Rarely has news coverage of an event been more complicated than that of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as an information war rages behind the scenes.
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Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, Telegram, Instagram, Snapchat… Never has a war aroused so much attention and interaction on social networks, according to experts interviewed by Le Journal. So much so that it becomes difficult for journalists, whether they are in the field or not, to corroborate all the information that is shared here and there.
Just think of the images that went around the world of a supposed tearful Ukrainian soldier kissing his daughter, fleeing the country, after the invasion of Ukraine. It was actually a pro-Russian separatist and the video was shot two days before the invasion, according to The world.
“This war is taking place on several fronts simultaneously, including that of information. It’s not new, but with the means we have today, it reaches another level, ”comments Aurélie Campana, professor of political science at Laval University.
Russian propaganda
But to this media chaos are added disinformation and propaganda which Russia has made its specialty and which are echoed almost everywhere in the world.
“It’s part of their hybrid warfare strategy that dates back to Soviet times. For the Russians, the information war is as important as the one taking place on the ground,” explains political scientist Renéo Lukic.
The Montreal site Globalsearch.ca, which shares the Russian narrative of a “peacekeeping mission”, is a good example.
Fake news factories
Vladimir Putin’s government also continues to deny that its troops attacked civilian infrastructure. However, images and information collected by many media, including CNN, prove the opposite.
“It allows them to keep a certain cohesion within the country and to justify the assault. But also to demoralize the army and the Ukrainian population”, specifies for her part Ms. Campana.
Visibly upset to see an uncontrollable flood of information being disseminated on social networks, the Russian authorities restricted access to Twitter and Facebook on Friday.
This action was taken following Facebook’s decision to identify and cross-check information relayed by Russian state media, such as Russian Todaywhose videos were also blocked on YouTube, on Saturday.
“There are literally fake news factories in Russia, so it’s extremely difficult to get reliable information there,” said Patrick White, a journalism professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
In addition, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, assured that the federal government is looking at “all options” with regard to the right to broadcast in Canada the Russian international news channel Russia Today.
The true face of war
Some photos that we publish today in The newspaper are particularly harsh and difficult to watch. We are well aware of this, but we have decided to publish them in order to show all the horror and violence of a war. We consider it our role to show the reality that the people of Ukraine are living, even if it is shocking. The vast majority of our readers are adults and are knowledgeable. However, we recommend that parents do not let their children watch them alone and without explanation.
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