Against the backdrop of news about the arrival of US President Joe Biden to Ukraine, a lot of disinformation stuffing appeared in anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. In particular, the propagandists broadcast their vision of events and voiced a number of messages about the visit of a high-ranking official.

The team of analysts of Detector Media identified the main ones.

Biden came to report that he is “merging” Ukraine

Like, the reason for the sudden visit was “secret agreements” with Moscow, which Biden seems to want to tell Zelenskyi personally. Propagandists insist that the United States and the “collective West” are tired not only of the topic of Ukraine, but also of its “unwillingness” to sit down at the negotiating table.

However, all this is unfounded assumptions, because the authors of anonymous telegram channels do not provide any facts or evidence indicating that Biden is “merging” Ukraine. So far, there are no signs of secret negotiations between the United States and Russia on the situation in Ukraine, even in a behind-the-scenes format. Moreover, the topic of support for Ukraine continues to be a priority for US foreign policy: both for Biden's party (Democrats) and his opponents, Republicans in particular. The next package of military assistance to Ukraine announced during the visit is a confirmation that the United States is not withdrawing from the issue, but rather is strengthening support.

Russian propagandists spread speculation about the so-called “new peace conditions” supposedly brought in by Biden. Russian propaganda is actively using this message to transfer responsibility for the continuation of the war from the aggressor to the victim.

The air raid sirens were turned on for the sake of a “picture” to scare President Biden

At the moment when there were official reports that the US President had flown to Kyiv, air raids continued in the capital, as in other cities of Ukraine. Therefore, a message appeared in anonymous telegram channels that this was, they say, “another performance” for Biden. Allegedly, the Ukrainian authorities specially staged a performance for the US president to suppress pity and intimidate a little.

This is not a new propaganda message. Russian propaganda always uses it when Western partners come to Kyiv on working visits. Also, propagandists from time to time claim that the Ukrainian authorities use the air raid signal as a lever to intimidate Ukrainians, or vice versa - do not turn it on so as not to frighten. In addition, such messages should deceive the significance of the announcement of alerts - to warn of danger from Russia.

In fact, only a limited circle of people has information about the reasons for triggering an air raid alert.

Biden's visit is only self-promotion for Biden and Zelenskyi.

Like, the visit of the President of the United States to Ukraine is just an attempt “to save Biden’s dead rating” in his country and “calm down Ukrainians disappointed in Zelenskyi”. Although this information is available only to those involved in such measures, a number of important issues of interaction between the two countries are often discussed during state visits, namely economic, cultural and security initiatives. The results of such conversations can be seen within a few weeks after the end of the visit.

Propagandists actively use the natural lack of information about conversations during meetings to spread their own, unsubstantiated fabrications.

Biden came to “punish” the Office of the President

Propagandists continue to spread the narrative about “external governance” and the non-subjectivity of Ukraine. They say that the “owner” came to Ukraine because his “subordinates” “failed to fulfill the basic instructions” of the United States. As a “consequence”, no additional assistance is expected. In fact, the “instructions” of the United States and various Western institutions are advisory in nature. And the level of assistance provided by the West and the United States can be influenced by Ukraine's fulfillment of its obligations, and not by the presence of recommendations. Also, we note that now, during the war, a decrease in aid may cause more condemnation towards Biden than support, especially from his political opponents. There is also no evidence or facts to support this propaganda message. However, by spreading it, they are trying to establish the opinion that the US and other Western partners are disappointed in the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, so the propagandists create the appearance that Ukraine will soon allegedly be left without external support.

Biden “cripples churches” with his presence

The authors of anonymous telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric also claimed that Biden is “antichrist in human form”, destroying Ukrainian spirituality with his visit. Like, that's why you can't “save” Ukraine from “Western satanic networks”.

Such messages should be considered in the context of conspiracy theories regarding the President of the United States. According to them, Joe Biden is a satanist and a pedophile. In fact, the President of the United States is a catholic and often mentions his faith in speeches.

Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv has already acquired historical significance, as it is the first visit by a US leader to Ukraine in 15 years. We recall that earlier Detector Media prepared a selection of messages about the visit of Volodymyr Zelenskyi to the United States.

The allegedly new cover of the German humor magazine Eulenspiegel is being circulated online. The cover illustrated representatives of the LGBTI community and Ukrainians holding on to the Olympic rings with the inscription: “Tug of war during the Olympic Games!”. It is not true.

Analysts of the VoxCheck project investigated this case and found that there are no issues with such a cover on the website of the magazine and on pages in social networks.

Ukraine may boycott the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris due to the position of the International Olympic Committee and the admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions. Volodymyr Zelenskyi wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and called on the organizers not to allow Russia to use “any other international sporting event to promote aggression or its own state chauvinism”.

Propagandists spread this fake to show how Ukraine is not supported by foreign countries and believe that it is “pulling the rope on itself”, that is, it wants to get more attention, for example, to increase international support.

Such a fake was spread on social networks and social networks that broadcast pro-Kremlin rhetoric. The report says that before the visit of US President Joseph Biden, the inhabitants of Kyiv were handed out instructions on how to properly communicate with Americans, what can and cannot be done. Authors of messages add a so-called postcard with instructions. It is not true.

The Center for strategic communications noted that the Ukrainian authorities did not create such postcards, so they were fabricated. In addition, the instruction is full of spelling and lexical errors, for example: “you don’t need to run” or “how a Ukrainian should behave in a  meeting”. This indicates that the authors of the messages used automatic translation to create a supposedly official postcard of the local authorities.

Moreover, the Ukrainian leadership did not announce the meeting with the US President in advance. The authors created this “postcard” already at the time when the visit was officially discussed.

By spreading this fake, propagandists want to ridicule Ukrainians and make them look chucklesome. Allegedly, the Ukrainian leadership, before Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine, made sure that Ukrainians were not ridiculed.

Such a fake was spread on social networks, in particular in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. Reports say that Ukrainian fighters came for military training with their wives. Like, the men of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are taking their wives at the expense of taxes paid by the British. As evidence, the authors of the messages cite a photo published by the British Ministry of defense, which depicts a woman with military personnel.

Analysts from the VoxCheck project examined the case and found that there is no evidence that the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine arrived in the UK with their wives at the expense of the Ministry of defense. Probably, there was also a soldier in the photo, and this is not unusual, because both women and men serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the Minister of defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov, as of the end of 2022, 59,786 women served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Of these, about 19 thousand are civilian workers (in the field of medicine, office work, communications, finance and administration), and the rest are military personnel. Also, about 5 thousand women are directly involved in hostilities.

A fake document was circulated on the network, allegedly sent from the Department of education and science of the city of Kyiv. It says that educational institutions in Kyiv are allegedly preparing to transfer the premises to the use of the defense forces for the further creation of military field hospitals. Like, the threat of escalation in the Kyiv direction is “high”. In addition, the “document” contains a clause on the transfer of a list of contact details of young men who have reached the age of 17.

The Department of education and science of the city of Kyiv says that no orders have been issued to transfer educational institutions to the capital under the leadership of any other bodies. Employees of the Department also stated that all educational institutions in Kyiv are working as usual, and employees are at their workplaces performing their duties.

The Department is convinced that the spread of a fake document indicates an attempt by the Russians to sow panic among Ukrainians on the eve of the anniversary of a full-scale invasion. At the same time, propagandists are trying once again to nourish the narrative about the mobilization of teenagers, including in a fake document. Allegedly, there is no one to fight anymore, so the Ukrainian leadership is mobilizing even young men.

Detector Media has previously refuted the fake, in which, they say, underage boys are not allowed to go abroad, because they will soon be mobilized.

Going personal is a propaganda tactic whose name comes from the Latin expression “Argumentum ad hominem (Argumentum ad personam)” - “an argument directed at a person”. Propagandists resort to personal attacks on the opponent when they cannot refute their arguments. Thus, they try to turn a losing situation into a “victory” by humiliating the opponent and distracting from the main topic.

For example, the spouses of Russian propagandists Yevhenii Popov and Olha Skabieieva resort to such tactics in their TV show “60 minutes about the essentials”. Guests were often invited to the studio, supposedly to represent Ukraine and Ukrainians. As soon as the arguments of these guests did not suit the hosts, they resorted to manipulation and going personal:

an explicit or veiled image of the interlocutors themselves;

manipulative use of phrases such as “as an intelligent person, you cannot contradict the statement …”; that is, they create a false dilemma for the interlocutor either to agree with the proposed unacceptable statement, or to argue and thereby contradict the statement “as an intelligent person”;

inappropriate appeals to authority such as “you are wrong, because we [in Russia] know better what is happening in Ukraine…”; that is, the further argumentation of propaganda is based on a logical flaw.

Thus, Russian propagandists on the air of the national TV channel formed the image of Ukrainians as stupid, uneducated, funny, helpless, “inferior” people.

Also, this tactic is used by the representative of the Russian foreign ministry, Mariia Zakharova, if the Russians cannot reasonably , in accordance with the norms of international diplomacy, respond to the statements of foreign leaders. For example, to the words of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki that Russia poses a threat to Poland and Europe, Zakharova reacts with personal attacks against him.

Personality tactics are often combined with ridicule and substitution concept tactics.

Such a fake was spread on social networks and in propaganda media broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. Reports say that Volodymyr Zelenskyi allegedly “confessed that he did not plan to implement the Minsk agreements” and that “peace was not part of Ukraine's plans”. The authors of the messages refer to the interview with Zelenskyi in the French edition of Le Figaro and the German magazine Der Spiegel. It is not true.

Analysts of the StopFake project drew attention to this case and found that during the interview, Zelenskyi did not make any statements that peace was not part of Ukraine's plans. On the contrary, the Ukrainian President once again emphasized that it was Russia that did not comply with the agreement and gradually aggravated the conflict.

Answering a question about the effectiveness and expediency of the Minsk agreements, Zelenskyi noted that the document was drafted in such a way as to freeze the Russian invasion in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In his opinion, the agreements cannot be completed without the loss of Ukrainian territories. Therefore, it was not possible to fully adhere to the Minsk agreements to meet the needs of both parties. In addition, Zelenskyi did not say that he wanted war and tried to provoke it.

By spreading this fake, propagandists justify Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Allegedly, the Ukrainian leadership, led by Zelenskyi, wanted to fight and provoked Russia to invade. Thus, the Russians seek to present Ukraine as an aggressor, from which they had to defend themselves.

We recall that the Minsk agreements are a series of three documents that were signed during 2014-2015. The documents provided for steps to resolve the war in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In particular, it included clauses on a ceasefire, granting a special status to the territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Detector Media also analyzed the message of Russian propaganda, which said that Ukraine could have avoided war if it had followed the Minsk agreements.

This thesis was spread on social networks, in particular, in the Ukrainian segment of Twitter. The report says that in Ukraine they are allegedly going to deprive the pensions of those who left for Russia or live in the temporarily occupied territories. The authors argue that this is one of the requirements of the International monetary fund. This is manipulation.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to this case and, after studying it, determined that such manipulation appeared against the background of the appearance of a bill on changing the procedure for paying pensions to persons who committed a crime against the foundations of Ukraine's national security, as well as after the draft order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine “On approval methods for verifying pension payments and monthly life allowance”. Social media users distorted the main provisions of the bill and the project of the Ministry of finance.

The bill refers to the termination of cash payments to persons convicted of crimes against the foundations of national security. This category includes those who encroached on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine or who carried out collaborative activities and collaborated with the occupiers. That is, we are not talking about everyone who, not of their own free will, ended up in Russian occupation.

Another document from the Ministry of finance of Ukraine regulates the process of checking and updating information about the recipient of a pension from the Ministry of social policy, the Ministry of justice, the Ministry of internal affairs and other departments. For example, the Ministry of finance will check and update information about the death of a pension recipient or disability group, etc. In Ukraine, pensions continue to be paid to citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories or those who have gone abroad. As for the so-called requirement of the International monetary fund, it does not exist at all.

Both documents are in no way aimed at depriving pensions of Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied territories of the country, or those who left for Russia. Moreover, both documents have not yet been adopted and are under discussion.

Such manipulation was widespread in social networks, in particular in telegram channels broadcasting pro-Russian rhetoric. The reports say that the head of the British Ministry of Defense, Ben Wallace, allegedly stated the fact that “aid to Ukraine has significantly weakened the defense capability of European countries”. In addition, according to reports, the head of the department allegedly “admitted” that the supply of ammunition in Europe was “very low”. The British Secretary of Defense allegedly made such statements on February 16 during an interview with British BBC Radio 4. This is manipulation.

Fact-checkers of the StopFake project drew attention to this case and, after studying it, determined that the propagandists took the minister's quotes out of context, completely distorting the content of what was said.

In fact, in an interview with BBC Radio 4, Ben Wallace said that Russia's war against Ukraine showed the vulnerability of the defense of all of Europe. Now, according to the minister, European countries are paying the price for years of cutting the military budget, when they had to save on the combat capability of the army, defense infrastructure and its maintenance.

That is, this is not about the fact that support for Ukraine allegedly “exhausted” or “caused problems” in the armed forces of European countries. The British Minister of Defense believes that the problem of the vulnerability of the European defense system is related to the reduction of the military budget and other processes in the past.

By spreading such manipulation, propagandists want to convince the audience that helping Ukraine disarms other countries, so they stay light and weak. Thus, propagandists want to encourage other states not to send weapons to Ukraine.