The Western press reported that all 13 of the men were killed, and the Ukrainian government released a statement saying they would all be awarded posthumous honors.

However, while the supposedly fallen heroes were existence canonized all over the western world, Russia was reporting that they had not been killed at all, but taken alive and unharmed dorsum to the mainland.

A story both the press and the Ukrainian government accept since reluctantly admitted is probable true.

vii. SYRIAN DRONE STRIKES FOOTAGE

Another video doing the rounds, and again shared by official Ukrainian accounts, was drone footage supposedly showing the destruction of a column of Russian vehicles.

It'due south actually footage of a Turkish drone strike in Syria from 2020.

Meanwhile, other accounts were sharing footage of combat from Great socialist people's libyan arab jamahiriya or Israeli bombardments of Gaza nether the hashtag #StandWithUkraine. Eye East Eye has compiled a list.

It'southward a somewhat cute irony that and then many of the clips prompting outrage in Western liberals really come from wars their governments started.

There we accept it, vii stories about the war in Ukraine that are demonstrably fake, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

There are tons of other fakes out there, non to mention fakes of fakes designed to discredit doubters or just spread chaos.

Ultimately, it's all a timely reminder that propaganda is at its most strong at times where the news is moving fast and people are feeling emotional.

That is WHY the media whips up fright, anxiety, and hatred because people in that emotional state are less likely to think critically.

It should go without maxim that this is equally true for both sides. We shouldn't blindly have claims from the Russian side, simply because we know NATO lies. Both sides propagandize, and 1-eyed skepticism is only a different kind of bias.

In short, if you come across something designed to provoke an emotional reaction, don't allow information technology. Never get swept forth in the narrative, always hold yourself back, go on at-home and ask rational questions.

Withhold conventionalities, need facts. It'southward the only way to go along your mind free.

Or, to quote HL Mencken:

"Never believe anything you hear, and only one-half of what you run across."

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Source: https://thecovidworld.com/7-fake-news-stories-coming-out-of-ukraine/

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