An analysis of the EDMO fact checking network. Organizations that contributed to this analysis: PagellaPolitica/Facta, Delfi, Eesti Päevaleht, Proveri-AFP, Re:Baltica

As we will see, the main disinformation narratives in Russian are very similar in content to those in other European languages, which is not surprising. However, an investigation by the EDMO fact-checking network has revealed that there are some specific features and elements worth highlighting.

The main disinformation narratives uncovered in the EU

Since February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, numerous disinformation campaigns about the war began circulating , spread in different languages ​​and in different countries. to identify seven main disinformation narratives spread by the fake news, images and videos discovered. Note: At Mimikama we have a dedicated category for hoaxes and disinformation related to the Ukraine War ( here ).

Disinformation in Russian
Disinformation in Russian

During the analysis, we found that in some EU countries disinformation was circulating not only in local languages, but also in Russian. This led us to investigate what type of disinformation is circulating in Russian-speaking communities and whether it is different or similar to that circulating in European languages ​​in the EU.

To analyze disinformation in Russian, we focused on the three Baltic EU member states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), where large Russian communities live, as well as Bulgaria, where a relevant proportion of the population understands Russian.

We asked for information from four different fact-checking organizations - AFP in Bulgaria, Delfi in Lithuania, Eesti Päevaleht in Estonia and Re:Baltica in Latvia - as well as a Bulgarian journalist, Ruslana Margova, a counter-disinformation expert at the GATE Institute for Big Data at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski” in Sofia. Here's what we found out.

The narratives are almost the same

In the four countries examined, all disinformation narratives previously isolated by the EDMO's fact-checking network are spreading in both national languages ​​and Russian. As expected, the only exception is pro-Ukrainian war propaganda.

This bias is not surprising considering that the main pro-Russian disinformation narratives emanate directly from the Russian government, mass media and propaganda apparatus. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of Nazi sympathies in Ukraine and claimed that the massacres in Bucha were staged, while Maria Zakharova, a Russian press spokeswoman, wrote that Russia did not start the war, but rather ended it by intervening to prevent an eight-year-long genocide in the Donbass region.

A specific narrative for the Russian-speaking public

The most striking difference between the disinformation narratives spread in EU languages ​​and the narratives spread in Russian, according to the reports of the various fact-checking organizations and experts who contributed to this research, is that in the latter case they are original ones Fake news specifically designed to exaggerate foreign support for Russia's military action.

In May, Latvia's Re:Baltica discovered two examples of Russian-language fake news, one exaggerating Russia's support for the invasion of Ukraine in the Arab world, while another inflated support around the world (e.g. old videos of protests in Italy against the “green pass” were presented as pro-Russia demonstrations).

In Lithuania, an old video was used to spread the false news that Ukrainians were demonstrating in Odessa in support of Russia's ongoing invasion. A video in which a German journalist who lives in Russia and spreads disinformation - first about the pandemic, now, a well-known trend , about the war in Ukraine - claimed that the majority of Ukrainians supported the Russian invasion also went viral viral.

In Bulgaria, a Facebook post entitled "Words are unnecessary" claimed that a Bulgarian flag was visible in Moscow's Red Square during May 9 celebrations. this is incorrect : it is actually the flag of the Suvrov Ordin, a Soviet blue ribbon.

Interesting elements at national level

Estonia

In Estonia, a significant portion of Russian-language disinformation came directly from Russian Embassy statements that Ukraine genocide , that Ukraine secret US biolabs, or that the massacre in Bucha was staged.

A disinformation narrative aimed at exaggerating Russophobic sentiment in the EU - which noted but gradually declined in the following weeks - was reported as particularly relevant to Estonia, where various Russian sources claimed that the Russian Minority in the country is persecuted or even a genocide takes place.

The disinformation targeting Ukrainian refugees – claiming that they are violent and stealing resources from the EU population – is particularly relevant . Martin Laine, journalist and fact-checker at Eesti Päevaleht, explains: “Even before the war there was a fairly large Ukrainian community in Estonia. Estonian wages are among the highest in Eastern Europe, and this has led to many Ukrainian guest workers living here. This also meant that many Ukrainian refugees were able to reconnect with their families in Estonia, making us a more desirable destination for them compared to other Baltic states. Statistically speaking, Estonia's help in accepting refugees per capita was remarkable. For Russian activists and propaganda, this was a fertile ground for disinformation campaigns and fomenting conflict.”

But it is not just Russian propaganda that spreads false news about migrants. “Unfortunately, right-wing populist political forces have also taken the bait, so these narratives are being spread not only by pro-Russian activists, but also at the political level by Estonian-speaking populist politicians,” says Laine. This connection between far-right politicians and Russia is not new and is not limited to Estonia in Europe. Our colleagues at Demagog have confirmed that a similar phenomenon can also be observed in Poland.

Latvia

In Latvia, the main disinformation narratives in Russian claim that the war actually justified , exaggerate the negative economic consequences of the war, and focus on refugees. On the other hand, stories that accuse Zelensky and the Ukrainian population of being sympathetic to Nazism are not very popular.

Evita Purina, journalist and fact-checker at Re:Baltica, notes that fake news about refugees was “the main propaganda narrative in March and early April.” “One of the main sources are TikTok videos posted by random people living in Latvia, Poland, Moldova, etc.,” says Purina. “The anonymous TikTok videos will then be republished in Russian state media materials as evidence. For example, published a report entitled 'Citizens of various countries were outraged by the behavior of the Ukrainian refugees', which in turn was republished by several other media outlets on various platforms." The Ukrainian refugees are also being attacked from other sides, viz through fake news claiming that they are not real refugees or that they are actually rich and therefore do not need help.

As for the exaggeration of the negative economic consequences of the war and sanctions, one of the main narratives - produced and broadcast in Russian by both Russian and Latvian broadcasters - portrays (with false data) and thus claims that it would be better for the country to focus on its own population instead of helping Ukraine.

A final interesting aspect of the situation in Latvia that Purina highlights concerns the development of various disinformation channels that have moved from spreading fake news about the pandemic to spreading fake news about Ukraine. While this is a widespread phenomenon in the EU, the shift in Latvia caused disinformation spreaders to lose followers, so their audience today “is no longer as large as it was during the pandemic,” explains Purina. “Russia is too well known to Latvians, so it is not so easy to poison people's minds with war propaganda and lies. Their influence on Ukraine is much more limited than on Covid during the Covid crisis. The main spreaders of disinformation are others, such as Russian media and random local and Russian pro-Kremlin bloggers. The vast majority of misinformation is spread in Russian.”

Lithuania

In Lithuania, disinformation in Russian about Ukrainian refugees is reportedly less significant than in Estonia and Latvia. On the other hand, the narrative about the negative consequences of the war and sanctions on the economy seems to be quite strong and targets both the European economy as a whole and the Lithuanian economy in particular.

A characteristic feature of Russian-language disinformation about the economic situation in Lithuania - pointed out by Aiste Meidute, journalist and fact-checker at Delfi - is a series of fake news spread by Belarusian state television, creating a whole series of narratives about Lithuanians who to procure goods in large quantities from Belarus , and about Lithuania's alleged urgent need to import goods from Belarus. These claims have no basis, and the actual impact of a possible complete stop of Russian and Belarusian exports of goods to Lithuania is estimated .

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, disinformation in Russian is a widespread phenomenon. “Since both Bulgarian and Russian are Slavic languages ​​and both countries have historically had close relations, it is much easier for Russian disinformation to reach Bulgarian audiences than in Western Europe,” explains Rossen Bossev, journalist and fact-checker for AFP-Proveri ( AFP's Bulgarian office).

In general, in Bulgaria, all narratives discovered in EU languages ​​were also discovered in Russian (with the usual and obvious exception of pro-Ukrainian war propaganda).

“In general, Bulgarians can find out about events in Ukraine and Russia in Russian through Telegram, Yandex and other channels,” says Ruslana Margova. “There are now some major Bulgarian newspapers and online media outlets that inform Bulgarians about the Kremlin’s official position.”

This massive influence on Bulgarian public opinion by Russian propaganda may be one of the reasons why, in a recent Eurobarometer survey, Bulgaria has the lowest approval ratings of any European country for the EU sending military aid to Ukraine and the second highest percentage (after Cyprus) of people believe that the war is primarily Russia's responsibility.

In a previous study on disinformation related to COVID-19, we reported that Bulgaria is one of the EU countries most conducive to the spread of fake news.

conclusion

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, pro-Russian disinformation and propaganda have been circulating widely in the EU. So far we have mainly focused on disinformation circulating in EU languages, but in this research we examined the disinformation circulating in Russian, particularly in the Baltic countries and Bulgaria.

In general, we can say that the main disinformation narratives in Russian are the same as those in EU languages, with few differences. This is not surprising considering that disinformation often echoes Kremlin slogans. The most interesting difference is that in Russian there is a significant series of fake news aimed at inflating support for Moscow's invasion, which we have not yet seen [in this massive form] in EU languages.

Original text & source: Tommaso Canetta, Pagella Politica/Facta.news . Image from WikiImages on Pixabay


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )