Anti-Fake 003

On March 22, 2024, Russian troops carried out a massive combined strike on Ukraine, one of the largest attacks targeting the energy sector. Several cities were left without electricity, leading to emergency blackout schedules. Following these events, our team noticed an increase in IPSO activity by the Russian Federation.

Russia's Information and Psychological Operations (IPSO) directed against Ukraine pose a serious threat to the country's stability and security. After the explosion at energy facilities, the information space was inundated with various fake news stories aimed at discrediting the Ukrainian authorities and eroding the population's trust in their government and fellow citizens.

One such fake story involves the awarding of "Ukrainian wives who hand over their husbands to the military commissar." The text was accompanied by photos purportedly showing women receiving this award at a ceremony in the Lozovskaya community of the Kharkiv region.

However, debunking this "news" was quite easy, as all one needed to do was to visit the website of Lozova City Council and find the real information with the corresponding photo

In the post dated March 25, 2024, it is mentioned: "In the Lozova community, those involved in events commemorating the fallen defenders were honored. A working group to honor soldiers who died for the Independence of Ukraine and support their families was established in 2023 at the initiative of Lozova Mayor Serhiy Zelensky."

Furthermore, Russian information resources actively spread fake news about extraordinary traffic jams on the way out of Kharkiv after the attack. They claim, "Problems with electricity plunge Kharkiv into chaos. Possible resurgence of looting. City residents abandon their homes and flee, occupying even oncoming lanes on the road."

However, numerous discrepancies with the reality of Kharkiv were noticed. We concluded that this video was filmed at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, as evidenced by the snow on the roadside (which has been absent in Kharkiv for the past month) and the white squares on the cars - these are inscriptions "CHILDREN", which were being attached to cars at that time.

Another example of such a fake is a video from the TIKTOK network, which shows traffic jams again and claims that residents are mass evacuating Kharkiv:

Nevertheless, the author forgot to remove the watermark "Новости Приднестровья" ("News of Transnistria"), and a tag of the Russian Peacekeeping Forces was also noticed on one of the trucks in the video.

We decided to find this news in foreign media. On April 27, 2022, this news was published on the Revista22 website, where it was noted that it is not Kharkiv at all, but Transnistria, as indicated by the watermark in the bottom right corner.

Lastly, disinformation again touched upon the real estate market, but this time in terms of interregional relations in Ukraine. The authors employed a tried and tested method: "pit the eastern and western parts of Ukraine against each other" to spread discord, psychological pressure, and undermine the morale of Ukrainians.

It has never happened before, and now here it is again

In Lviv, locals are unwilling to rent apartments to refugees from Kharkiv and Sumy. Some simply refuse, while others set the price for arrivals from the east of Ukraine twice as high. "One nation" - the author of the post ironically notes. But knowing the strength of spirit and unity of our people, we did not believe this "information" and found the same apartments ourselves. Compare the descriptions of the housing and find 10 differences yourselves.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that Russia's information war against Ukraine has reached new levels of complexity. The fake news spread by Russian media aims not only to discredit the Ukrainian government but also to create conditions for potential conflict episodes between the west and east of the country. However, we will not leave this matter unattended and will continue tirelessly dispelling the myths infiltrating the information space of many states, discrediting various aspects of the Ukrainian state.