4 ms·

Russia deploying coronavirus disinformation to sow panic in West, EU says

53 points by T-A 7y ago

LinuxBender 7y ago
Are there any links with examples of their propaganda? I would like to be able to spot it on my forums.
- throwaway963577 7y ago
  https://www.rt.com https://www.rt.com is one source to monitor. Not 100% propaganda, but also not 0%.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - LinuxBender 7y ago
    That one makes sense. IIRC rt is a Russian owned company, I think.
- rightbyte 7y ago
  Ye. Alot talk about this propaganda but few examples. I have heard alot of "fake news" from freinds like "hand spirits are only for bacteria" etc without any Kremlin involvement. I guess there are alot of genuine trolls in Russia and elsewhere spreading roumors. I wonder what proof of government involvement they have. The trolls are probably better at it anyway.
- lnsru 7y ago
  Probably you don’t speak the languages propaganda is written for. I clearly remember an accident of USA troops in Lithuania. Hummer went off road, nothing serious. The same accident was described in propaganda sources as USA troops killing children with fake photos of Hummer, child corpses and bicycle: https://www.businessinsider.com/r-lithuania-sees-fake-news-attempt-to-discredit-nato-exercises-2018-6?r=DE&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/r-lithuania-sees-fake-news-a...
  - pnw_hazor 7y ago
    They did the same thing during the early stages of the Iraq War 2, running daily reports of fictitious American casualties and war crimes. Also, they were behind 'newsy' reports of the US Army looting the Iraqi National Museum.
- DanBC 7y ago
  EUvsDisinfo has examples of other Russian disinformation campaigns. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ They have some examples: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-coronavirus/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-...
  - DanBC 7y ago
    And there's this example of Russian disinformation about coronavirus: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-information-boomerang-returns/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-information-boomerang-returns/
pieceofcakedude 7y ago
This again? I stubbed my toe this morning and I thought it was the bottom of the couch, but I'm being told it was actually the Russians. Those jerks.
dimitar 7y ago
Honestly I'm worried about ordinary Russians, especially the older generation - check this link where people line up in droves to kiss an Orthodox icon: https://varlamov.ru/3830001.html https://varlamov.ru/3830001.html Navalny gets reports that people who are tested for Coronavirus are told the following: "The result will come in 10 days. We will not answer queries. If the test turns out positive, they will find you". Meanwhile not a single person has been reported to have died in Russia even thought this country has a border with China and there is a huge interaction between the two countries. The Russian government is not taking this seriously and will try to cover up cases. This will be Chernobyl all over again.
- gentleman11 7y ago
  Chernobyl is notorious for being a Russian accident affecting the rest of the world (in addition to being a far worse local catastrophe). In this case, the rest of the world already has the problem. International travel is already restricted. Chernobyl isn’t the right analogy imho... It might be closer to one of the famines that Stalins caused though, which in that case was also semi-related to economics/industry rather than care for human lives
  - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
    I don't think you fully understood the GPs analogy to Chernobyl, it's not because of the affect it had on the rest of the world... It's how soviet pride and 'manliness' got in the way of public health and safety post disaster. Chernobyl happened, but the way it was handled and spun by those in charge as not so bad and "barely a concern, no need to evacuate" cost many lives. States like Russia and China are so concerned with optics and how events like these make them week they opt for extreme secrecy above all rational measures. Until the mindset shifts to acceptance and disaster mitigation you can never trust numbers coming out of these countries. If you disagree with what I'm saying here I strongly suggest you watch the recent Chernobyl mini-series on HBO.
    - dimitar 7y ago
      Yes, this is what I meant. I'm don't know it is about manliness, but is definitely to show superiors and other stakeholders that you have things under control. This is very important in an extreme top-down organization of society like an absolute monarchy or a one-party state - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village I remember a funny story from my home town in Bulgaria during the socialist era - the party secretary is supposed to land in a helicopter near a green field in the town center, but (horror!) the grass is yellow, burnt from the summer sun. So local functionaries painted it green. The next day the grass was completely dead, but the important guest wasn't there. Imagine how the same people would react in an emergency with no instructions from the top, with no idea how their leadership will react or who will get the blame. A few years later, communist leadership in Bulgaria suppressed the news about Chernobyl and on the 1st of May huge crowds were gathered to participate in rallies, while radioactive rain was coming down.
downerending 7y ago
Meh. I see a lot more rank stupidity than panic. And I'm pretty sure it's coming from us and not the Russians.
- AnimalMuppet 7y ago
  The Russian destabilization playbook is (and has been for decades) to sow plausible-enough-for-some-people lies, and let the rank stupidity of the target population take it from there. Google "agitprop" for more on this. The lies can be in various directions; they don't have to be consistent. They just have to get people worked up, and preferably distrusting the government.
  - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
    > The Russian destabilization playbook is (and has been for decades) to sow plausible-enough-for-some-people lies, and let the rank stupidity of the target population take it from there. Google "agitprop" for more on this. They could never dream of doing as much damage spreading misinformation during a disaster than Fox News does. I'm only half kidding when I say Fox is likely studied by Russian propaganda agents.
    - downerending 7y ago
      Sad to say it, but I've caught all of the major mainstream news sites putting whoppers out there these days. If it matters, you really have to go to the source material to verify what happened. Fortunately, at least for now, this is often available.
zmoreira 7y ago
This again. No examples, just spin. I'm not sure what is going on in Russia regarding COVID, but I do remember an early full closure of borders with China, now they close entry to all foreign nationals, they are building emergency hospitals and so on. It seems they are taking this threat at least somewhat seriously. These people think we are stupid so they can continue to push this crap forever. Maybe they are right.
- panpanna 7y ago
  Here you go buddy: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-coronavirus/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-...
  - zmoreira 7y ago
    This is ridiculous. Oriental Review and Geopolitica are niche blogs with a very small reach. We are not talking about Moon of Alabama or Unz Review size here, they are really small. How is the fact that they will post articles with all sorts of differing and not very well thought of opinions about the corona virus any indication that a Russian government campaign is going on? You go all "there you go buddy" like you are Jordan Peterson and I'm Cathy Newman, but all there is in that article is hot air. They have a crapton of links to their own pages, but what else is there besides a couple of barflies blogs? They even talk about Dugin! Dugin!! All that is missing is a reference to Potemkin villages.
gentleman11 7y ago
The Canadian government has reported the same thing, according to CBC. Their app doesn’t let me copy a link easily, but it was posted earlier this week
guenthert 7y ago
What? Are you telling me the Zombie apocalypse is not happening?
forkexec 7y ago
Watch out, the little green men are going to eat your children! And they'll infect your precious bodily fluids with fluoride! A sinister, Communist plot!

53 points by T-A 7y ago

LinuxBender 7y ago

Are there any links with examples of their propaganda? I would like to be able to spot it on my forums.

throwaway963577 7y ago
https://www.rt.com https://www.rt.com is one source to monitor. Not 100% propaganda, but also not 0%.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- LinuxBender 7y ago
  That one makes sense. IIRC rt is a Russian owned company, I think.
rightbyte 7y ago
Ye. Alot talk about this propaganda but few examples. I have heard alot of "fake news" from freinds like "hand spirits are only for bacteria" etc without any Kremlin involvement. I guess there are alot of genuine trolls in Russia and elsewhere spreading roumors. I wonder what proof of government involvement they have. The trolls are probably better at it anyway.
lnsru 7y ago
Probably you don’t speak the languages propaganda is written for. I clearly remember an accident of USA troops in Lithuania. Hummer went off road, nothing serious. The same accident was described in propaganda sources as USA troops killing children with fake photos of Hummer, child corpses and bicycle: https://www.businessinsider.com/r-lithuania-sees-fake-news-attempt-to-discredit-nato-exercises-2018-6?r=DE&IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/r-lithuania-sees-fake-news-a...
- pnw_hazor 7y ago
  They did the same thing during the early stages of the Iraq War 2, running daily reports of fictitious American casualties and war crimes. Also, they were behind 'newsy' reports of the US Army looting the Iraqi National Museum.
DanBC 7y ago
EUvsDisinfo has examples of other Russian disinformation campaigns. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ They have some examples: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-coronavirus/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-...
- DanBC 7y ago
  And there's this example of Russian disinformation about coronavirus: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-information-boomerang-returns/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-information-boomerang-returns/

pieceofcakedude 7y ago

This again? I stubbed my toe this morning and I thought it was the bottom of the couch, but I'm being told it was actually the Russians. Those jerks.

dimitar 7y ago

Honestly I'm worried about ordinary Russians, especially the older generation - check this link where people line up in droves to kiss an Orthodox icon: https://varlamov.ru/3830001.html https://varlamov.ru/3830001.html Navalny gets reports that people who are tested for Coronavirus are told the following: "The result will come in 10 days. We will not answer queries. If the test turns out positive, they will find you". Meanwhile not a single person has been reported to have died in Russia even thought this country has a border with China and there is a huge interaction between the two countries. The Russian government is not taking this seriously and will try to cover up cases. This will be Chernobyl all over again.

gentleman11 7y ago
Chernobyl is notorious for being a Russian accident affecting the rest of the world (in addition to being a far worse local catastrophe). In this case, the rest of the world already has the problem. International travel is already restricted. Chernobyl isn’t the right analogy imho... It might be closer to one of the famines that Stalins caused though, which in that case was also semi-related to economics/industry rather than care for human lives
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
  I don't think you fully understood the GPs analogy to Chernobyl, it's not because of the affect it had on the rest of the world... It's how soviet pride and 'manliness' got in the way of public health and safety post disaster. Chernobyl happened, but the way it was handled and spun by those in charge as not so bad and "barely a concern, no need to evacuate" cost many lives. States like Russia and China are so concerned with optics and how events like these make them week they opt for extreme secrecy above all rational measures. Until the mindset shifts to acceptance and disaster mitigation you can never trust numbers coming out of these countries. If you disagree with what I'm saying here I strongly suggest you watch the recent Chernobyl mini-series on HBO.
  - dimitar 7y ago
    Yes, this is what I meant. I'm don't know it is about manliness, but is definitely to show superiors and other stakeholders that you have things under control. This is very important in an extreme top-down organization of society like an absolute monarchy or a one-party state - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village I remember a funny story from my home town in Bulgaria during the socialist era - the party secretary is supposed to land in a helicopter near a green field in the town center, but (horror!) the grass is yellow, burnt from the summer sun. So local functionaries painted it green. The next day the grass was completely dead, but the important guest wasn't there. Imagine how the same people would react in an emergency with no instructions from the top, with no idea how their leadership will react or who will get the blame. A few years later, communist leadership in Bulgaria suppressed the news about Chernobyl and on the 1st of May huge crowds were gathered to participate in rallies, while radioactive rain was coming down.

downerending 7y ago

Meh. I see a lot more rank stupidity than panic. And I'm pretty sure it's coming from us and not the Russians.

AnimalMuppet 7y ago
The Russian destabilization playbook is (and has been for decades) to sow plausible-enough-for-some-people lies, and let the rank stupidity of the target population take it from there. Google "agitprop" for more on this. The lies can be in various directions; they don't have to be consistent. They just have to get people worked up, and preferably distrusting the government.
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
  > The Russian destabilization playbook is (and has been for decades) to sow plausible-enough-for-some-people lies, and let the rank stupidity of the target population take it from there. Google "agitprop" for more on this. They could never dream of doing as much damage spreading misinformation during a disaster than Fox News does. I'm only half kidding when I say Fox is likely studied by Russian propaganda agents.
  - downerending 7y ago
    Sad to say it, but I've caught all of the major mainstream news sites putting whoppers out there these days. If it matters, you really have to go to the source material to verify what happened. Fortunately, at least for now, this is often available.

zmoreira 7y ago

This again. No examples, just spin. I'm not sure what is going on in Russia regarding COVID, but I do remember an early full closure of borders with China, now they close entry to all foreign nationals, they are building emergency hospitals and so on. It seems they are taking this threat at least somewhat seriously. These people think we are stupid so they can continue to push this crap forever. Maybe they are right.

panpanna 7y ago
Here you go buddy: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-coronavirus/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/the-kremlin-and-disinformation-about-...
- zmoreira 7y ago
  This is ridiculous. Oriental Review and Geopolitica are niche blogs with a very small reach. We are not talking about Moon of Alabama or Unz Review size here, they are really small. How is the fact that they will post articles with all sorts of differing and not very well thought of opinions about the corona virus any indication that a Russian government campaign is going on? You go all "there you go buddy" like you are Jordan Peterson and I'm Cathy Newman, but all there is in that article is hot air. They have a crapton of links to their own pages, but what else is there besides a couple of barflies blogs? They even talk about Dugin! Dugin!! All that is missing is a reference to Potemkin villages.

gentleman11 7y ago

The Canadian government has reported the same thing, according to CBC. Their app doesn’t let me copy a link easily, but it was posted earlier this week

guenthert 7y ago

What? Are you telling me the Zombie apocalypse is not happening?

forkexec 7y ago

Watch out, the little green men are going to eat your children! And they'll infect your precious bodily fluids with fluoride! A sinister, Communist plot!