Language:

See all Disinfo Cases - Detail

Disinfo: Ukraine turns into a police state

Summary

Judging by the Kyiv’s decision to register Ukrainian users of Russian social networks, Ukraine intends to build a police state

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about censorship and Ukraine, connected with the ban of Russian social network "Vkontakte".

In fact, the decision to register all the users of Vkontakte in Ukraine is only a proposition and it will be discussed during the next six months.

The National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine notes that the activation of Russian social networks before the elections may pose a threat to the country's national security. Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Serhiy Demedyuk says that the activation of Vkontakte is not happening to provide the user with access to the social network without using additional services to bypass the sanctions, but to collect information about the citizens of Ukraine, spread disinformation and to influence and manipulate public opinion.

In 2019, Freedom House published a report on Internet freedom in various countries. Ukraine is assessed in it as a “partially free country” (56 out of 100 points), while Russia is “not free” (31 out of 100 points).

Go to search

publication/media

vz.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 215
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 01/10/2020
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Police, social media, Censorship, Abandoned Ukraine

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

see more

Lithuania blackmails Ukraine with a loss of visa-free travel

Today, the biggest Lithuanian enthusiasts of Ukraine’s “European choice” are happy to participate in the blackmailing of Ukrainians, suggesting that they could lose visa-free access to the European Union – the only good thing that Ukraine received from its choice.

October 12, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine and its relations with the EU.

The disinformation claim appeared in the context of an open letter from three members of the European Parliament to the head of the Servant of the People faction David Arakhamia, in which they called on the Ukrainian authorities to reinvigorate the anti-corruption reforms. The letter explicitly states that:

Extremists and Nazis are being trained in Ukraine to act in Belarus

Minsk faces a threat coming from its southern border: Nazi battalions and camps for extremists, who are being trained in Ukraine with the goal of worsening the situation in Belarus. Their purpose is to carry out blunt actions during the weekend demonstrations there. The camps are in the region of Dnipropetrovsk and Volyn.

October 12, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative framing popular protests as Western-backed colour revolutions, in this case portraying massive mobilisations in Belarus as a destabilisation effort orchestrated from abroad. No evidence is provided to support the allegations. Despite the unfounded claims about foreign-trained extremist infiltrators, protests in Belarus remained mostly peaceful, with violence coming mainly from the Belarusian police and authorities.

See other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives in Belarus, such as claims that the EU reaction to Lukashenko’s victory is an example of Western double standards; that the same lack of democracy and repression is present in EU countries criticising them in Minsk; that the Ukrainian secret services may have planned terrorist attacks in Belarusian territory; that the West wants to prepare another Maidan in the country; or that Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians are one single nation.

The US is on the verge of a civil war, and militias are only a reaction against government abuse

The US is on the verge of a civil war, as shown by the case of 13 members of a militia called Wolverine Watchmen, who are accused of conspiring to kidnap the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Top democrats, including Whitmer and Joe Biden, tried to blame Trump for it, but the events in Michigan were not an expression of crazed white supremacy, but a matter of abuse of power by the government and the feeling of frustration among a population segment who thinks that there is little, if anything, that they can do about it.

October 12, 2020
Disproof

Recurrent disinformation narrative about the United States consistent with a narrative on the imminent collapse of the Western society.

Contrary to the claim, the Wolverine Watchmen is an extremist group who aspired to cause a civil war in the US through violent action that involved kidnapping or even killing top US officials, not a reaction against alleged governmental abuses.

See other examples of disinformation on US politics in our database, such as claims that Donald Trump faced several coup attempts, that Joe Biden refused to condemn street violence out of fear of losing electoral weight, that the CIA is organising a colour revolution in its own country, or that the result of the US election doesn’t matter because the real ruler is the Deep State.