Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we have been monitoring the individual false reports as well as propaganda-like narratives relating to the war on social media and the Internet throughout Europe within the fact-checking network EDMO. Of course, it quickly became clear that various manipulative narratives, all sorts of false reports, and ultimately trolling were being spread from the start. The pool of false reports has now become so large that it can be divided into different categories.
These categories make it clear what different characters the individual hoaxes have. It's not always the same story that is told. No, various types of false reports with various contents are spread.
Propaganda and fake news in the Ukrainian war
In our “Ukraine War” section ( here ) we archive false reports that have occurred since the beginning of the war. This involves a wide variety of content. In a European comparison, we noticed quite early on that different priorities emerge in different countries, but that these can shift.
It has been shown that the fear of Russian propaganda is greater, especially in Eastern European countries, than in Western European countries. In addition, in the Eastern European countries, Russian propaganda spreads unfiltered, even in Russian (compare: “ Disinformation in Russian is spreading in the EU ”).
At this point, let's take a look at the character categories of fake news and propaganda surrounding the Ukraine war. These can be categorized and described by quantity (descending order) as follows:
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Category 1: Endangering the image of Ukrainians
- Ukrainians are corrupt and embezzle international aid
- Ukrainians sell weapons donated by the West on the black market
- Ukrainians are staging war
- Ukrainians are Nazis and murderers
These false reports are about portraying Ukraine itself as bad and corrupt. This is intended to show that the attack and the war against the country are legitimate. As an example of this category, our articles “Smoking corpse” is not a recording from Ukraine and No, schoolchildren in Ukraine did not celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday be cited.
Category 2: Damage to Zelensky's public figure
- Zelensky is a Nazi
- Zelensky incites nuclear escalation
- Zelensky is corrupted by foreign capitals
- Zelensky is a liar and a coward
This category is quite similar to the first category, only it is ad hominem against Ukrainian President Zelensky. He is targeted here because he is one of the most colorful figures of the war. An example of false news from this category is content such as No, Zelensky does not wear a Nazi symbol on his shirt! and President Zelenskyj in a new music video with a rocket launcher? .
Category 3: Discrediting Western media coverage of the war
- Journalists stage the war
- Media uses false images (“lying press”)
This is an accusation that comes up again and again in the media. Either journalists would allegedly stage the war on site by using false images, or they would stage corpses and dead people in general. The false reports in this category are intended to prove that the war does not exist or is pure propaganda. Examples include the content Fact check: Victims of the Ukraine war made up? and body bags move? No media fake, video does not show Ukraine.
Another example is the following comment from the Kronen-Zeitung. The newspaper was accused of using fake images. The article Crying Ukraine | Common crap describes how this accusation came about.
Category 4: Pro-Russian content / Excessive support for Russia
- Russia is supported by many and/or powerful military and political allies
- Ukraine belongs to Russia
- Russia's attacks are justified
The quantity of content from categories 4 and 5 is somewhat lower, but it is sometimes very difficult to explain technically. An example here is the justification for the attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol. In the article Maternity hospital in Mariupol: Ukrainian Azov battalion on the roof? We analyzed the target of the attack and the justification using so-called geolocating.
But some of them are also quite easy to debunk false reports. Among other things, there is the claim that a video shows a Chinese convoy in Ukraine that would now intervene on Russia's behalf.
Category 5: Exaggeration of the difficulties/atrocities of the Russian or Ukrainian military, as well as defamation
- Russian military is worn out and divided
- Russians/Ukrainians are murderers and torturers
- Trolling and joking about Russian military
In this category, pro-Ukrainian narratives primarily play a role. Here Russia is badmouthed in various ways. This can happen, on the one hand, through atrocities, on the other hand, through alleged incompetence, but also through trolling. The examples video: No attack on Ukraine, but storms of 2021 , Russian mobilization: Photo is real and Ukrainian farmer did not steal a Russian Soyuz rocket are for this category.
Further subdivisions possible
Of course, these categories do not yet cover the entire spectrum of false reports and manipulative propaganda. It would of course be possible to list other smaller categories. But these five categories cover about 75% to 80% of common narratives in the context of the Ukrainian war.
This might also be of interest : Excuse me? Vaccinated people are not allowed to drive in Germany?
Note: This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication
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The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic.

