and integrity, in an era where social media pushes for hot takes and instant sensationalism. For example, when it was all but certain to most of the public that the Russian flagship Moskva had sunk, numerous western outlets still only reported it was on fire, until it could be officially confirmed the ship was lost. “We understand that the Russian aggressor is waging war on the information front line as well,” says Tregobchuk. “When the enemy realised they were losing on the battlefield, the amount of inaccurate intelligence increased significantly. “The first thing we do is pay attention to the source. If no source is mentioned, that’s already a reason to question its credibility. All of our information related to the hostilities and losses comes from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Office of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. “For example,” Tregobchuk continues, “if the enemy hits a certain target, we first call the spokesperson for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, who either confirms this information or immediately refutes it. If we need facts about the scale of damage or the number of dead and injured, that comes from the rescue service workers and police. And we use various tools to check photo fakes.” In the west, cybersecurity and the information war are regularly treated as different disciplines, but in Russia these are often coordinated and run by the same department. 1+1 has already encountered several Russian attacks on its systems, maintaining a situationally aware IT team that repels the attempts and continually monitors the company’s security.
UNDER FIRE Oleksandr Zahorodny (below) was one of three journalists caught in a
Russian cluster bomb attack in Donetsk Oblast
of these was Vladimir Putin’s insistence that he was liberating Ukraine from fascists. When these information attacks are piled one on top of the other across multiple outlets – often inflammatory and contradictory – the information space can collapse very quickly. As a result, the international press has been particularly diligent about fact-checking incidents and reports before going public. Declarations and battlefield speculations from both sides are treated carefully until they can be independently verified. This is a process that takes dedication IF NO SOURCE IS MENTIONED, THAT’S A REASON TO QUESTION ITS CREDIBILITY
@feedzinesocial
Powered by FlippingBook