Disinfo: Facebook will start hunting Russians

Summary

Soon Facebook will follow the example of colleagues on Twitter and begin to flag potentially harmful posts. Mark Zuckerberg is violating freedom of speech and is preparing to introduce an actual censorship of Facebook. Russia should immediately start defending itself against this censorship or otherwise Russian users will be persecuted and every pro-Russian, i.e. problematic opinion will be hushed.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin conspiracies on social media and the West's alleged censorship. Also consistent with the narrative that Western media are anti-Russian and promote Russophobia. This disinformation narrative is a reaction to Mark Zuckerberg's recent statement, that Facebook will label harmful content. This possible change to Facebook policy is not directed against any particular country. Zuckerberg said that the company will ban ads and remove content, even from a politician, if Facebook determines that it incites violence or suppresses voting. Facebook also became the target of a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign earlier this month. On June 4, Facebook announced that it would label media outlets that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government. In response, pro-Kremlin media exploited the message that Facebook introduced its own censorship against Russia and China. See similar disinformation cases connected to Facebook - Google and Facebook manipulate information to destroy Russia; Facebook is a project of the Soros Foundation, financed by National Security Agency; Facebook is in the service of the US State Department.

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sputnik-abkhazia.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 203
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 28/06/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Russia
  • Keywords: Facebook, Censorship, Mark Zuckerberg, Freedom of speech
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Disinfo: EU imposed sanctions after MH17 was shot down, but provided no evidence of Russia's liability

The EU imposed sanctions for the first time after the MH17 passenger plane was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014 (without providing any evidence of Russia’s liability). The boycott is aimed at Russian state-owned banks, arms import and export, and the oil and gas industry.

Jun 27, 2020
Disproof

This is a disinformation claim about the downing of Flight MH17, for which Russia is responsible according to the international investigation, and misrepresents the history and causes of the EU’s sanctions on Russia. The first EU sanctions against Russia were introduced on 17 March 2014, before MH17 was shot down. The first bans and asset freezes against persons involved in actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity followed Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea. Later, in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in eastern Ukraine, the EU imposed economic sanctions in July 2014 and reinforced them in September 2014. In March 2015, the European Council linked the duration of those economic restrictions to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements. The Dutch-led criminal investigation by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been ongoing since 2014. The results of the investigation of the Joint Investigation Team are clear: flight MH17 was shot down by a missile from the 9M38 series, which was launched by the BUK TELAR system. The system was transported from the Russian Federation to an agricultural field near the city of Pervomaiskiy in eastern Ukraine, from where the rocket was launched. After firing, the system with one missing missile returned to the Russian Federation. On May 24 2018, JIT announced in its conclusion that the Buk belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, a unit of the Russian armed forces in Kursk, Russian Federation. The public hearing of the criminal trial over the downing of the flight MH17 started on 9 March 2020 in the Netherlands. On the basis of the investigation conducted by the JIT, consisting of law enforcement agencies from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Ukraine and the Netherlands, the Dutch Public Persecution service is prosecuting Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin, Sergey Nikolayevich Dubinskiy, Oleg Yuldashevich Pulatov and Leonid Volodymyrovych Kharchenko for causing the MH17 crash and murdering the 298 persons on board. The Public Prosecution Service alleges that the four individuals cooperated to obtain and deploy the BUK TELAR at the firing location with the aim of shooting down an aircraft. For that reason, they can also be held jointly accountable for downing of flight MH17. You can find other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation on the MH17 case in our database, such as claims that JIT tampered with the evidence; that the plane was not downed by a BUK missile, but rather by a Ukrainian fighter; that the plane crash was triggered by an explosion on board; that the trial in The Hague is not justice but information warfare; that the irrefutable evidence of Russia’s innocence is being rejected; or that both the MH17 and the Skripal cases are anti-Russian provocations.

Disinfo: Poland is becoming more like a US and NATO hostage

The more active the United States and NATO are in stuffing Poland with new combat units and military equipment, the more Poland will be held hostage to the American and adventurous anti-Russian NATO bloc plans.

Jun 27, 2020
Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about NATO belligerence towards Russia and Russophobia.

The deployment of NATO troops in Poland increases the domestic security of Poland – two-thirds of the Poles have a positive opinion about NATO's activities.

Disinfo: 9/11: The WTC7 building was blown up

Then comes, of course, 9/11 and that’s still a big disruption. It was annoying that the events of September 11, 2001, were not clarified. There is the opinion that WTC7 was blown up. This is based on a new study by the University of Alaska, which has really examined the building in great detail.

Jun 27, 2020
Disproof

This is a conspiracy theory, no evidence was presented. It relays a recurring narrative that suggests the US government's involvement in the 9/11 attacks. The 9/11 conspiracy theories have been refuted several times including by the “9-11 Commission" conducted by the US legislators. See other examples of this exact narrative here, here and here.