The groundwork for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday was seeded by a mass disinformation campaign that continues to be ongoing as the conflict escalates.
As the pretext of the invasion, pro-Russian online disinformation campaigners flooded the Internet with images and videos depicting Ukraine as aggressors.
This tactic has continued as Russia launched its full-blown military invasion, attacking Ukrainian cities and military sites by air, land and sea. Their efforts have been promptly dismantled by experts and fact-checkers; however, the sheer volume of disinformation in media reporting and social media means it is still a pressing problem.
So how is this disinformation campaign being carried out and what can you do to make sure you are not sharing false information?
There have been three main unsubstantiated claims used as a justification for the military action by Russia, according to a report by the European Expert Association - a research group that focuses on security in Ukraine - and the technology watchdog group Reset Tech.
This report was independently evaluated by the Global Disinformation Index, a non-profit research group, at the request of the New York Times who said it appears to be reliable.
One of these claims was that Ukraine was preparing an attack on Donbas.
"It [the claim] was the biggest disinformation campaign that I have ever seen," Maria Avdeeva, the Ukrainian founder and research director of the...
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