"7 FAKE NEWS stories coming out of Ukraine" by Kit Knightly

[Tom Nolan + 2,443]

Feb 27th -We’re only three days into Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, and yet the propaganda cogs are whirring fast as lightning, churning out “news”, opinion and content grist for the media mill.   In just the last 48 hours dozens of stories, images, narratives and videos have circulated as being taken from the fighting in Ukraine, a huge percentage of which are fake.

https://off-guardian.org/2022/02/27/7-fake-news-stories-coming-out-of-ukraine/

7 FAKE NEWS stories coming out of Ukraine

Kit Knightly

IMAGES AND VIDEOS IN ARTICLE...

https://off-guardian.org/2022/02/27/7-fake-news-stories-coming-out-of-ukraine/

We’re only three days into Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, and yet the propaganda cogs are whirring fast as lightning, churning out “news”, opinion and content grist for the media mill.

In just the last 48 hours dozens of stories, images, narratives and videos have 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…but many and most are likely deliberate deceptions designed to provoke a response. Let’s dive right in.

*

1. “The Ghost of Kiev”

Early Friday morning it was reported that a single Ukrainian plane, a MiG-29, was patrolling the skies above Kiev. The English speaking press called the unnamed 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 ever earn that title.

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

There is zero evidence the “Ghost of Kyiv” exists”.

Neither side can confirm Russia has lost six planes in total, let alone to one man inside a single day. And a video alleged to be “the Ghost” in combat – shared by the Ukrainian Armed Forces – is confirmed to actually be footage taken from a video game.

Nevertheless, he already has his own Wikipedia page. A testament to how fast a lie 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 low over the city of Kiev. The Times used it a still from it in their story “Will sanctions stop a Russian shell?”:

The problem with that is it’s not Kiev, it’s Moscow. And it’s not today, it’s two years ago. It’s footage of what is likely a rehearsal for the 2020 Victory Day Parade flyover.

3. “Zelenskiy visiting the troops”

Possibly no politician in history has had a PR makeover quite as fast as Vlodomyr Zelenskiy. Last week he was just some guy, this week he’s a war hero, there’s talk of building statues of the man. A (not at all staged) “leaked” phone call had him turning down 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 alongside their troops?”

 

But the problem with that is the photos are all almost a year old, 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 claiming it shows a power station in Luhansk exploding after being hit with Russian missiles.

It does not, it’s a chemical plant exploding in Tianjin, China in 2015.

5. Video games. again.

This footage, claiming to show Ukrainian ground forces downing Russian aircraft, also went viral recently, even appearing on Spanish television news:

…It’s from the video game ARMA 3.

6. “Russian warship go fuck yourself”

This was the first major propaganda narrative following Russia’s advance onto Ukrainian territory. Allegedly leaked audio showed Ukrainian border guards on tiny Snake Island in the black sea communicating with a Russian warship. Upon being told to surrender, the guards say “Russian warship go 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 being canonised all over the western world, Russia was reporting that they had not been killed at all, but taken alive and unharmed back to the mainland.

A story both the press and the Ukrainian government have since reluctantly admitted is likely true.

7. 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’s actually footage of a Turkish drone strike in Syria from 2020.

Meanwhile, other accounts were sharing footage of combat from Libya or Israeli bombardments of Gaza under the hashtag #StandWithUkraine. Middle East Eye has compiled a list.

It’s somewhat beautiful irony that so many of the clips prompting outrage in Western liberals actually come from wars their governments started.

*

There we have it, seven stories about the war in Ukraine that are demonstrably fake, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

There’s tons of other fakes out there, not 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 potent at times where the news is moving fast and people are feeling emotional.

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

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

In short, if you see something designed to provoke an emotional reaction, don’t let it. Never get swept along in the narrative, always hold yourself back, keep calm and ask rational questions.

Withhold belief, demand facts. It’s the only way to keep your mind free.

Or, to quote HL Mencken:

Never believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TailingsPond + 1,006]

This is not fake news as it is not news - it is garbage on the internet that you love to gobble up.

Carry on your extensive YouTube "research"

Edited February 28, 2022 by TailingsPond

[Tom Nolan + 2,443]

12 minutes ago, TailingsPond said:

This is not fake news as it is not news - it is garbage on the internet that you love to gobble up.

Carry on your extensive YouTube "research"

You cannot LOOK. The evidence is right there!   You are doomed to ignorance, and thus your future will be full of illusion and unreality.

[Meredith Poor + 895]

3 hours ago, Tom Nolan said:

There we have it, seven stories about the war in Ukraine that are demonstrably fake

Generally it's a good idea to post your content before you've finished your first vodka bottle for the day. It's also a good idea to read it first, in case it contains any Easter Eggs.

[Tom Nolan + 2,443]

3 hours ago, Meredith Poor said:

Generally it's a good idea to post your content before you've finished your first vodka bottle for the day. It's also a good idea to read it first, in case it contains any Easter Eggs.

I read it.  Did you?

The first casualty of War is truth.  Both sides are putting out crap.  But you wouldn't know, because you live in a land where facts and common snense don't matter.  You prefer Authoritarians telling you what to think and how to act.

[notsonice + 1,255]

41 minutes ago, Tom Nolan said:

I read it.  Did you?

The first casualty of War is truth.  Both sides are putting out crap.  But you wouldn't know, because you live in a land where facts and common snense don't matter.  You prefer Authoritarians telling you what to think and how to act.

I read it.  Did you? Nope , you keep posting garbage nonstop. You obviously are not playing with a full deck of cards.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/28/2022 at 7:42 PM, TailingsPond said:

This is not fake news as it is not news - it is garbage on the internet that you love to gobble up.

Carry on your extensive YouTube "research"

The "Ghost of Kiev" was quite a popular meme. Few days out of date, already. Another famous fake was the "Russian warship, fuck you" thing at Snake Island. Also, old, old news.

[notsonice + 1,255]

Russia says its economy is taking 'serious blows' as isolation grows

By Mark Thompson and Vasco Cotovio, CNN Business

 

Updated 11:46 AM ET, Wed March 2, 2022

 

 

 

 

London/Moscow (CNN Business)The Russian economy is taking "serious blows," the Kremlin acknowledged Wednesday, as the country's growing isolation piles further pressure on its tottering financial system.

Apple (AAPL), ExxonMobil (XOM), Ford, (F) Boeing (BA) and Airbus (EADSY)joined a list of companies shutting down or suspending their operations in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine and ensuing Western sanctions, and the European arm of Russia's biggest bank collapsed following a run on its deposits.

The ruble weakened again to trade at 113 to the US dollar, and shares in Russian companies listed overseas crashed.

"Russia's economy is experiencing serious blows," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with foreign journalists. "But there is a certain margin of safety, there is potential, there are some plans, work is underway."

 

 

Peskov was responding to a question about US President Joe Biden's remark in his State of the Union speech that the Russian economy had been left "reeling" from sanctions.

Sberbank (SBRCY), Russia's biggest lender, said Wednesday it was quitting Europe, with the exception of Switzerland, after banking regulators in Austria forced the closure of its Vienna-based EU subsidiary. The European Central Bank had warned earlier this week that Sberbank Europe was likely to fail after depositors rushed to withdraw their money following the imposition of Western sanctions on much of Russia's financial system.

Sberbank said its subsidiaries had faced "an exceptional outflow of funds and a number of safety concerns regarding its employees and offices," the group said in a statement, adding it had been prevented from bailing them out by an order from the Russian central bank.

 

Another squeeze on Russia: Three shipping companies won't sail there

 

 

The banking sanctions are part of a broader package of measures the West has taken, unprecedented in scale against an economy of Russia's importance, with the aim of cutting off funding for Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort. France estimates that $1 trillion worth of Russian assets have been frozen, including about half of the Russian government's war chest of reserves.

Moscow has responded with a series of emergency measures aimed at preventing financial meltdown, halting the flow of cash out of the country and preserving its foreign currency reserves. The central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20%, and banned Russian brokers from selling securities held by foreigners.

More capital controls

The Russian stock market was shuttered Monday and hasn't reopened since. The central bank said it would remain closed Wednesday. The London-listed shares of Sberbank (SBRCY) plunged 83%, while those of Russia's leading oil company, Rosneft, were down 68%.

The government has ordered exporters to exchange 80% of their foreign currency revenues for rubles, and banned Russian residents from making bank transfers outside the country.

On Tuesday, the government said Putin was working on a decree that would prevent foreign companies exiting their Russian assets — a bid to prevent an exodus that has gathered pace this week. Putin also signed a decree banning people from taking more than $10,000 or equivalent in foreign currency from the country, state news agencies TASS and RIA reported.

The central bank went further on Wednesday in its attempt to staunch the flow of money out of the country. It suspended transfers abroad from accounts held by non-resident corporate entities and individuals from a number of countries. The restriction does not apply to Russian citizens.

"Conditions in the Russian financial system and wider economy are likely to deteriorate further in the days and weeks ahead as the already announced sanctions take their toll and future sanctions add to the sustained negative shock," wrote Berenberg senior economist Kallum Pickering in a research note Wednesday.

"For the foreseeable future, Russia will remain isolated from the western world and major global markets."

Oil companies lead corporate exodus

Russia's energy riches haven't been directly targeted by Western sanctions, but many of the world's biggest oil companies are quitting the country or halting new investments in projects to explore and develop fields.

Moscow is also finding it harder to sell shipments of Russian crude oil to traders and refineries worried about being caught in the net of financial sanctions. Tanker operators are also wary of the risk to ships in the Black Sea.

ExxonMobil said Tuesday that it was quitting its last project in the country, Sakhalin-1 — which was billed as "one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia." An Exxon subsidiary was the project's operator, and the company's decision to walk away will end its presence of more than 25 years in Russia.

BP (BP), Shell (RDSA) and Norway's Equinor have all said this week they intend to exit their Russian businesses at a likely hit of billions of dollars to their balance sheets. France's TotalEnergies (TOT) has halted new investments.

Apple, the world's most valuable company, announced Tuesday it had stopped selling all of its products in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. Apple also said it has moved to limit access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, inside Russia, and restricted the availability of Russian state media applications outside the country.

Ford said Tuesday it is suspending its operations in Russia, effective immediately. The carmaker has a 50% stake in Ford Sollers, a joint venture with Russian company Sollers.

Boeing is suspending support for Russian airlines. A company spokesperson said Tuesday that Boeing was pausing "parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines," and had also "suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv."

Airbus also said it was suspending support services and supply of spare parts to Russian airlines.

— Charles Riley, Nathan Hodge, Chris Liakos, Vanessa Yurkevich, Matt Egan and Angus Watson contributed to this report.