Commentary From Crisis Management Expert Edward Segal, Bestselling Author of the Award- Winning Book "Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies " (Nicholas Brealey)

Russia's increased and blatant use of propaganda about President Vladimir's Putin war against Ukraine is a timely reminder of the need to be vigilant about disinformation and misinformation tactics and techniques that could fool people no matter where they live.

Labeling Invasion 'A Special Military Operation'

CBS' Sunday Morning reported that, "In a broadcast on Russian state media, a television presenter said, 'Today Russia started a special military operation to protect people who have been subject to abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for the last eight years.' "The Russian military is portrayed as doing God's work—even the Russian Orthodox Church has endorsed the so-called 'special operation' as a moral imperative."

Slandering Bombing Victim As 'A Crisis Actor'

According to the Daily Beast, the Russian Embassy in the U.K. recently "...[tweeted] out a photo of woman who has become the poster person of [an] atrocity—a young, blonde, heavily pregnant woman in maternity pajamas, wrapped in a dirty blanket with blood dripping down her face.

"The embassy tried to insinuate that the woman—who has been identified as blogger Marianna Podgurskaya, according to one of the many photographers who took her photo crawling out of the rubble...was a crisis actor."

Armored Vehicle Deceit

France 24 noted that, "The image of an alleged Ukrainian armored vehicle supposedly advancing into Russian territory was also promptly and effectively debunked. The Soviet-era vehicle in the photo does not belong to the Ukrainian arsenal, according to investigators at Oryx, an open-source platform specialized in military equipment and technology. "They couldn't even get that right," said the group in a Twitter post.'"

Warning

Mike Rogers (R-MI) is a former chair of the House Intelligence Committee and founder of Leadership to Ensure the American Dream. He warned that, disinformation "..is a whole-of-government and whole-of-society challenge.  At the end of the day, we can't afford to let Putin and Russia (or any autocrat) dominate the information space and this means thinking creatively about how we identify, call-out, and stop the spread of the Kremlin's narrative, and making sure it isn't spread online or at home."

Challenges

Access

Russians face more challenges than others in distinguishing the truth from propaganda.

Liana Semchuk is a geopolitical and security analyst with Sibylline, which has studied misinformation campaigns and propaganda. She observed that, ''with many social media platforms in Russia either banned or coming under increasing pressure to take down content perceived to be anti-war, the domestic audience's ability to access alternative sources of information is becoming increasingly limited.''

Building 'On What People Already Believe'

Nick Cull is a professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California. He told CBS News that, "Propaganda rests on what people already believe, what people already think they feel, the things that they accept at their deepest level," he said.

"By alleging that Ukraine is dominated by Nazis and that it is necessary for [Putin] to repeat the historic mission of the, as it was then, the Soviet Union in defeating Nazis, this is incredibly powerful stuff to invoke," Cull said.

"What's different, Cull says, is just how many lies are being spread: 'The volume of disinformation coming out of Russia over the last four years is unprecedented.'"

Capitalizing On Beliefs

Antony Cousins, is the CEO of Factmata, an AI tech company that helps detect misinformation. He pointed out that, Russia is currently making use of Telegram and other sites with limited regulation or oversight to spread disinformation.

"They're capitalizing now on nearly ten years of work developing followers in the Covid and U.S. electoral fraud conspiracy communities, where Russian state propaganda is seen by those groups as more legitimate than it should be due to its support of two of their main beliefs—vaccines are dangerous and the election was stolen from Trump by fraud," he said.

Increased Difficulties

According to Semchuk, "… the longer the war continues, the more difficult it will likely become for those in Russia in particular to distinguish between what's real and what isn't.

"Additionally, as the war evolves, so will the Kremlin's methods to spread false information about crucial topics such as the growing number of Ukrainian refugees, for example," she said.

Advice

There are steps that individuals can take now to help avoid being a victim of disinformation and misinformation.

Be As Skeptical As Reporters

By the very nature of their jobs and training, reporters are skeptical about the information they receive from sources and are often required by their news organizations to verify facts in different ways.

Adopting that approach to what you hear and see about Putin's war against Ukraine could help ensure you do not fall victim to Russian propaganda. If a reporter would not believe something Russia said about the war—or anything else—why should you?

Some news outlets go to extra lengths to examine, analyze and verify the authenticity of videos about the invasion before deciding whether to share them with their audience.

Last year, the Washington Post listed several ways people can help verify the authenticity of views. The newspaper noted that, "People often misrepresent video during major breaking news events by posting incorrect information about where and when a video was filmed. You'll always want to verify the location of video, a task known as geolocation.

Train Yourself

Benjamin Peters is the Hazel Rogers Professor of Media, Cyber and Russian Studies at The University of Tulsa and the author of How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet.

He suggested the following:

• Train yourself to be situationally aware and not to react rashly. Not all sources are created equal.
• The thing to believe is not what most suits your personal convenience; the thing to believe is the perspective that checks our own biases against verified facts.
• When doubt, trust legitimate news institutions with a long record of checking facts and issuing corrections.
• Slow down. Put your attention in charge by reading—not watching, not scrolling through—the news and especially eye-witness-based, fact-checked independent journalism.

Washington Post staff writer Valerie Strauss recommended taking the following steps "to help you keep your footing and avoid unintentionally spreading confusion and harm."

Be Cautious And Discerning With What You Believe And Share

"Out-of-context photos and video proliferate during military conflicts and other major news events. Avoid liking and sharing any visuals that haven't been verified by credible, standards-based sources."

Familiarize Yourself With Russian Disinformation Outlets, Tactics and Narratives

"Russia has built an extensive foundation of disinformation to try to justify its military actions. Once established, these false narratives can be difficult to dislodge or trace back to their source."

Put Yourself In The Way Of Credible Information

"For all the mis- and disinformation that circulates on social media, these platforms can also be powerful tools for accessing and curating timely, credible information. Be intentional about following professional journalists on the ground, reputable news organizations and fact-checkers debunking falsehoods in real-time."

                                                           ###