False narratives surrounding Russia's invasion of Ukraine are increasing and extend far beyond the bounds of Russia-controlled state media, according to new research from NewsGuard first shared with Axios.

Why it matters: Though Russian state-media has faced widespread de-platforming, many shady think tanks, anonymous websites and other outlets can easily continue to spread misinformation about the war.

• OneWorld.press, for example, is a website that bills itself as a “Global Think Tank,” but doesn't disclose ownership, funding or control. It continues to regularly publish falsehoods supporting Russian disinformation and NewsGuard notes that the site's internet domain was registered in Moscow.

By the numbers: Misinformation about the invasion is on the rise, both in terms of the number of false claims being spread and the amount of outlets actively posting misinformation.

• NewsGuard has identified 172 distinct sites that continuously spread disinformation about the war, including a number of anonymous websites, foundations and research websites with uncertain funding. That's 48% more than the organization had tracked as of March 3.
• The number of specific myths being tracked by NewsGuard has also risen. It more than doubled to 23 false claims, the organization said.
• Among the sites, English is the most common language. It's used by 61 sites, followed by 33 sites in French, 20 in German and 16 in Italian.
• Spanish-language misinformation related to the conflict has also...

Read Full Story: https://www.axios.com/ukraine-misinformation-is-spreading-and-not-just-from-r...