Disinfo: A new Union of Journalists for "independent media" established in Finland

Summary

A new Union of Journalists for alternative – a better description would be independent– media established in Finland.

Disproof

The context: The actual Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF), www.journalistiliitto.fi, , has nearly 15 000 members who work for the print media, broadcasting, publishing and new communications media. It is an independent trade union that negotiates collective bargaining agreements. It works to further the financial, social and professional standing of its members, both salaried and freelancers. The union does not belong to but cooperates with trade union confederations. The copycat NGO has been registered officially within the Finnish Register of Associations in 2016 with the name "Suomen vapaa sana riippumaton toimittajayhdistys ry". However, this Union imitates the UJF URL address (www.journalistiliitto.com), . Vice-chair of the copycat organisation is also MV-lehti's editor-in-chief, a Finn who resided for years in occupied Donetsk and ran a propaganda media operation there. In the "About" section of the website the war in Ukraine is described as a "civil war", which is recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation. See the archived version of the web page here. Twitter has suspended the account of the copycat organisation. Further background by journalist Laura Halminen and more on an earlier similar operation targeting the Helsinki Hybrid CoE.

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mv-lehti.net (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 177
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/12/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Finnish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Finland
  • Keywords: Media
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Disinfo: Lawyers refused to defend Ukraine in international court

No lawyers have yet agreed to defend Ukraine at the hearings at the international public tribunal for the incident in the Kerch Strait.

Dec 16, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the Kerch Strait incident. The tribunal in question is actually a local event in Crimea. Ukrainian lawyers refuse to participate in it, as it has no legal ground. There are no other formal legal proceedings between Ukraine and Russia other than the case in the UN International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. At a meeting in Hamburg on 25 May 2019, the UN Court ordered Russia to immediately release the 24 captured Ukrainian sailors, as well as return the Berdyansk, Nikopol, and Yani Kapu warships to Ukraine.

Disinfo: NATO and EU are actively fabricating Russophobia in the Baltic States to justify their anti-Russian policies

The interests of the NATO and EU powers in the Baltic States are determined by the geographical situation and the possibilities to use the Baltic States as a disruptive factor against peaceful conditions of cooperation and understanding in the region and in neighbourly relations with Russia. The powers of NATO and the EU are actively interfering in the shaping of internal relations of the Baltic States; their focus is on the creation of “fear of the Baltic towards the Russians”. This fear can be instrumentalised externally for the goals of the NATO and EU powers for the control of Baltic States against Russia. An enemy image of Russia is created. The effect on the cultivation of Russophobia is achieved through the systematic fomenting of internal political contrasts between different nationalities. The Western powers need this atmosphere of fear and instability to justify their anti-Russian policies. Especially after the accession of the Baltic states to NATO and the EU, the West has shown that it is determined to further develop this geographical area on Russia’s western borders and to actively use it for its geopolitical goals. The nature of these measures, as well as the military-political steps, show that its policy towards Russia is increasingly degenerating towards military confrontation. For the Baltic Sea and its neighbours and for Europe, this means increasing militarisation and the danger of war.

Dec 16, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobia in Lithuania and the Baltic States. Also consistent with a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO encircling Russia. For more than two decades, NATO has worked to build a partnership with Russia, developing dialogue and practical cooperation in areas of common interest. Cooperation has been suspended since 2014 in response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine but political and military channels of communication remain open. Concerns about Russia’s continued destabilising pattern of military activities and aggressive rhetoric go well beyond Ukraine. Read more about NATO - Russia relations here. See similar pro-Kremlin disinformation cases: "Russophobia is the main export of Lithuania", NATO is closing in on Russia's borders; The European foreign policy is determined by a group of Russophobes controlled from US.

Disinfo: Poroshenko was the epitome of the 'War Party', which instigated the war in Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not belong to the ‘War Party’, while Petro Poroshenko was the epitome of the ‘War Party’, which instigated the war in the East of Ukraine and caused the bloodshed of the Ukrainians.

Dec 16, 2019
Disproof

No evidence is given that Ukrainian leaders like Petro Poroshenko are to blame for the 13,000 deaths recorded to date in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In fact, it was Russia who violated Ukraine's territorial integrity by the illegal annexation of Crimea and supported and armed separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that "the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government".