Russia’s attack on Ukraine began in cyberspace long before the troops invaded. Social media like Twitter, Telegram and Facebook have become a part of the war.
“Don’t believe the fakes.” With a terse sentence on Twitter and a short video on the street in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was able to refute rumors over the weekend that he had gone into hiding.
“We will not lay down our arms, we will defend our state,” said Zelenskyj into the selfie camera of his smartphone and in one go cleared the Russian war propaganda that he had long since left the country.
Lots of information – real or fake
On Twitter, Facebook and Tiktok, the Ukraine conflict has triggered a firework of supposed and real information. This also applies to the services Telegram and Vk, a kind of Facebook clone, which are more relevant in Russia and Ukraine. It is not always easy, even for professional observers, to distinguish between authentic on-site reports and fake information, photos and videos.
But some fakes are easy to see through. This applies, for example, to the attempt to cast doubt on images and reports of the shelling of a kindergarten in Luhansk on February 17 by pro-Russian separatists. Allegedly, the bullet hole in the wall in the gym was torn open by an excavator, according to Telegram. The evidence, a photo with the excavator, quickly turned out to be a clumsy forgery. Nevertheless, it is still passed on today with the false claim.
In other cases, the images are not manipulated with Photoshop or other software, but are still part of a large production. This applies, for example, to the report by the Russian state broadcaster RT on the evacuation of dozens of orphans who were brought from a children’s home in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine to Russia to escape from the alleged danger posed by the Ukrainian military.
Facebook: No money for propaganda advertising
Manipulative RT clips such as the staged kindergarten evacuation were not only placed en masse on social media, but also smuggled into the news flow on Facebook through paid ads by RT. But this channel will remain closed in the future. Facebook no longer accepts money for propaganda advertising and has stopped advertising funding for RT content.
At the same time, the Facebook group Meta refused to stop fact-checks by independent media organizations at four Russian state media outlets. As a result, the Russian government announced that it would restrict the use of the meta services Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, confirmed Facebook top manager Nick Clegg.
Meta is not alone here. Twitter and Google also announced that they would stand in the way of fake news and cyber attacks related to the Ukraine conflict. “Our threat intelligence teams continue to monitor and stop disinformation campaigns, hacking and financially motivated abuse,” Google Europe announced on Twitter. “We are working with other companies and relevant government agencies to address these threats.”
However, these defensive measures will only be of limited importance for the formation of opinions in Russian civil society. The large Western Internet companies have significantly less reach here than in the USA or Germany. This is also due to the fact that some of the services in Russia are difficult to reach.
Especially Telegram spread
Much more important than Twitter and Facebook in Russia is the Telegram app, which not only serves to exchange personal messages, but also represents a social media network with its discussion groups and channels. It is estimated that every fourth Russian resident has an account here. Here the Russian government and the state media can distribute their propaganda undisturbed without having to fear fact checks or deletions.
Telegram’s relationship with the Russian state leadership is not untroubled, also because Russian opposition figures or the Ukrainian opponents of the war have their say there without censorship. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has his own Telegram channel, where his current videos can also be seen. In 2018, the Russian regulator Roskomnadzor tried to block Telegram because the service repeatedly refused to help the authorities decrypt private chats after the April 2017 terrorist attack in Saint Petersburg. However, Telegram was able to technically fend off the blocking measures.
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov stated over the weekend that Telegram does not have the capacity to check all publications for accuracy. «I advise users from Russia and Ukraine to be suspicious about the dissemination of data via Telegram at this time. We do not want Telegram to be used as a tool to escalate conflicts and incite ethnic discord.” Numerous users have asked him not to switch off the feeds for the duration of the conflict, as Telegram is their only source of information.
Kremlin puts law under pressure
Meanwhile, Moscow is increasing the pressure on foreign IT companies. Last November, the government listed 13 companies that must comply with a new state law and provide a permanent contact person for the Russian borders. Apple, Google, Spotify and TikTok have now fully complied with the demands, Twitter, Meta and Zoom at least partially. Telegram, Twitch, Discord and Pinterest have not taken any action yet.
Human rights groups like the London-based non-governmental organization Article 19 expressed disappointment that some of the tech companies followed the law without public protest. The actual aim of the law is to create a legal basis for comprehensive online censorship.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Digitization Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook, calling on him to support sanctions against Russia by blocking Apple services, including the app store. “We need your support – in 2022 modern technology may be the best answer to tanks, multiple rocket launchers (Grad) and missiles,” Fedorov wrote on Twitter.