Fighting continues on the territory of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the information war continues on the Internet, in which the media and users of social networks participate, either accidentally or intentionally. And we have put together another selection with some of the most popular fakes.
Photo of a bloodied child from Kharkov
On March 5, famous Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon shared a selection of photographs from Kharkov under fire. Readers' particular attention was drawn to a shot of a bloodied child sitting on a hospital bed.
Is it true: This photograph is quite real, but it was not taken in 2022 and not on the territory of Ukraine. Original author photo — Mohammed Badra, who captured the aftermath of the bombing of the town of Misraba, a suburb of Damascus, on January 3, 2018. This action, carried out by aircraft controlled by the Syrian government, claimed at least two dozen lives. Transfer the place and time of the photo to Ukraine tried back in February, after the outbreak of hostilities, and Alena Mozgova’s Facebook post, to which Gordon referred, has now been deleted. On March 9, Gordon himself deleted his publication.
Not true
The UN prohibited its staff from calling the Ukrainian events a war or invasion
March 8 Media around the world reported that UN employees were prohibited from using the words “war” and “invasion” in relation to military operations in Ukraine, as well as posting Ukrainian flags on personal and work accounts on social networks in order to avoid “reputational risks.” A letter with relevant instructions was allegedly sent to UN employees by email the day before. The news caused a great resonance, as well as the reaction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba, who called The UN will issue a refutation if this news is false.
Is it true: the primary source of information was the Irish publication The Irish Times, and in the media hit even supposedly screenshots of this letter:
Soon followed reaction UN Secretary-General Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it was "not a case where staff were instructed not to use words like 'war' and 'invasion' to describe the situation." As an example, he cited a tweet from UN Deputy Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo, published at the same time, on March 8, which contained the words “this war is pointless”:
At the same time, Dujarric admitted that employees “are asked to format any messages on Ukraine, as well as on other political issues, in a way that is consistent with the position of the organization and the statements of the Secretary General,” but refused to call these instructions. Moreover, we were able to obtain a screenshot of the request instruction mentioned by Dujarric - it was sent on March 4 and does not contain any specifics about the words “war” or “invasion”:
Thus, the disseminated information turned out to be false, at least in the context of the requirement for employees.
Not true
Ukraine urgently eliminated traces of the American military biological program
March 6, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov reportedthat Moscow received documents from Ukrainian laboratories confirming the development of biological weapons components in that country. More precisely, evidence of an “emergency cleanup” of traces of the military-biological program implemented in Ukraine, funded by the US Department of Defense. The message was accompanied by photographs of the instructions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on the destruction of “particularly dangerous pathogens causing plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera and other deadly diseases,” as well as acts of destruction in the Poltava and Kharkov biological laboratories:
The next day, Russian media distributed statement by former US Army officer and counter-terrorism expert Scott Bennett. He not only confirmed the information from the Russian Ministry of Defense, but also added that in American laboratories in Ukraine “the DNA of the Slavs was studied to create biological weapons against them.”
Is it true: March 7, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied information from the Russian Ministry of Defense, noting that the Ukrainian Ministry of Health denies information about “an emergency cleanup of traces of a military-biological program financed by the US Department of Defense” and “the destruction of particularly dangerous pathogens.” According to the Foreign Ministry statement, there are no American laboratories on the territory of Ukraine: “All laboratory capabilities in Ukraine perform a single general function - the indication and identification of infectious disease agents that have significant epidemic potential and/or international significance and are subject to regulation in accordance with international health regulations.”
However, I would also like to receive an independent expert comment on the current situation. Candidate of Biological Sciences Evgeniy Levitin, who previously published the corresponding statement on behalf of a group of Russian biologists. Here are his main points.
1. In the list of destroyed strains published by RIA Novosti and other Russian media, there is not a single one that is particularly dangerous. The list contains only strains common to microbiological and especially epidemiological laboratories, but the strains of “plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera” are not there. Indeed, the list mentions: strains diphtheria, corynobacteria (part of the normal microflora of the upper respiratory tract and human skin), bacterium Bacillus licheniformis (found on bird feathers and used in enzyme production), thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus stearothermophilus, Staphylococcus aureus, klebsiella pneumonia, and also Pseudomonas aeruginosa And coli. These are quite common bacteria in everyday life, outside the walls of laboratories. Most of them are in constant contact with humans.
2. Even the presence of strains of plague, anthrax, tularemia or cholera in a laboratory dealing with especially dangerous infections would also not indicate that Ukraine is developing biological weapons. This would also be normal for an epidemiological institute, provided there is an appropriate level of protection and documented certification of the laboratory.
3. The document provides instructions for handling strains of dangerous and potentially dangerous microorganisms if they need to be disposed of. This is available in any microbiological and epidemiological laboratory. As stated in the document, the order to eliminate pathogenic and opportunistic pathogenic cultures was sent by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 to the majority of epidemiological and microbiological laboratories in Ukraine in order to prevent their possible release into the environment in possible critical situations accompanying military operations.
4. “The DNA of the Slavs, against whom special biological weapons were to be used” is an absurd thesis for anyone who is familiar with a school biology course.
Thus, according to Levitin’s opinion supported by facts, the materials attached to the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense in no way speak of the development of biological weapons in Ukrainian laboratories. As for Scott Bennett's speech, it is simply anti-scientific. It should be noted that this “expert” earned notoriety among Russian media specialists, because, judging by journalistic investigation data, is most likely a scammer. The above statement by a group of Russian scientists is reflected in petitions demanding to stop the spread of lies about Ukrainian biological weapons. The petition was submitted by a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the most authoritative and cited biologists in the world, Evgeniy Kunin.
Not true
Vladimir Zelensky stated: “You guys will not escape fascism anywhere! This is our cross"
On March 5, the “Russia 24/7” Telegram channel appeared video, in which one could see a procession with a portrait of Stepan Bandera, the flags of Ukraine and the Azov battalion, the consequences of shelling on the territory of the DPR, as well as a remark from Vladimir Zelensky: “And you will not escape fascism anywhere, guys. Even though he is not from Ukraine, this is our cross.” The same remark, in a somewhat distorted form, appeared in the title of the video. The answer to all this was Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops to Ukraine.
Is it true: Let’s not focus on the selection of footage itself, taken from different places at different times and not always forming a cause-and-effect relationship. Let's take a closer look at the quote from Vladimir Zelensky, which was heard in interview to the already mentioned journalist Dmitry Gordon. In December 2018, Zelensky (at that time not even an official candidate for the presidency), answering a question about decommunization in Ukraine, stated: “In general, well, we killed all the Lenins, right? One had to be left. Call the best craftsmen, fortunately there are enough of them in Ukraine, to make an awesome sculpture out of this monument, with barbed wire all around as a reminder of tyranny: we must walk by and remember this. They tell me: “Yes, we want to erase from our memory everything, everything, everything that we had!” I answer: “Just a second. When we remind the Germans that they had fascism and Hitler, they admit it: “Yes.” They don’t say: “We don’t know this, then there was a different Germany, and in general, it all began in Austria...” They don’t brush it off: they say, we are now a new, united Germany, and we didn’t have this in our history. It happened! You won’t go anywhere from fascism, guys, this is your cross. And Lenin is ours. the cross, even though it is not from Ukraine. He put many people underground, buried them. We must walk on this earth and understand that we cannot do this, that’s all.”
Thus, the statement of Vladimir Zelensky was distorted beyond recognition through ordinary editing - his thought was completely different. Separately, we note that the quote from Petro Poroshenko included in the video about “their children” who “will sit in basements” also taken out of context.
Fake
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