Fake News, Disinformation & Propaganda

DISINFORMATION: Ukrainian refugees take advantage of Moldovans’ hospitality
DISINFORMATION: Ukrainian refugees take advantage of Moldovans’ hospitality

Ukrainian refugees are aggressive and disturbing, and the hosts are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with them. In the Republic of Moldova, they vandalize Soviet monuments and pick up fights with the locals, writes the Russian publication mk.ru, citing social media, but without providing any proof for such allegations. In the Republic of Moldova, several such pieces of disinformation have been debunked by the media.

Veridica
04 Apr 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: 95% of Ukrainians are waiting to be liberated by Russia, says the Luhansk separatist leader Marat Bashirov.
WAR PROPAGANDA: 95% of Ukrainians are waiting to be liberated by Russia, says the Luhansk separatist leader Marat Bashirov.

Most Ukrainians are waiting to be liberated by Russia, which has been forced to launch a special operation and is the victim of Ukraine’s aggression, says the Luhansk separatist leader. These false narratives are amplified by the Russian media.

Marin Gherman
01 Apr 2022
DISINFORMATION: NATO is fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian
DISINFORMATION: NATO is fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian

NATO / US are forcing Ukraine to fight against Russia for the latter to be defeated and Vladimir Putin overthrown. The narrative falls into the category of Russian propaganda that seeks to shift responsibility for the war from the aggressor to the victim (Ukraine) and its supporters (NATO). In Romania, the narrative is promoted by Ion Cristoiu, an active promoter of pro-Russia disinformation in the public space.

WAR PROPAGANDA: The UN supports the genocide targeting Russian speakers in Ukraine
WAR PROPAGANDA: The UN supports the genocide targeting Russian speakers in Ukraine

The Russian media accuses the UN of having allegedly encouraged the “genocide” organized by Ukrainian “Nazis” against Russian speakers in Ukraine, since the Security Council did not adopt the resolution regarding the ceasefire proposed by Moscow. The UN General Assembly previous adopted a resolution – ignored by Russia – in which it called for a termination of the conflict.

Marin Gherman
29 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: A Russian official has called for the “denazification” of the Baltic States, Poland, the Republic of Moldova and Kazakhstan
WAR PROPAGANDA: A Russian official has called for the “denazification” of the Baltic States, Poland, the Republic of Moldova and Kazakhstan

A local official from Moscow has called for the denazification of Poland, the Baltic States, the Republic of Moldova and Kazakhstan, by applying the same method used in the case of Ukraine, namely a Russian military intervention. The Russian state media, agencies such as TASS or RIA Novosti, have ignored the initiative.

Veridica News
28 Mar 2022
DISINFORMATION: The mines launched by Ukraine could blow up the Black Sea, causing a cataclysm in Europe
DISINFORMATION: The mines launched by Ukraine could blow up the Black Sea, causing a cataclysm in Europe

The mines Ukraine has planted in the Black Sea could set off the hydrogen sulfide deposits in the sea and thus cause a cataclysm in Europe. The false narrative was promoted in Romania by Sorin Roșca Stănescu on Cozmin Gușă’s radio show. Both have previously fostered disinformation and fake news and have aligned themselves to Russia’s positions.

WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukrainian forces have destroyed Mariupol
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukrainian forces have destroyed Mariupol

Mariupol has been destroyed by Ukrainian (nationalist) forces in the city, desperate for not getting any reinforcements from Kyiv, the Russian government media writes. The narrative is meant to draw attention away from the fact that the Russian army shelled the city systematically, without caring about killing civilians or causing damage.

Marin Gherman
24 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: To drag NATO into the war, Ukraine will attack the United States Embassy in Lviv and will blame Russia for it
WAR PROPAGANDA: To drag NATO into the war, Ukraine will attack the United States Embassy in Lviv and will blame Russia for it

Ukraine will attack the US Embassy in Lviv and will blame Russia with a view to forcing NATO to enter the war, according to a recent propaganda narrative fostered by the Russian state media, which quotes a statement of the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman.

Marin Gherman
23 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA:  Ukraine wants to procrastinate the war and uses its citizens as human shields, whereas Russia is protecting civilians
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine wants to procrastinate the war and uses its citizens as human shields, whereas Russia is protecting civilians

The Russian media writes Kyiv alone is to blame for the prolonged conflict in Ukraine. The narrative is used alongside older propaganda messages, according to which Moscow is carrying out a special military operation aimed at protecting civilians, whom Kyiv is using as human shields.

Marin Gherman
22 Mar 2022
DISINFORMATION: Russians in the Diaspora face discrimination
DISINFORMATION: Russians in the Diaspora face discrimination

Russian Embassies in a number of countries have called on Russian ethnics to report every case of discrimination. By means of such messages, launched after the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow claims the Russian-speaking population is discriminated against, in order to intimidate countries such as the Republic of Moldova, but also to discourage Russian citizens who plan on leaving Russia.

Veridica
21 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia has discovered nationalist concentration camps in eastern Ukraine
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia has discovered nationalist concentration camps in eastern Ukraine

A concentration camp was discovered in the region of Luhansk, where Russian speaking people were tortured, according to a false narrative disseminated by the Russian state media. It presents Russia as a state that, through its “special military operation” in Donbass, freed the local population and chased away “the Nazis” and “the nationalists”.

Marin Gherman
20 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine was preparing to attack Donbass and was hiding its intentions by deploying soldiers in schools and hospitals
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine was preparing to attack Donbass and was hiding its intentions by deploying soldiers in schools and hospitals

Russian propaganda continues to seek to justify the invasion of Ukraine and the bombing of civilian targets, including schools and hospitals. According to a recent narrative, a Ukrainian attack on Donbass was imminent, and Kiev was hiding its intentions by deploying troops to schools and hospitals.

Marin Gherman
18 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: 15 million Ukrainians have close ties with Russia, and the Ukrainian nationalists are using the Russian speakers as human shields
WAR PROPAGANDA: 15 million Ukrainians have close ties with Russia, and the Ukrainian nationalists are using the Russian speakers as human shields

An important part of Ukraine's population has close ties with Russia and wants good relations with it, according to the Russian propaganda, which also claims that Russian-speakers are being used by Ukrainian nationalists as human shields.

Marin Gherman
17 Mar 2022
FAKE NEWS: Ukrainian forces have downed a Romanian fighter jet and a helicopter in Dobruja
FAKE NEWS: Ukrainian forces have downed a Romanian fighter jet and a helicopter in Dobruja

The Ukrainian army has shot down a fighter jet and a helicopter of the Romanian Armed Forces in Dobruja, after mistaking them for aircraft of the Russian army. This fake piece of news is promoted by publications and public figures (of whom some are associated with the far right) that over the years have been spreading disinformation, fake news and narratives promoted by Russia.

WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine was about to attack Belarus, and Russia foiled its plans
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine was about to attack Belarus, and Russia foiled its plans

Ukraine was preparing to attack Russian and Belarussian troops on the day Russia launched the “special military operation” in Ukraine, Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko says. This false narrative was also picked up by the media in Russia and Belarus.

Marin Gherman
15 Mar 2022
FAKE NEWS: Ukrainian refugees cause disturbance in the Republic of Moldova, and Kiev wants to draw Chisinau into the war
FAKE NEWS: Ukrainian refugees cause disturbance in the Republic of Moldova, and Kiev wants to draw Chisinau into the war

Ukrainian refugees are disrespectful towards Moldovans, try to impose their political views and break the law, according to the Russian press, which also writes that the Kyiv authorities intend to draw the Republic of Moldova in the war against Russia.

Veridica
14 Mar 2022
PRO-RUSSIA PROPAGANDA: Romania needs to proclaim its neutrality
PRO-RUSSIA PROPAGANDA: Romania needs to proclaim its neutrality

Romania needs to proclaim its neutrality with respect to the conflict in Ukraine, the controversial former minister of foreign affairs and convicted criminal, Adrian Severin, has said. In a letter addressed to Romanian authorities, Severin, who in recent years has been promoting sovereigntist and anti-Western theses similar to those appearing in narratives spread by Russia, is also reiterating some of Russia’s war propaganda themes.

WAR PROPAGANDA: The Americans’ secret laboratories in Ukraine were synthetizing coronavirus
WAR PROPAGANDA: The Americans’ secret laboratories in Ukraine were synthetizing coronavirus

Ukraine’s biological laboratories were conducting experiments on bats to produce coronavirus, the Russian media writes. This is part of the metanarrative about biological laboratories, where Ukraine was producing weapons of mass destruction, with support from the United States.

Marin Gherman
13 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is willing to recognize Donbas and Crimea as territories of the Russian Federation
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is willing to recognize Donbas and Crimea as territories of the Russian Federation

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is ready to talk terms with Russia about Donbas and Crimea with a view to ending the conflict, according to the Russian media, which continues to spread fake news about the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Marin Gherman
10 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA:  Kyiv was preparing an aggression against Donbas in March, and Russia was forced to intervene to stop it
WAR PROPAGANDA: Kyiv was preparing an aggression against Donbas in March, and Russia was forced to intervene to stop it

The Russian government media published a series of documents designed to prove Ukraine was planning an invasion of Donbas in March. The narrative was launched with a view to justifying Russia’s military operations against Ukraine.

Marin Gherman
09 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia has destroyed the American bioweapon labs in Ukraine
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia has destroyed the American bioweapon labs in Ukraine

Russian soldiers have identified and destroyed 13 labs in Ukraine where biological weapons were being produced. According to these narratives, Russia must bomb the Ukrainian cities ‘in order to save humanity.”

Marin Gherman
08 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia attacked Chernobyl, Zaporizhzhya and Kharkiv in order to prevent Ukraine from manufacturing nuclear weapons.
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia attacked Chernobyl, Zaporizhzhya and Kharkiv in order to prevent Ukraine from manufacturing nuclear weapons.

Russia reportedly attacked certain sites in Ukraine in order to prevent Ukraine from producing military weapons. This is how the Russian media describes the attacks on Kharkiv, the capturing of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the occupation of the disaffected nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, where the world’s biggest nuclear disaster occurred in 1986.

Marin Gherman
07 Mar 2022
FAKE NEWS: The West has declared war on the Russian Federation, and Moldova risks having Ukraine's fate
FAKE NEWS: The West has declared war on the Russian Federation, and Moldova risks having Ukraine's fate

By supporting Ukraine, the West has actually declared war on the Russian Federation, and the Chisinau government has sided with the West, which might have serious consequences, Mejdurecie.md reads. The article is trying to justify a potential replication in the Republic of Moldova of the situation in Ukraine, if the first maintains its current stand towards Russia and the West respectively.

Veridica
07 Mar 2022
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukrainian nationalists have shot peaceful citizens of Volnovakha
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukrainian nationalists have shot peaceful citizens of Volnovakha

Russian media and media in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are disseminating fake news about war crimes committed by Ukrainian soldiers, nationalists in particular, against civilians in eastern and southern Ukraine. In reality, Russia is the one bombarding Ukraine’s cities and destroying lots of civilian targets, including blocks of flats and schools.

Marin Gherman
05 Mar 2022
War propaganda: Ukrainian soldiers are turning Mariupol into a concentration camp
War propaganda: Ukrainian soldiers are turning Mariupol into a concentration camp

The city of Mariupol in Donbass is turning into a concentration camp, blocked by Ukrainian soldiers and paramilitary groups, the Russian press reads, quoting representatives of the separatist militias of Donetsk and Luhansk. In reality, the humanitarian corridors are blocked by Russian soldiers who are firing at critical infrastructure.

Marin Gherman
04 Mar 2022
DISINFORMATION: The war in Ukraine, a pretext to denigrate Russia, to use censorship, to frighten the population in Romania and Europe and make arms sellers rich
DISINFORMATION: The war in Ukraine, a pretext to denigrate Russia, to use censorship, to frighten the population in Romania and Europe and make arms sellers rich

The public in Romania and Europe is inoculated with the fear of war so that Russia can be denigrated, the Russian press censored and arms sellers made rich. These false narratives are promoted by the controversial journalist Ion Cristoiu, who also says that the same “techniques” were used to terrorize the population during the pandemic.

FAKE NEWS: NATO is providing weapons to Ukraine via the Republic of Moldova, which represents a breach of the country’s neutrality status
FAKE NEWS: NATO is providing weapons to Ukraine via the Republic of Moldova, which represents a breach of the country’s neutrality status

The Republic of Moldova has violated its neutrality status since it allows NATO to deliver weapons to Ukraine, currently at war with Russia, which invaded this country on February 24. This false narrative is promoted by politnavigator.net, which references a commentary of a Russian expert.

DISINFORMATION: The USA doesn’t consider the deployment of Russian troops to the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbas an invasion of Ukraine
DISINFORMATION: The USA doesn’t consider the deployment of Russian troops to the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbas an invasion of Ukraine

The United States does not consider Russia is invading Ukraine by sending troops to the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, since it didn’t adopt harsher sanctions. This false narrative is promoted by Sorin Roșca Stănescu, a journalist known for being involved in criminal investigations, and whose articles regularly reference narratives similar to those publicized by Russian propaganda.

FAKE NEWS: Kiev has staged, for the media, attacks by Donbass separatists on civilian infrastructure
FAKE NEWS: Kiev has staged, for the media, attacks by Donbass separatists on civilian infrastructure

The Pro-Kremlin media in Russia and in the self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine have launched a series of false narratives about the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Donbass, which was allegedly staged by Kiev to “justify” its attacks on Russian-speakers.

Marin Gherman
22 Feb 2022
FAKE NEWS: NATO is pushing Moldova into a war with Russia
FAKE NEWS: NATO is pushing Moldova into a war with Russia

NATO is flooding the Republic of Moldova with weapons in an attempt to boost its partnership with this country. The purpose of NATO is to drag Moldova into a war with Russia. These false narratives are promoted despite the fact that Moldova’s NATO accession is not up for debate.

FAKE NEWS: The West is escalating the situation in Ukraine
FAKE NEWS: The West is escalating the situation in Ukraine

The West is escalating the situation in Ukraine, the main Kremlin propagandists keep on claiming, while Russia has amassed troops and equipment near its border with that country. The narratives are aimed at making the West responsible for the situation in Ukraine and justifying the Russian aggression.

FAKE NEWS: Upsizing the NATO forces in Romania doesn’t make any sense, as Russia isn’t threatening anyone
FAKE NEWS: Upsizing the NATO forces in Romania doesn’t make any sense, as Russia isn’t threatening anyone

Upsizing the NATO forces in Romania doesn’t makes any sense, as Russia does not intend to attack other states and promotes peace, according to the Russian MFA spokesperson. She ignored, however, the very reason for strengthening NATO's presence in the East: Moscow's aggressive policy.

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