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 22 December, on the 1032th day of the full-scale war, our editorial office recorded:

2602
Fake
774
Manipulation
753
Message
541
Disclosure
Русскій фейк, іді на***!

Fake The United States resumed the program to create biolaboratories in Ukraine, which are disguised as non-governmental organizations

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that in Ukraine, non-governmental organizations are turning into “poison storage sites” and thus the US seeks to hide the real purpose of funding Ukraine and non-governmental organizations. It is not true.

The EU vs Disinfo project specialists worked on the case, they found that in Ukraine there are dozens of civilian health laboratories working on the study of dangerous diseases. Some organizations receive financial and other support from the US, the EU and the World Health Organization (WHO). At the same time, Russian propaganda deliberately blurs the line between biological weapons and biological research, saying that any research conducted on the territory of Ukraine could pose a threat to humanity.

The thesis about the US program to provide biological weapons in Ukraine has been repeatedly refuted. For example, Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament affairs explained that Russia is portraying Ukraine as an aggressor, and no signs of the creation of biological weapons, especially with US support, have been recorded.

Message In US, they create climate weapon against Russia

This thesis was spread in social networks, in particular on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that the awakening of the volcano in Kamchatka in Russia is the work of the United States, creating a climate weapon against Russia, so the volcano is “just the beginning” of US dashing actions. The authors add that the White House and the US Congress have adopted a five-year “climate intervention” plan, which involves the creation of climate control technologies. One of the goals is to fight the “new dominance of Russia”.

The fact-checkers of the EU vs Disinfo project investigated the case and found that the existence of a “climate weapon” that they want to use against Russia is another Moscow conspiracy theory. The document referred to by propagandists as a “climate intervention plan” is actually a “White House request for contributions to a five-year plan for climate intervention research”, and there is no indication in the document that the US is “managing the climate” to fight Russia.

A climate weapon is a hypothetical physical weapon capable of controlling the climatic conditions of the world. In particular, in the context of this message, climate weapons are capable of awakening volcanoes and accumulating magma in order to kill people later.

On the night of April 11, a powerful eruption of the Shyveluch volcano occurred on the Kamchatka peninsula. After the volcanic eruption - the northern active volcano of Kamchatka - the strongest ash in the last 60 years was recorded on the peninsula. Then a cloud of ash rose into the sky to a height of 15 to 20 kilometers.

Disclosure Clone websites of popular Ukrainian publications were created by unknown people

There are fake websites of the Ukrainian edition “Ukrainska pravda” (Ukrainian truth) and the news agency “Ukrinform” on the network. The authors of the fake site publish fake news there, and then telegram channels that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric intercept this “news” and talk about supposedly Ukrainian agendas.

Specialists of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council determined that in this way the authors affectionately spread the desired anti-Ukrainian narratives or fakes. Fact-checkers give an example of news allegedly from Ukrinform, which says that a bill has been submitted to the Ukrainian Parliament forbidding making videos and taking photos in cemeteries. However, there is no such bill, it is not true.

At the same time, the editor of “Ukrainska pravda” reported that their online media had nothing to do with the new site. Analysts of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation urge to check the domain (name) of the site, and if it differs from the original one (has characteristic ru-domains or the site name is disfigured, letters are omitted, etc.), this is not a real site.

Fake Zelenskyi promised Poland the western territories of Ukraine in exchange for “help during the counteroffensive”

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, on telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Zelenskyi is asking for help and is ready to give everything, even the territories of Western Ukraine. The authors of the messages refer to the material of the Polish edition Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny. It's a lie.

Specialists of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council explain that no such statement was made by Zelenskyi. At the same time, the Polish publication Niezależny Dziennik Polityczny is a fake publication that publishes propaganda articles translated into Polish. The portal was created to spread anti-Ukrainian narratives. The authors of the really existing material manipulate Zelenskyi's statement that “there will be no borders between Poland and Ukraine in the future”. However, Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not say that Poland could take the territories of Ukraine, he spoke about the all-encompassing friendship between the two brother states.

By spreading such fakes, the authors seek to portray Poland as an aggressor and level the assistance that Poland provides to Ukraine during the war. Allegedly, in fact, Poland is helping Ukraine not because of good intentions.

The propagandists also spread the thesis about “the appropriation of the western territories of Ukraine by Poland” when Zelenskyi visited Poland. Analysts of Detector Media have already spoken on what pro-Russian telegram channels wrote about Volodymyr Zelenskyi's visit to Poland.

Fake In Milan, a stand with Zelenskyi who “absorbs money” was installed

Such information was disseminated in social networks, in particular, in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that a stand with Zelenskyi has been set up in Milan, which “absorbs money” through the nostril. As proof, the authors attach a shot to their messages, in which people try to move money through the nostril, and a special mechanism “absorbs” them. It is not true.

The Center for Counteracting Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council says that the video is not real, since there is no such stand that “takes money” from behind a nostril in Milan. In particular, experts cite a number of signs of a fabricated video:

One of the fragments clearly shows how a couple of venerable age has an “unnatural look”;

The “video material” itself is glued together from many frames, since in this way the authors sought to hide the ongoing manipulations with the video. There was no clear shot from start to finish.

Disclosure A fake TikTok account of Valerii Zaluzhnyi was created by unknown people

On TikTok, there is a fake account of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Unknown people speculate on the theme of the war and publish videos about supposedly “live broadcasts from the front” or “diaries of the counteroffensive”.

The case was taken up by the fact-checkers of the project “Beyond the News”, who investigated that in this way it is beneficial for the authors to spread fakes and Kremlin narratives. For example, in one of the videos, the authors depicted the “top of euro banknotes” with the inscription: “Do you want to join the team? Leave a comment”. In this way, they promote the narrative about the existence of so-called “foreign mercenaries” on the battlefield, whose main goal is to make as much money as possible in the war.

Fact-checkers are sure that neither Valerii Zaluzhnyi nor the representative office of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was involved in the creation of this page. At the same time, fact-checkers believe that the authors are trying to increase activity on the TikTok account by publishing emotional videos from the so-called “live broadcasts at the front”.

And the TikTok account itself is tied to one of the telegram channels, which spreads false information about the “missile radar”, which is ready to track every missile or flying object. Analysts of Detector Media have already talked about the “missile radar” and why it does not exist.

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.