Russians create fake pages of Ukrainian figures.
In recent weeks, a large-scale Russian IPSO has been ongoing – a sharp increase in the number of hostile information materials aimed at disrupting mobilization in the infospace.
No country starts a war to improve the lives of its defeated citizens. This should always be remembered.
Modern war, various technologies, methods, methods of information struggle are widely used, in particular, disinformation, manipulation, propaganda, etc.
Necessary skills that Ukrainians must develop in order to escape from the hooks of hostile disinformation:
• critical thinking;
• the ability to use one’s own life experience;
• the ability to turn off emotions while perceiving information.
For example, if you visit an unfamiliar page that associates itself with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and at the same time periodically posts negative information about the command of the Armed Forces, then banal life experience will point to this contradiction.
On the official page of a military unit, command, Armed Forces, etc., all negative information: detected shortcomings, violations, facts of corruption – must be provided by a specific official person – the head or profile deputy.
At the same time, the amount of negative information will be less than 1% compared to positive information. It is obvious that in no case, on the official pages, there will be no information that discredits the military-political and military leadership, the policies of the state, allies and partners.
You can understand whether you have a false Telegram channel that pretends to be a channel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by paying attention to the following aspects:
- does the channel work to undermine the confidence of soldiers and their relatives in the leadership of the military unit or the government as a whole;
- whether the channel is trying to expose the fighters as victims who were “abandoned” by their “incompetent” command;
- does the channel generate hate;
It is worth reviewing the previous posts:
- at the beginning of the war, this channel did not spread information that would demoralize society and did not push its readers to the conclusion that there is no point in resistance.
Knowledge of the main fact-checking methods will help with life experience and the development of critical thinking:
- verification of the date of creation of the page or publication and comparison with the events described on this page;
- verification of authors and sources of origin of information. Without official links to authoritative speakers, there is a high probability that you are dealing with a fake page, and therefore fake materials;
- when communicating in home chats, always be interested in the person who “drops” alarming information: about possible shelling or an imminent enemy attack, the source of this information;
- whether there is a connection between materials from official trusted sources and what is published by questionable resources;
- exclusivity and relevance of multimedia (photo, audio, video) materials.
Disinformation materials contain minimal (or no) verifiable facts. The same applies to numerical indicators that can be compared with the previous ones. Instead, the emotional component of such materials is hypertrophied.
Spreading fear and insecurity is one of the methods of enemy propaganda. For example, there is an important rule:
events in the real world happen faster than information about them appears in the information space.
It is impossible to start an offensive without creating an advantage for it, without forming strike groups, etc. But you can talk about this offensive in the information space for months, scaring the enemy and encouraging your own.
In recent weeks, we have recorded
a large-scale Russian IPSO – a sharp increase in the number of hostile information materials aimed at disrupting mobilization in the infospace. These are all kinds of “advice” on how to avoid mobilization, materials with a significant exaggeration of the losses of our troops, negative materials about the mobilization itself, the work of the TCC and SP, warnings about absent or insufficient training, etc.
It is worth adding that the most common way of influencing the relatives of Ukrainian soldiers, who are not neglected by the Russian special services, is the offer to find relatives who have not been in touch for a long time. Agreeing to such a proposal, relatives of Ukrainian military personnel often hand over not only information about the military, but also their own personal data, which can be used by the enemy in any way they like. In addition, relatives who are “caught on the hook” are often made into “useful idiots” who can spread slogans of enemy propaganda, strengthen negative attitudes, and involve other people in cooperation with enemy special services.
In general, war propaganda is based on a very simple rule: “everything concerning one’s own actions must be presented as correct and positive; everything related to the actions of the enemy is false and negative.”
Opposing parties always try to fully control their own information space and influence the information space of the enemy.
At the same time, war, like any crisis phenomenon, gives rise to a mass of various “experts” who, commenting on the course and results of hostilities, formulating their own forecasts, try to create a “name” for themselves, improve their own image, etc., sometimes sacrificing, at the same time, objectivity and impartiality. Instead, real experts who never compromise their reputation can tell the true state of affairs, even if it is negative or threatening.
Unfortunately, ordinary people, expressing their attitude to current socially important information, can play the role of “useful idiots” – duplicating and spreading biased opinions or quoting incompetent experts and public opinion leaders. This happens as a result of the emotional perception of information and one’s own ignorance – the repetition of thoughts that are common in one’s environment.
Therefore, a simple advice: focus only on official sources of information and speakers, believe in God, in Ukraine, in yourself and in the Armed Forces of Ukraine!
Colonel Taras Dzyuba
