Spilnota Detector Media
Detector Media collects and documents real-time chronicles of the Kremlin disinformation about the Russian invasion. Ukraine for decades has been suffering from Kremlin disinformation. Here we document all narratives, messages, and tactics, which Russia is using from February 17th, 2022. Reminder: the increasing of shelling and fighting by militants happened on the 17th of February 2022 on the territory of Ukraine. Russian propaganda blames Ukraine for these actions.

On 03 May, on the 799th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2121
Fake
691
Manipulation
645
Message
433
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Message Poles want to enslave Ukrainians since childhood

This message was circulated on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Ukraine plans to include the Polish language in the list of subjects for which it is possible to take an EIT (external independent test). According to the authors of the message, the Ukrainian authorities want Ukrainians to assimilate under the Poles from their school years. Like, Poland will gradually enslave the Ukrainians, which will help it seize the territory of Ukraine.

The Ministry of reintegration explained the possible introduction of the Polish language into the list of exams by the fact that uniting with the Poles is the key to the sustainable development of states, and education and language are the main tools with which such an association begins.

Taking the EIT in foreign languages is not a mandatory component of passing the exam, except for taking the exam in English in the form of the DPA (state final examination). German, French, Spanish and subsequently Polish will remain subjects chosen by the applicants themselves.

Moreover, Poland is also introducing the Ukrainian language into its educational space: Poland recognizes Ukrainian documents on basic general secondary education (grade 9 of graduation certificates). Also, the results of the EIT are counted for admission to Polish higher education institutions. The Poles announced their readiness to introduce the Ukrainian language into the list of subjects. That is why communication is taking place on both sides, the main goal of which is to strengthen the educational sphere of the two sovereign fellow states.

Propagandists use this message to nourish the narrative that Poland is seeking to take over Ukraine, in particular, to cut off the territory of the western regions. However, Poland does not plan to annex the territories of Ukraine, but on the contrary, it remains a devoted strategic partner that helps Ukrainians fight the enemy.

Disclosure Fake correspondence about “the sale of a Ukrainian boy” for intimacy was spread on the network

In closed Russian telegram channels, a message was circulated that it was allegedly possible to “agree” on several hours of intimacy with an “orphan from Ukraine”. Like, the cost of such a “service” is 250 thousand rubles. These messages also made their way into the Ukrainian segment of the telegram. The messages also supposedly contained screenshots of “correspondence” about the “transaction”. In particular, it was about the participation of the child in the filming of porn videos. The interlocutors describe the age of the boy as “going to school soon”.

Dmytro Lubinets, an Ombudsman, published a post with screenshots on his telegram channel and turned to the National police with a request to find out the details of the case. The National police denied the information. From the primary sources, the message about the “sale” of the child was deleted.

The cyber police of Ukraine found out that the child, whose photo was used to create a fake, was really born and lives in Russia. The boy, under the supervision of his mother, works as a model and advertises clothes and shoes, so his photo is freely available.

Earlier, Detector Media told how Russian propaganda justifies the deportation of Ukrainian children. According to the latest data, the Russians forcibly deported at least sixteen thousand children (according to other sources, this figure reaches more than seven hundred thousand). The crimes of the Russian army, including those against Ukrainian children, are being investigated by the UN.

Tactics and tools How Russian propaganda uses “pass it on” tactics

“Pass it on” is a conventional name for propaganda tactics. Russian propaganda formulates a message that evokes a sharp emotional reaction and calls for it to be spread as much as possible. Basically, the purpose of the message is to cause panic or destabilize the situation.

For example, Russian propaganda uses this tactic to spread fakes about the lack of blood. Reports say that there seems to be a shortage of blood both in clinics and in hospitals. Despite the fact that the Ministry of Health has repeatedly denied this information, reports of a lack of blood are always very actively spread on social networks. The goal is to destabilize the work of blood centers, because an unplanned influx of people who want to help increases the load on the system. Propagandists also seek to create emotional pressure on Ukrainians. Like, the state does not cope well with its tasks in a critical situation, so people suffer.

A message like “Attention!!! For tomorrow, Russia is planning a massive shelling of Ukraine. Rocket strikes will be on Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Lviv ... Pass these coordinates on to your relatives. Perhaps, this will save someone's life” was massively distributed in various instant messengers and channels in the spring of 2022. Especially active such sharing happened on the eve of holidays or important events. The goal is to make Ukrainians nervous, increase stress, influence panic under the guise of “care and concern”. In reality, it is quite difficult to foresee Russian shelling.

What one should pay attention to:

source of information is named abstractly (military, acquaintances, friends of friends) or it is the one with very limited access (information from the Ministry of internal affairs, defense, Main intelligence directorate, etc.), it indicates manipulation;

checking information: for the most part, people in an emotionally excited state immediately share what they have written. However, checking the information is often simple. For example, the coordinates of objects that will supposedly be hit can be checked through a search engine (sometimes even the coordinates of Russian cities were distributed). Information about the lack of blood can be checked by giving a call to the institution mentioned in the message.

In fact, with the development of social media, messages like “Pass it on as there will be trouble”, “Pass it on as there will be no love”, “Pass it on and you will be happy” have become very popular. In fact, they were used to study emotional triggers for further use. Also, unscrupulous advertisers and scammers picked up the tactic and still use it.

Fake Artillery soldier Marharyta Rivchachenko was taken prisoner

A message about allegedly captured Ukrainian soldiers was circulated on telegram channels. The message on the channel said that Marharyta Rivchachenko, an artillery soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the call sign “Sakura”, fired at residential areas of Donetsk with a mortar and was punished for that. The authors of the messages add a likely photo to the publication, which should indicate that Marharyta is in captivity. However, this is not true.

The Kharkiv anti-corruption center investigated this case and contacted Marharyta to refute the fake. She confirmed that she was not in captivity and added that, firstly, she was a press officer, not an artillery female soldier. Secondly, the invaders came up with the call sign of the press officer given in the fake publication. Her real call sign is “Afina” (Athena). Moreover, Marharyta is convinced that the photo, supposedly proof of being taken prisoner, is not real. Since there is neither a face nor the corresponding chevrons that could belong to a fighter.

By spreading this fake, Russian propagandists are trying to show how they successfully fight the Ukrainian army and publish their “trophies” - supposedly Ukrainian military taken prisoner. However, as experience shows, this information is often not true. Also, by constantly spreading messages with prisoners, propaganda seeks to confirm the narrative that the Ukrainian army is weak.

Fake Leopard 2 supplied to Ukraine can deliver nuclear warheads

This message was circulated on social networks and in the Kremlin media. It states that Leopard 2 tanks are capable of transporting and delivering cannons containing so-called “dirty bombs” or nuclear warheads. However, this is a lie.

Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated this case and found that it was a fake and a conspiracy theory of the pro-Kremlin media. German-made Leopard 2 tanks do not use depleted uranium shells. Yes, pure uranium is a radioactive element, but not depleted. Some countries are armed with tanks with depleted uranium shells.

To put it simply, the projectile “does not emit” radiation and only threatens Russian tankers. The Scientific committee on health and environmental risks of the EU Commission has come to the general conclusion that the impact of depleted uranium radiation is not significant.

According to international agreements, munitions containing this isotope are not considered either nuclear or chemical weapons.

By spreading this message, propagandists are once again trying to promote the message that Western weapons being handed over to Ukraine only exacerbate the situation, and Ukraine is just a testing ground for Western weapons.

Disclosure On little-known websites, occupiers spread appeal to Ukrainians

The network got an appeal to the Ukrainians from the Russians, posted on little-known Ukrainian sites. It says that Ukrainians and Russians are one people that ruthlessly was divided by the West. The authors of the appeal also talk about brotherhood, the desire to reunite again, a common cultural heritage, and so on.

This case was noticed by the fact-checkers of the NotaYenota project, who found that the occupiers were hacking into Ukrainian websites and posting classic narratives about friendship and reconciliation between Ukraine and Russia. They emphasize that the appeals themselves are placed on little-known sites, probably with a lesser degree of security. Moreover, the texts of appeals appear on the pages of previously published materials. Consequently, users and creators of the resource have access to the entire site and will not even guess that on one of the pages you can find an appeal broadcasting typical pro-Kremlin narratives.

NotaYenota urges owners to check their sites for pro-Kremlin narratives, because the site itself may function without signs of hacking, but one of the web pages may hide the appeal of infidels.

Orest Slyvenko, Artur Koldomasov, Vitalii Mykhailiv, Oleksandra Kotenko, Oleksandr Siedin, Kostiantyn Zadyraka, and Oleksiy Pivtorak are collaborating on this chronicle. Lesia Bidochko serves as the project coordinator, while Ksenia Ilyuk is the author of the project.