Exaggerating the effects of foreign influence campaigns serves only the foreign operatives.
Downplaying the threat of foreign disinformation campaigns risks making it easier for bad actors to take advantage of an unprepared public.
Overstating the power of propaganda risks amplifying not only the original falsehood, but also an even more corrosive and polarizing narrative—that politicians are somehow remote-controlled, and that citizens don’t have agency.
@LukaszOlejnik We differ in opinion then, also the semantics are not the most relevant, the actual situation is that Russian actions on the European continent already cost lives, create damage.
Also for my country Russian warfare in eastern Europe caused the shooting down of flight #MH17 , 196 from the Netherlands were killed, but that was just ordinary warfare...
#Russia usually debunks itself first (as it was the case with #MH17) but in this case it was #Belarus allies who did that for them^1
Belarusian special services helped Russia to prevent terrorists from escaping across the border against the background of the terrorist attack in “Crocus City Hall,” said Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Dmitri Krutoy. About it writes “Belta”. “And in fact, the main task of last night was to prevent the terrorists from escaping through our common border,” he said, noting that the task was fulfilled.
Note, this comes right after today’s Putin’s statement in which he declared the terrorists were fleeing “towards Ukraine where a special window was opened for them”.
What Belarus did is notable: they just publicly refuted Putin’s words, in a diplomatic way.
Background: the first message about detaining the Tadjiks in Bryansk oblast was posted by “Baza” channel^2 which quoted Teplyyi village (Тёплый) as the place where they were stopped (first picture). It’s 16 km from Belarus border, but it’s over ~200 km from #Ukraine and in the opposite direction.
Then another message followed, mentioning a completely different place of detention - Khatsun(Хацунь) near Bryansk, ~100 km from Belarus but still ~200 km from Ukraine. The main difference is that while Teplyyi is a complete nonsense in the “Ukrainian version”, Khatsun is less of a nonsense - it’s still a stretch, but at least plausible as it has a main road going towards Ukraine.
Putin’s reaction seems quite understandable now: last night he prepared a public statement which was likely to blame ISIS, the real perpetrators. Then however he and his advisors decided to capitalize on this attack differently, by blaming ISIS and Ukraine at the same time. Any actual evidence doesn’t matter really for Kremlin and Russian audience, it’s just question of amount of propaganda.
All 298 people on board, including 80 children, were killed when Russian proxy forces used BUK missile system to shoot down the #Malaysia Airlines flight
Two Russian nationals, Igor Girkin & Sergey Dubinsky, & Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, found guilty of shooting down MH17 at the #Hague in 2022
The Netherlands has spent at least 166 million euros ($179.8 million) on costs related to the downing of MH17, for which it holds Russia liable, according to a report by the Dutch General Audit Chamber (ARK) published on Feb. 29.
The Dutch Defense Ministry released the statement that six more F-16 will be added to the fighter package to Ukraine, increasing the total number to 24.
Almost 10 years after MH-17 the Netherlands send their regards to Russia.
Judges at the top #UN court on Wednesday found that #Russia violated elements of a U.N. anti-terrorism treaty, but declined to rule on allegations brought by #Kyiv that #Moscow was responsible for the shooting down of #Malaysia Airlines flight #MH17 over eastern #Ukraine in 2014.
Judges at the top UN court on Wednesday has found that Russia violated elements of a UN anti-terrorism treaty, but declined to rule on allegations brought by Kyiv that Moscow was responsible for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Looking at how #Russia statements or denials are being repeated by world media with literally zero scrutiny you can now watch live a case study that explains how ongoing #Holocaust was largely ignored in the West for the first few years of the WW2.
As a reminder, Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp[^1] was opened by Nazi #Germany in occupied #Poland already in May 1940, half year after their joint invasion with #USSR. Polish underground Home Army started gathering intelligence from the very beginning and in 1940 it published its first report on “The Jewish situation”, documenting ghettos, arrests, executions etc. But the full-scale horror unrolled only with Endlosung (Final Solution to the Jewish Question)[^2] in 1941, when Nazis started to bring millions of Jews from all Europe for extermination.
All that industrial scale genocide was scrupulously documented by the Home Army and ultimately published in the form of an official report of Polish government on exile under the title “The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland”, usually referred to as Karski’s Reports.^3
What happened in response to the report was… nothing. Respected mainstream media covered the reports as a “minor story”, watered down by categorical denials from German officials, whom, of course, the journalists felt obliged to ask. Some Western experts dismissed the reports based on “they couldn’t possibly”, “it wouldn’t make economic sense” and other such “common sense” denial.
We had all the same spectrum as today - outright denialists, pragmatists, realists, cherry-pickers, nitpickers and, most notably, the “journalists just doing their job” who copied German denials verbatim and presented them on par with numerous witness reports.
Because, you know, it’s how balanced journalism works… Of course, after the war ended and the camps were liberated, all reports came out to be not only true but the tip of an iceberg. But it was all these years between 1941 and 1945 when Germans methodically slaughtered civilians in the camps, while their diplomats smiled and demonstrated entirely fake evidence, exactly in the same way Russia posted a dozen of contradictory versions of #MH17 and is now showing a “film proving Ukrainian PoWs were loaded into Il-76”.
And world’ most respected media are happily repeating it, commenting on it, balancing “who said what”, just like they did 80 years ago 🤷
@hanse_mina Every day I am mad at 25% of my countrymen who voted for Kremlin strawmen #Wilders#PVV and #Baudet#FvD. Proof exists they are providing aid and comfort to the enemy, yet they were allowed to participate in the elections.
And I suspect #Omtzigt#NSC (the one who wanted to include a fake #MH17 witness to its investigation) and the fascist #BBB to be less inclined to support #Ukraine
Retired FSB Colonel Igor Girkin, nom de guerre "Strelkov", had his detainment extended for six months.
He was originally responsible for faking the "uprise in east #ukraine" with his FSB cronies.
Not only did he start the war, DPR and LNR, but also shot down #mh17 #russia
Igor #Girkin - a #Russian nationalist awaiting trial for inciting extremism - says he intends to challenge President #Putin in next yr's elex. Girkin, a former intel officer, was actively involved in the 2014 occupation of #Crimea. He's also been convicted of murder in the Netherlands for shooting down a Malaysian airliner #MH17 over #Ukraine. A few months ago he fell foul of a #Kremlin crackdown on nationalist critics.
Excuse me?! It was under PM #Rutte’s leadership that the #Netherlands enabled #Russia to strategically grow our dependence on Russian gas — even after they shot down flight #MH17, killing almost 200 of my compatriots.
A Moscow court has granted the FSB’s request to remand the jailed war blogger Igor Strelkov in custody until December, to collect evidence. On August 31, Strelkov announced the six things that would make him a better presidential candidate than Putin. https://t.co/onksnwrzCr
@meduza_en strelkov obviously being waaaaaaaay more than a war blogger. A reminder for those unfamiliar with this name: he is one of the three people found guilty of murdering 298 people on board #MH17 and a whole list of other things
Russian media report that Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane was shot down by an air defense system - you can see many small holes in some parts of the fallen airplane on the video.
Just a thought, hypothetical.
The Netherlands has a beef with Russia, we all know that.
Could that come in to play regarding them providing the F16 for Ukraine ??
Netherlands holds Russia liable for $180 million in costs related to MH17 downing (kyivindependent.com)
The Netherlands has spent at least 166 million euros ($179.8 million) on costs related to the downing of MH17, for which it holds Russia liable, according to a report by the Dutch General Audit Chamber (ARK) published on Feb. 29.
‘Absolute lie’: Russia denies role in Yevgeny Prigozhin plane crash (www.aljazeera.com)