Fact Check Ukraine's News Before Posting on Social Media

Russia Ukraine War: Thousands of individuals have seen inaccurate, altered, or fake information about the crisis on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Telegram amid the horrifying images of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in recent days.

Visuals are a particularly effective alternative for people looking to deceive because of their persuasive potential and attention-grabbing nature. When inauthentic visual content is created, edited, or shared for reasons other than satire or art, it is frequently for political or commercial reasons.

Also Read: US Bans Import of Russian Oil and Gas

Disinformation campaigns are designed to divert attention, mislead people, influence them, and sow division, strife, and confusion in the community. This is a popular technique for extremely polarised countries with widespread socioeconomic inequality, disenfranchisement, and propaganda.

How is fake content created and circulated? What is being done to disprove it, and how can you avoid falling prey to it?

What are the most popular deception methods?

One of the most common forms of misrepresentation in this context is the use of an existing photo or video and stating that it came from a different period or place. This does not necessitate any special software or technological expertise; all that is required is the willingness to upload an old film of a missile attack or other compelling image and represent it as new footage.

Another low-tech alternative is to arrange or pose movements or events and show them as if they were happening in real life. This was the case with the destroyed cars that Russia claimed Ukraine had bombed.

Using a specific lens or vantage point can also alter the appearance of a scene and be used to deceive. When compared to an overhead image, a close-up shot of individuals might make it difficult to estimate the number of people in a throng.

Furthermore, Photoshop or similar software can be used to add or delete people or objects from a scene, as well as crop parts of a shot. The shot below, which pretends to show building machinery near a kindergarten in eastern Ukraine, is an example of object addition. The satirical text that accompanies the image makes a joke about the "calibre of the construction machines," implying that allegations of building damage caused by military ordinance are exaggerated or false.

A photograph was digitally manipulated to incorporate the machinery, according to a closer examination. This tweet could be interpreted as an attempt to minimise the damage caused by a Russian-backed missile attack, as well as to raise doubts about the credibility of other photographs arriving from the battle zone.

What steps are being taken to address this issue?

Bellingcat and other European organisations have begun compiling a list of dubious social media claims concerning the Russia-Ukraine crisis and debunking them as needed.

Journalists and fact-checkers are also working to verify content and educate the public about known fakes. Misinformation is also being called out by large, well-resourced news organisations like the BBC.

New labels have been introduced to social media platforms to identify state-run media outlets or to provide more background information about sources or others in your network who have also shared a story.

They've also changed their algorithms to adjust which content is amplified, and they've paid people to spot and flag deceptive content. Behind the scenes, platforms are working to detect and openly disclose information on state-linked information operations.

What can one do about it?

Rather than taking photos at face value, you might try to fact-check them for yourself. In an article we produced for the Australian Associated Press late last year, we explained the fact-checking procedure at each level of the image creation, editing, and distribution process.

Here are five easy steps to follow:

Look over the metadata.

According to this Telegram post, Polish-speaking saboteurs attempted to plant a chlorine tank at a sewage facility as part of a "false flag" attack.

However, the video's metadata, information about how and when it was made, indicates that it was shot days before the purported incident.

You can analyse metadata for yourself by downloading the file and examining it using applications like Adobe Photoshop or Bridge. There are also online metadata viewers that allow you to check using the image's web link.

One stumbling block to this strategy is that when photographs and videos are uploaded to social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, the information is frequently stripped from them. In these circumstances, you can request the original file or check fact-checking websites to discover if the footage in question has already been verified or refuted.

Use a fact-checking service.

The fact-checking teams at the Australian Associated Press, RMIT/ABC, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and Bellingcat keep track of how many fact-checks they've done.

The AFP has already debunked a video purporting to portray an explosion from the present Ukraine conflict as being from the 2020 Beirut port tragedy.

Expand your search.

If previous content has been recycled and repurposed, you might be able to locate the same footage being utilised elsewhere. You may "reverse image search" a photo using Google Images or TinEye to find where else it appears online.

However, minor modifications such as reversing an image's left-right orientation can deceive search engines into thinking the flipped image is fresh.

Keep an eye out for inconsistencies.

Does the claimed time of day, for example, match the direction of light you'd expect at that time? Do the visible watches or clocks in the image correlate to the stated timeline?

You can also try to triangulate allegations by comparing other data sources, such as politicians' schedules or verifiable sightings, Google Earth vision, or Google Maps images, to determine if the specifics are consistent.

Pose some simple questions to yourself.

Do you know where the photo or video was taken, when it was taken, and why it was taken? Do you know who created it, and are you sure you're looking at the original?

Some of these questions may be answered using internet programmes like InVID or Forensically. Alternatively, you may utilise this list of 20 questions to "interrogate" social media footage with a healthy dose of scepticism.

Finally, if you're unsure, don't post or repeat allegations that haven't been verified by a trustworthy source, such as a major news outlet. Also, when determining which sources to trust, try applying some of these concepts.

By doing so, you can help limit the impact of misinformation and clarify the genuine situation in Ukraine.