Russian propagandists distribute fake news report mimicking the Ukrinform
Russian propagandists share a fake news report mimicking Ukrinform on social media networks and in the media. Ukrinform reported this on their website.
A screenshot of March 24 news item purportedly from the Ukrinform website has been shared in Russian Telegram channels, social networks such as Twitter, TikTok, Vkontakte, YouTube, as well as in mass media.
The fake news, designed to mimic the Ukrinform's layout, says that Ukraine has registered a draft bill banning taking photos and video at cemeteries, citing the Parliament's website as the source.
"This is followed by a peculiarly worded 'explanation' by some unnamed legislators that 'public coverage of the state of Ukrainian cemeteries can provide valuable intelligence information to the Russian army, as well as trigger a negative media buzz within the country itself," the media writes.
Ukrinform states that this news report is fake: "There has been no such news report on the Ukrinform website. This can be verified via the Web Machine online archive. Propagandists claim that the report was posted on March 24 at 19:24, but it is not so. On this day and time, a completely different piece of news was posted on the website," the editors note.
In addition, Ukrinform noted that since the start of the full-scale invasion, it has been writing the word "Russia" in lowercase.
"The propagandists did not take this into account and capitalized the name of their country, which also indicates this is a fake. Moreover, when reporting on draft bills, Ukrinform always indicates their number, which the Russians did not do when they made their fake," the report said.
The media also points out that such a draft bill is not to be found in the archive of draft bills registered by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Ukrinform notes that this is not the first time that Russian propagandists have forged screenshots to frame the news agency. Last time, they were spreading reports about three people dying at the "invincibility hub" in Kharkiv, with the authorities ordering the Ukrainian mass media to cover up the tragedy, but the fake news was debunked.
As the IMI reported, on March 10, a fake website imitating the online publication "Ukrainian Pravda" has appeared on the Internet. The "Ukrainian Pravda" contacted the SBU with a request to address the spread of a fake column by the journalist, military officer Pavlo Kazarin, done by unknown persons through a fake website.
In March, 2023, the editors of the RBC Ukraine filed a statement with the cyberpolice over website forgery and a fake article criticizing the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny.
On April 11, the online media Obozrevatel reported a fake website that mimics the appearance of their website and spreads false news. The media asked the Security Service of Ukraine to take appropriate action.
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