Spilnota Detector Media

Fake Truss reported to the US State Department after the Nord Stream bombing

It seems to have become known that a minute after the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, wrote a message to Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, using her personal iPhone. "It's done", she seems to have written. This, they write in the Russian media, proves that Nord Stream was blown up by the British at the request of the United States. RFA News, for example, points to Reddit as the source of this news - a huge American forum, on which, among other things, there are discussion branches where only chatbots communicate.

Other media cite an even more dubious source, a man named Kim Dotkom. He considers himself an entrepreneur, but the police of three countries at once consider him a criminal. He is wanted by the US on charges of copyright infringement, money laundering, racketeering and fraud using electronic means of communication. He was also arrested in Germany and Thailand for hacking, spying and selling stolen phone numbers. He now lives in New Zealand, where the courts have already decided to give him up at the request of the United States, but he is trying to cancel the extradition in court.

This man is known not only for accusations, but also for strange statements, including pro-Russian ones. Yes, he believes that former US President Barack Obama conspired with Hollywood to accuse him of copyright infringement. He also wrote that the war in Ukraine was provoked by the United States, and even complained about "censorship" after the RT ban in the United States. Now it was he who wrote that Liz Truss wrote "done" after the Nord Stream bombing. Both Dotcom and the Russian media are trying to back up these fanciful claims with material from the Daily Mail, a British newspaper that reported on October 29, citing its own sources, that Truss's phone was broken by hackers and accessed to her personal correspondence from last year. The publication reported that hackers working for the Kremlin were involved in the break. The phone was broken so seriously that it was forced to be placed in a special protective safe - and the Truss herself had to change the device and phone number.

Russian propaganda provides all these details to prove that Truss did not have access to confidential information. The only thing missing from the propaganda is that British intelligence agencies discovered that Truss's phone had been hacked when she was Foreign Secretary in Johnson's government. That is, in the summer of 2022. After that, the phone was taken from her, the information was classified, and Truss began to prepare for the elections - and won. And the gas pipelines exploded on September 28. At that moment, Truss’s broken phone had been in a safe for several months - and it’s hard to imagine that someone would give it to her so that she would write an important message to the US State Department that would compromise both her and the government

Fake The Germans cut down almost all the trees in Berlin's central park for firewood

Such "news" is spread on social networks and pro-Russian resources. It is about the central park of Berlin, "Tiergarten." Moreover, due to the lack of fuel and the energy crisis, the Germans allegedly thought about the possibility of heating their homes with horse manure. Despondent Europeans allegedly recall that such a situation has not occurred since the Second World War. They must, as in ancient times, gather around the fire in one room to keep warm. This information was allegedly spread by the British publication Bloomberg. It is not so.

As StopFake writes, there is no information in the Bloomberg publication that the Germans cut down almost all the trees in Berlin's central park. During World War II, the Germans did stock up on firewood by cutting down trees in Tiergarten Park, but now they buy wood as an alternative source of fuel for the winter. The article's authors write that Berlin's central park now looks the same as six months ago, and its trees remain intact. Moreover, it is confirmed by their journalist, who at that time was in the capital of Germany.

Fake Left without Russian gas, Poland began to criticize its allies

The Russian media spread such messages concerning the materials of the Washington Post. Allegedly, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Oslo criticized his colleagues for trying to "make money" after reducing gas supplies from Russia. It is not true.

In fact, the Washington Post article "Norway portrayed as both hero and villain of Europe's energy crisis" is devoted to changes in the structure of the gas market in Europe and consumers' reactions to it. "Quoting" the alleged current words of the Polish prime minister, the propagandists resorted to manipulation. Poland gave up Russian gas in May, filled its storage facilities to 100% in August, and the Baltic Pipe for transporting Norwegian gas became operational as early as September. The volumes of Norwegian gas that will be delivered through the pipeline are similar to previous Russian deliveries. Russian propaganda systematically uses quotes taken out of context to make wishful thinking come true. More details.

Message Without Russian gas, Europe will slide into the Middle Ages

Russian propaganda is increasing the energy blackmail of Europe and is trying to force Europe to abandon sanctions against Russia and stop supporting Ukraine. The Kremlin seeks to pressure and blackmail European governments and create public panic over energy insecurity or rising electricity costs.

According to the EUvsDISINFO fact checkers, the EU member states are preparing for winter and the heating season both at the national and at the EU level. In particular, they adopted a resolution on filling gas storage facilities and distributing them in a spirit of solidarity, using various sources of energy resources, and committed to reducing gas use by 15% this winter. Despite the cessation of Russian gas supplies via Nord Stream, Europe is ready for winter. Underground gas storage facilities in the EU were filled to 82.5% of their capacity well before the November 1 deadline set in the gas storage regulation.

Recently, the Russians made a video about a winter without gas in Europe, which was supposed to scare the Europeans. However, the “powerful gas country” used winter footage from the hitherto non-gasified Russian city of Krasnoyarsk to shoot the film. Propagandists also claimed that 60% of British factories would stop working due to rising electricity prices provoked by anti-Russian sanctions. They tried to scare and fake that the United States is killing Europe, since it is beneficial for them to refuse Europeans from Russian gas.

Fake The mayor of Lviv Sadovyi urged residents to buy firewood for the winter

This was written by the pro-Kremlin media with reference to the mayor of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi. It is not true.

Message Europe will receive cheap Russian gas in exchange for Russia's loyalty

Otherwise, gas prices in winter will be record high and exceed $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Russia uses energy prices as leverage to blackmail European countries. As the Center for Counteracting Disinformation writes, propagandists voice various arguments to convince. They argue that it is likely that Europe will not be able to fill the gas storage facilities in time as a result of “problems” with Nord Stream. Allegedly, in the event of a cessation of Russian gas supply, the available gas will last only 2.5 months. In anticipation of a difficult winter, the Germans bought up all the electric heaters, stock up on firewood and insulate their houses. Europe should be encouraged to engage in dialogue with Russia by the fact that "the Europeans will not survive the winter." Propagandists are also trying to convince Europe that energy sanctions are a mistake, because attempts to replace Russian energy supplies have failed. Like, for Europeans, the rise in the cost of life and energy prices is more important than the support of Ukraine.

This is not the first time Russia has used blackmail and intimidation to achieve its goal. Previously, propaganda spread the thesis of Putin's press secretary Peskov that the countries of Europe, trying to "punish" Russia, are already actively paying for it. The propagandists also argued that the sanctions were preventing Gazprom from supplying more gas to Europe.

Message Future winter without Russian gas is an important test for Germany

Russia has stepped up its "gas blackmail", that is, it continues to intimidate Europeans with the prospect of a cold winter. In particular, propaganda in this context often uses the emotional verb "survive" and refers to experts predicting a gloomy future for the German economy and industry.

Message European countries trying to "punish" Russia are already actively paying for it - both the countries themselves and their citizens

This was said by the Russian president's spokesman Dmytro Peskov. Like, sooner or later these countries will ask whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy is doing everything right.

In fact, in response to Russia's unprecedented and unprovoked military attack on Ukraine, the EU imposed seven packages of sanctions. The European Commission also proposed to extend all current sanctions until the end of January 2023.

As Josep Borrell says, such a quick rejection of Russian energy carriers creates serious difficulties for many EU countries, as well as for several sectors of the economy. But this is the price that, according to the politician, must be paid for the protection of democracy and international law, and the EU takes the necessary measures to solve these problems in the spirit of full solidarity.

Manipulation Sanctions prevent Gazprom from supplying more gas to Europe

Russian media and users of social networks write about this. They said that the company cannot guarantee the pumping of gas, in particular to Germany, due to sanctions and "technical problems" with the Siemens turbine. Therefore, Russia absolves itself of responsibility for reducing gas supplies to Europe. He said that the "unfriendly policy of the West" and the lack of "maintenance" of the gas pipeline are to blame for everything. It does not.

The sanctions are not the reason for the reduction of gas supplies to the EU, since there is currently no gas embargo and there are no obstacles to the return of the turbine to Russia. A significant reduction in supplies is due to political reasons.

The executive director of the company "Siemens Energy" Joe Kezer believes that Russia is deliberately seeking to involve their company in the conflict because even the repair of the turbine cannot cause such a drop in gas pumping volumes. According to StopFake, even before the start of repair work, deliveries were reduced by 40%.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after a personal inspection of the turbine, concluded that there are no technical reasons for reducing gas volumes. The press secretary of the European Commission, Eric Mamer, denied the information that the EU sanctions against Russia prevent the supply of turbines for the Nord Stream gas pipeline. He says Russia is using energy supplies as leverage to blackmail Europe over its opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Manipulation Europeans are panicking about the reduction in Russian gas supplies

Such a thesis is spread on Russian social networks and the Kremlin's propaganda media pages. The reports claim that panic has allegedly started in Europe after Gazprom announced a cut in gas supplies.

Propagandists draw such conclusions after reading columnist Jacob Paul's column for the Express publication. But it is manipulation. In fact, there is nothing in the article on the Express website that there is panic in Europe due to the reduction of Russian gas supplies. As StopFake writes, the author of the material describes Russia's current situation with "gas blackmail" and writes about the European Union's plan to reduce dependence on Russian energy carriers gradually. The article analyzes the case of Germany, which received 55% of its gas from Russia. Still, at the same time, the article discusses ways to get the country out of energy dependence.

Manipulation Several regions will be cut off from gas supply in Ukraine

Information is spreading in social networks that several regions in Ukraine will be cut off from gas supply. In particular, such reports are spread about the Volyn region - gas will not flow there, so Ukrainians may "have to leave their homes."

The fact-checkers of the Brekhunets project denied this information, noting that there is no mention of this on the website of Naftogaz of Ukraine, a gas supplier for Ukrainian consumers. At the same time, Naftogaz refuted information from the Association of Energy Suppliers that the company "left about a third of Ukrainians without service": "Exactly 18 companies operating under the brand "Tviy GAZZBUT," "Odesagaz-postachannya" LLC, "KyivGazEnergy" SOE, "LUBNIGAZ-TRADING" LLC, "GAZ RESOURCE COMPANY" LLC and "Ternopilmiskgaz" LLC left their customers without natural gas. These company did not inform people about the termination of supply and received money from them for gas that was not provided," the report says.