Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
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ICONO 14, Revista de comunicación y tecnologías emergentes, 21(1), 2023. ISSN: 1697-8293
https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943
Artículos
Disinformation and war. Verification of false
images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
Desinformación y guerra. Verificación de
las imágenes falsas sobre el conflicto ruso-
ucraniano
Desinformação e guerra. Verificação de imagens
falsas do conflito russo-ucraniano
1
David García-Marín *
1
Guiomar Salvat-Martinrey **
1
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
*
Assistant Professor at the Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication, Faculty of Communication
Sciences
**
Associate Professor PhD at the Department of Journalism and Corporate Communication, Faculty of Communication
Sciences
Received: 02/09/2022; Revised: 27/10/2022; Accepted: 28/12/2022; Published: 03/03/2023
Translation to English: Brian O´Halloran
To cite this article: García-Marín, David; & Salvat-Martinrey, Guiomar. (2023). Disinformation and war. Verification of
false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. ICONO 14. Scientific Journal of Communication and Emerging Technologies,
21(1). https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943
ICONO 14 es editada por: Francisco García (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España) y Manuel Gertrudix (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (España) bajo una licencia de licencia de
Creative Commons Reconocimiento 4.0 Internacional.Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine the visual disinformation produced in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, analyze its international scope, study the reaction of fact-checking journalism and compare the disinformation strategies adopted by both contenders. A descriptive and inferential statistical quantitative research of the fake visual content verified by fact-checkers between January and April 2022 was conducted. The results confirm the dominance of the strategy based on false context, the relevance of Facebook and Twitter in the distribution of fake news, and the production of an increased number of fake images during the two weeks following the invasion. The most frequent narratives are those consisting of false decisions and military attacks that seek to impute atrocities and war crimes to the opposing side. Pro-Russian visual disinformation makes greater use of fabricated content. If the concentration of messages on a few platforms is the logic that characterizes the Ukrainian disinformation, Russia utilizes a more expansive strategy by using a greater variety of media to spread their narratives. Stories about fake attacks are more usual in Ukrainian visual disinformation. Fake news stories about the international community's reaction to the Russian attack are more prevalent in pro-Kremlin disinformation. It is also observed that as the conflict progresses, fake content from the Ukrainian side is less frequent, while Russian disinformation increases in proportion. Keywords: Visual disinformation; Hybrid war; Fact-checking; Russia; Ukraine; Fake news Resumen El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo caracterizar la desinformación visual producida en el marco de la guerra ruso-ucraniana, analizar su alcance internacional, conocer la reacción del periodismo de verificación y comparar las estrategias desinformativas de ambos bandos. Se realizó un estudio cuantitativo estadístico descriptivo e inferencial de todo el contenido falso visual comprobado por las entidades internacionales de verificación entre enero y abril de 2022. Los resultados confirman el predominio de la estrategia del falso contexto, la centralidad de Facebook y Twitter en la distribución de información falsa y una mayor presión desinformativa durante las dos semanas posteriores a la invasión. Dominan la escena las narrativas consistentes en falsas decisiones y ataques militares que pretenden imputar al bando contrario la comisión de atrocidades y crímenes de guerra. La desinformación visual prorrusa hace mayor uso del contenido inventado. Si la concentración de los mensajes en pocas plataformas es la lógica que caracteriza al bando ucranio, desde el lado ruso se observa una estrategia más expansiva al utilizar mayor variedad de medios para distribuir sus narrativas. Los relatos sobre falsos ataques son más frecuentes desde Ucrania, mientras que las noticias falsas sobre la reacción de la comunidad internacional ante el ataque ruso son más prevalentes en la desinformación favorable a Moscú. Se corrobora también que conforme avanza la contienda, el contenido fake del lado ucraniano es menos frecuente, a la vez que la desinformación rusa aumenta su proporción. Palabras clave: Desinformación visual; Guerra híbrida; Fact-checking; Rusia; Ucrania; Fake news 2 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943
Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho é caracterizar a desinformação visual produzida no contexto da guerra russo-ucraniana, analisar seu alcance internacional, conhecer a reação do jornalismo de verificação de fatos e comparar as estratégias de desinformação de ambos os lados. Foi realizado um estudo estatístico quantitativo descritivo e inferencial de todo conteúdo visual falso comprovado por verificadores de fatos entre janeiro e abril de 2022. Os resultados confirmam o domínio da estratégia do falso contexto, a centralidade do Facebook e do Twitter na distribuição de informações falsas e o aumento da pressão desinformadora durante as duas semanas seguintes à invasão. Narrativas que consistem em falsas decisões militares e ataques que procuram imputar atrocidades e crimes de guerra ao lado adversário dominam a cena. A desinformação visual pró-russa faz maior uso do conteúdo fabricado. Se a concentração de mensagens em algumas plataformas é a lógica que caracteriza o lado ucraniano, uma estratégia mais expansiva é observada no lado russo, que utiliza uma maior variedade de meios de comunicação para distribuir suas narrativas. As histórias de ataques falsos são mais freqüentes na desinformação visual ucraniana. As falsas notícias sobre a reação da comunidade internacional ao ataque russo são mais prevalecentes na desinformação pró Moscou. Também é corroborado que à medida que o conflito avança, o conteúdo falso do lado ucraniano é menos freqüente, enquanto a desinformação russa aumenta em proporção. Palavras-chave: Desinformação visual; Guerra híbrida; Verificação de fatos; Rússia; Ucrânia; Notícias falsas 1. Introduction On February 24, 2022, the Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, thus starting the first European war of the XXI century and the first armed conflict on the continent in the current era of disinformation, an aspect which has once again become a major element in the propaganda of the struggle. In this regard, “propaganda techniques have always tended to ease the furthering of the idea of war rather than that of peace” (Thompson, 1999, p. 11). This relationship between armed conflicts, propaganda and disinformation has been widely documented, especially since the First World War. That conflict marked the commencement of the systematic development of censorship and the utilization of information for warlike ends, a strategy that has since “acquired the rank of real science” (Pizarroso Quintero, 2005, p. 30). The combatant countries’ newspapers took up positions of support for their armies in order to propagate fake news that “eluded defeatism to meet the goal of raising the soldiers’ morale and counteracting war-weariness in public opinion” (Pérez-Ruiz & Aguilar-Gutiérrez, 2019, p. 104). Disinformation campaigns went as far as to generate denigrating stories about the enemy side, giving rise to what has been termed ‘atrocity propaganda’ (Robertson, 2014). Several authors have focused their attention on the use of propaganda in armed conflicts from before the XX century. Pizarroso Quintero (2008) analysed Spanish and French press Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943 3
coverage of the Peninsular War (1808-1814), placing Napoleon as a master of the art of
propaganda. Wartime disinformation has made intense use of the visual media available at
the time in order to further its aims. The work of López Torán (2022) looked closely at British
manipulation techniques through the use of photography from the battlefront during the
Crimean War between 1853 and 1856. Other studies have focused on the use of film as an
instrument of propaganda, particularly during the Second World War, in efforts to “provide
public opinion with a distorted vision of what was happening on the field of battle” (Díaz
Benítez, 2013, p. 53).
In this area, fake news is configured as an essential component of the hybrid war
being waged by Russia, consistent in its current form with the use of “disinformation as a
weapon of war and the social networks as infinite trenches” (Morejón-Llamas et al., 2022,
p. 2). Russian disinformation strategies in the XX century have been widely studied using
generic approaches by, among others, Pupcenoks & Seltzer (2021) and Jankowicz (2020).
Such techniques have developed parallel to the technological developments applied to
communication. According to Colom-Piella (2020), the methods currently adopted by the
Kremlin’s disinformation campaigns are both diverse and complex. On one hand, they
are based on the dissemination of false or manipulated news, as well as the diffusion of
illegally-obtained personal information in order to weaken internal and external political
adversaries. Online media and platforms in different languages are also utilised to favour
the country’s international image. Furthermore, the massive use of clandestine media for
disinformation, via webs or blogs for the propagation of invented stories or conspiracy
theories, has been documented. Such blogs operate on the Internet with the aim of
enhancing the reach of false content through groups of hackers, trolls (Van der Vet, 2021)
and automated bots acting on the social networks.
These strategies have reached into numerous Western countries. There have been
several studies analysing Russian interference in the US elections in 2016 (Inkster, 2016;
Ziegler, 2018; Hjorth & Adler-Nissen, 2019). The European Union has also been a frequent
objective (Magdin, 2020), especially countries such as the UK (Richards, 2021), the Czech
Republic and Slovakia (Rechtik & Mares, 2021) and Spain, where a large part of the
destabilising operations promoted by the Russian media conglomerate has been focused
on the issue of Catalan independence (López-Olano & Fenoll, 2019).
1.1. Russia against Ukraine: the (dis)information war
However, due to its geopolitical aspects, Ukraine has been the main objective of
the Kremlin’s modern disinformation strategies. Pro-Russian disinformation concerning
Ukraine has been studied by, among others, Golovchenko et al. (2018), Erlich & Garner
(2021) and Erlich et al. (2022). Campaigns based on propaganda and malicious information
have been established since at least the time of the Euromaidan disturbances in 2013 and
Russia’s occupation of the Crimean Peninsula (2014), this last territory being the object of
a historical dispute between the two countries.
4 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
Ukrainian responses to the Russian information war were initially slow, but intensified
after 2014 with the limitation, sanction and direct prohibition of Russian media. In 2015,
Ukraine cut its analogue cable connections with Russia, these having permitted Kremlin-
aligned media to reach the Ukrainian population.
The volume of false information relative to the conflict with Ukraine increased in the
weeks leading up to the invasion in February 2022, with videos of false Ukrainian attacks
on Russian objectives in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk (Russian Analytical
Digest, 2022). For its part, Ukraine has launched its own information campaigns to
counteract the pro-Russian version and spread narratives that favour its interests. As part
of this effort to transfer the conflict to the information arena, President Volodimir Zelenski
has emerged as an essential actor in the field of communication through the recording of
daily videos striving to unify the country, give legitimacy to his actions within the framework
of the armed conflict and gain the support of the international community. Zelenski has
participated in the fight against fake news concerning his whereabouts, posting videos of
himself moving through the streets of Kyiv.
It is in this context of the production of prodigious amounts of fake content that
we see the emergence of fact-checking journalism dedicated to the checking of any
false news in circulation, especially, in the digital world, through the implementation
of collaborative projects promoted by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).
International cooperation by fact-checkers grew during the infodemic provoked by Covid-19
and has been reinforced by the Russian-Ukrainian War. The #UkraineFacts project, which
brings refutations relative to the war together on a single website (https://ukrainefacts.org),
came into being in light of the speed with which disinformation about the conflict is spread,
its international distribution moving faster than that observed for disinformation about the
pandemic. Another difference from the health crisis is the predomination of image-based
fake news, as almost all the hoaxes checked worldwide take a visual format (photographs,
photomontages, memes, screen-shots and videos). This paper is focused on the study of
visual disinformation by the two countries locked in this conflict and the corresponding
response by fact-checking agencies.
2. Methodology
2.1. Objectives and hypotheses
This study sets out the following objectives:
• O1. Characterise the visual disinformation related to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict
produced and checked during the first four months of 2022.
• O2. Find the international reach of that content by the quantification of the number
of countries where each of the hoaxes produced and checked had circulated.
Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943 5• O3. Analyse the reaction of the international fact-checking agencies from the time
taken to check the false images related to the war.
• O4. Compare the disinformation strategies of the two sides in the conflict (Russia vs.
Ukraine).
A large part of the fake content which the fact-checkers look at is based on the
decontextualised utilisation of photos and videos, as well as fragments from series, films
or videogames shared as if they were real (Morejón-Llamas et al., 2022). Due to the ease
with which visual items are produced, false visual content is used particularly commonly
in strategic disinformation utilising fake contexts (Salaverría et al., 2020;
Rodríguez-Pérez, 2021). Thus, our first hypothesis (H1) asserts that fake context is the
commonest information disorder in the fake images associated with the conflict.
Numerous studies into the taxonomy of the disinformation related to Covid-19 show that
social networks are the chief means of disinformation distribution. Specifically, Facebook
is pointed to as the channel where the highest proportion of fake news on the pandemic
was circulated (Sánchez-Duarte & Magallón-Rosa, 2020; Herrero-Diz et al., 2020;
Noain-Sánchez, 2021). Thus Hypothesis 2 (H2) asserts that Facebook was the most
commonly used platform for the propagation of visual disinformation at the beginning of
the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Hypothesis 3 (H3) determines that the highest intensity of disinformation occurred at
the beginning of the armed conflict, coinciding with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (the last
week of February and the first fortnight of March). This hypothesis is based on studies such
as that of García-Marín & Merino-Ortego (2022) into Covid-19, which shows a relationship
between the production of a greater proportion of disinformation and the early moments
of the health crisis.
As noted in the previous epigraph, Russia has a noted track record in the utilisation of
hybrid war strategies employing disinformation to destabilise the domestic and foreign
policy of certain western powers. Apart from the studies previously mentioned, these
campaigns have been widely documented and analysed by, among others, Doroshenko &
Lukito (2021), Alieva et al. (2022), and Innes & Dawson (2022). Therefore, Hypothesis 4 (H4)
propounds that the number of pro-Russian items of disinformation favouring the Kremlin’s
interests is greater than the disinformation in favour of Ukraine.
Hypothesis 5 (H5) observes the swift reaction of fact-checkers to Russo-Ukrainian
disinformation. A priori, it is estimated that these agencies take no more than 6 days to
perform and post their verification. This estimation is based on previous studies which
conclude that the average checking time for disinformation (the time passing between
publication and the refutation posted by the fact-checkers) was 5.42 days at the beginning
of the Covid-19 crisis. As a secondary hypothesis related to H5, it is established that
there are no significant differences in the checking time for the disinformation of the two
opposing sides (H5a).
6 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
In their study of fake news produced in the framework of the Catalan conflict caused
by the October 1, 2017 referendum, Aparici et al. (2019) conclude that the two sides
involved in the crisis (unionists and independentists) employed different disinformation
stratagems to get their ideological frameworks across to the population. While the
unionists were observed to create a greater proportion of fake news on webs and blogs,
hoaxes spread on social networks were more frequent from the independentists. Along
the same lines, Hypothesis 6 (H6) affirms that the Russians and Ukrainians adopted
different disinformation strategies. The diverging models include the utilization of different
information disorders (H6a), dissimilar platforms (H6b), narratives adapted to the agenda
of each side (H6c) and different timing (H6d).
It can be appreciated that the first four hypotheses (H1-H4) relate to O1, concerning the
characterisation of visual disinformation about the conflict. H5 is related to O3, about the
time required by fact-checkers to check false content. Finally, H6 is related to O4, concerning
the comparison of the two sides’ disinformation strategies on fake visual images. Image
1 synthesises the relationship between the objectives and hypotheses, as well as the
scientific literature that supports them.
Image 1. Correlation of objectives and hypotheses
Source: created by the authors
Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943 72.2. Research design
In order to confirm these hypotheses, an exclusively quantitative study was performed
of all the visual disinformation gathered and checked on the data base of the collaborative
fact-checking project #UkraineFacts. No sampling took place, but all of the corpus
corresponding to the object of the study over the chosen time period was examined. The
timeframe established was from January to April 2022, these being the months of the
conflict with the greatest intensity of disinformation. From May onwards, fact-checking and
the posting of refutations by the collective project was considerably reduced (31 checks in
May, 30 in June, 15 in July and only 1 in August). A total of 326 false images were analysed
by the application of the code book shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Code book
Source: adaptation of Wardle (2019) & Brennen et al. (2020)
8 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
2.3. Data analysis
The study was based on descriptive and inferential statistics. As is the common practice
in studies grounded on inferential statistical methods, in order to decide on the execution
of parametric or non-parametric calculations, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was applied,
with Lilliefors’s correction of statistical significance, to the two quantitative variables. The
test observed an absence of normality in the value distribution in both the “Number of
countries” variable [D(326)=.225, p24 to 28), making that last week in February the week with most checks. The second most
active week was the first week of March (n=51), followed by the second week of the same
month (n=34). From the third week of March, there was no instance of a week with over 25
items checked. The amount of fake news fell considerably in April to only 45 items (13.80%).
According to this data, we can confirm the validity of H3.
False stories of military attacks or decisions represent 28.22% of the sample. Fake
reactions by the people affected (19.01%) constitute the second most prominent narrative
category. Those narratives that distort or degrade the image of certain key actors or
collectives in the conflict are in third (15.95%). After these groups, we find fake reactions by
the international community to acts by the two sides (12.57%).
Photographs or static images (51.53%) are slightly more frequent than video
disinformation (48.46%). Pro-Russian visual content (49.07%) is more prevalent than
images in favour of Ukraine (or against Russian interests), which make up 44.78% of the
sample. In percentage terms, pro-Russian checked content is 4.29 percent higher than the
figure for disinformation favouring the Ukrainian agenda, a figure that validates H4.
Finally, each item of disinformation regarding the conflict was detected and checked
during the months analysed in an average of 5.94 countries (DT=5.67), allowing the
affirmation that each of these false images circulated in, at least, 6 countries on average
(O2). Regarding O3, the fact-checking agencies that make up the IFCN took an average of
4.57 days to check the items in question (DT=5.78), which confirms H5.
Table 2. Descriptive statistics (frequencies) of the disinformation relative to
the conflict between Russia and Ukraine between January and April, 2022
Source: created by the authors
10 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
3.2. Spread of disinformation
In order to achieve greater granularity in the data on the geographical propagation of
visual disinformation concerning the conflict (an aspect related to O2), an analysis was
performed of the association between the number of countries in which the fake news was
distributed (dependent variable) and the following independent variables: (1) information
disorders, (2) distribution platforms, (3) narratives, (4) months of diffusion and (5) the
intention behind the disinformation (in favour of the Russian or Ukrainian agenda) (Table 3).
Fake news based on identity theft of individuals or media outlets is the type of
information disorder spread over the largest number of countries (M=7.52), followed by
invented content (M=6.15) and fake context (M=5.89). Kruskal-Wallis tests determined the
absence of significant differences between the values of the categories of this variable
[H(4)=3.551, p=.616].
Disinformation disseminated via Twitter (M=7.06) achieved greater propagation than
content distributed by other platforms, TikTok being the social media service with the
second greatest reach (M=6.50). Nor were statistically significant deviations observed in the
number of countries where the disinformation circulated in terms of the platform utilised
[H (7) =7.512, p=.378].
False narratives that strive to offer a denigrating or distorted image of key individuals or
collectives involved in the conflict (M=6.92) and fake military attacks or decisions (M=6.65)
are the stories broadcast in the greatest number of countries, although relevant differences
are not observed between the varying narrative categories [H (6) =8.624, p=.196].
The highest circulation of visual disinformation among countries took place in February
(M=7.47), with a progressive decrease over the following months. In March, disinformation
about the conflict was detected in an average of 5.17 countries, while the average registered
in April was 4.58. In this case, highly relevant differences were detected in the number of
countries reached in terms of when the fake image was produced [H(3)=14.854, p=.005].
Disinformation being published in February was associated (though with low intensity)
with its propagation in a greater number of countries and, therefore, greater reach
(rho(323)=.183, pTable 3. Average and standard deviation in the number of countries where disinformation was checked
Source: created by the authors
3.3. Fact-checkers' reaction. Analysis of verification time
Regarding O3, the fact-checking agencies which make up the IFCN reacted swiftly to the
volume of disinformation generated over the first months of the conflict. As mentioned
above, the average time to check the content included in the sample was 4.57 days, less
than the 6 days proposed in H5. Identity theft is the information disorder that registers the
12 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict longest checking time (M=8.33) ahead of invented content (M=4.74) (Table 4). Fact-checkers’ speed in checking false contexts (the most common content) is worthy of mention, it being the type of information disorder which requires least time to check (M=4.13). Note that the figure relative to imitation is not considered, due to its extremely low frequency. Noteworthy differences in checking times relative to the type of disinformation were not observed [H(4)=4.624, p=.328]. The amount of time dedicated to checking content on Facebook is relevant (M=5.20), being far more than that needed to check Twitter messages (M=3.89). In this sense, major deviations were detected in the time required to check images on the various platforms [H(7)=24.900, p
Table 4. Average and standard deviation of checking time
Source: created by the authors
3.4. Differentiated disinformation strategies
This study observes notable differences in the characterisation of the two sides’ visual
disinformation, which implies that each of them has adopted different disinformation
strategies (O4). Such divergence is established in (1) the type of information disorder, (2)
14 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
the use of differentiated distribution strategies (platforms), (3) the utilisation of distinct
narratives and (4) the timing of the production of fake news.
3.4.1. Information disorders
Ukrainian disinformation can be seen to employ a larger number of false contexts,
as 72.60% of the misleading images in Kyiv’s favour fall into that category, as opposed
to the 56.25% of the Russian images (Table 5). However, Russia utilises twice as much
invented content (26.25%) as Ukraine (13.70%). Statistical tests of the hypotheses utilising
2
chi-squared distribution tests confirm these differences [X (4, N=306) = 11.185, p=.025].
According to these figures, H6a is validated.
3.4.2. Platforms
Ukrainian disinformation makes greater use of Facebook (59.59%), being 10 points above
Russian use (49.68%). The Russians employ web pages and blogs more frequently (5.66%).
Practically all the false images favourable to Ukraine are distributed on Facebook and
Twitter. These two platforms make up 92.46% of Ukrainian content. If the concentration of
messages on a small number of platforms is the logic characterising the Ukrainian side, a
more expansive strategy can be seen on the Russian side, employing a greater variety of
media. Russian fake news on the two major platforms –Facebook and Twitter– represents
78.61%, 13.85 percent less than that of Ukraine. The chi-squared tests verify the differences
2
in the two sides’ distribution strategies [X (7, N=305) = 16.204, p=.023], which serves to
confirm H6b.
3.4.3. Narratives
The largest divergences are found in the utilisation of homegrown narratives adapted
2
to each country’s agenda [X (6, N=306) = 38.481, p(25.00% against 6.85% by the Ukrainians), in order to associate Zelenski (Image 2) with drug
consumption or to position the Ukrainian people close to neo-Nazi postulations.
Image 2. False narrative denigrating the Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski
Source: Maldita.es
3.4.4. Timing
There are also highly relevant differences regarding the prevalence of the two sides’
2
visual disinformation in each of the months analysed [X (3, N=306) = 25.810, pDisinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
Table 5. Comparison of the disinformation from the two sides
Source: created by the authors
4. Discussion and conclusions
This study joins the existing literature on war propaganda which has, as indicated in the
opening section, been utilising the available visual media for decades, at each historical
moment, to achieve its objectives. Fake images related to the Russo-Ukrainian conflict –
Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943 17distributed in previous wars as photographs, film or TV– are currently propagated by social networks, with Facebook and Twitter as the principal channels. The data gathered confirms the results of previous studies which show the power of fake context as a preferential visual disinformation strategy (Salaverría et al., 2020; Rodríguez- Pérez, 2021), the predominant use of Facebook as a distribution platform (Sánchez-Duarte and Magallón-Rosa, 2020; Herrero-Diz et al., 2020; Noain-Sánchez, 2021), the greater frequency of false content at the beginning of the crisis —in this case, the days immediately after the commencement of the invasion— (García-Marín & Merino-Ortego, 2022), fact- checkers’ swift response and the utilisation of different strategies by the two sides in their disinformation output (Aparici et al., 2019). The low prevalence of fake military results as a narrative is worthy of note. Historically, the use of war propaganda to exaggerate one’s successes and minimise one’s losses in order to raise domestic morale has been abundant. The low frequency of this narrative category suggests that disinformation in this context may be addressed more towards foreign audiences, with two possible objectives: (1) to discredit the enemy’s image abroad by attributing atrocities, the disproportionate use of force or war crimes (2) to offer a false image of international support for your position in the conflict. A certain balance can be seen in the number of checks performed on the two sides, though it cannot be determined if that reflects similar volumes of disinformation from both countries or rather that such equilibrium is fruit of fact-checkers’ efforts to check the same number of fake news items coming from the two sides. This aspect derives from the main limitation of studies of this type which, clearly, do not analyse the disinformation produced but that which has been detected and tested by the fact-checkers. Therefore, there may be under-representation of content flowing through private instant messaging services such as WhatsApp or Telegram, sometimes undetectable for fact-checkers. Utilisation of deepfakes is scarce —all but inexistent—, despite the concern such misleading videos have provoked. Quite the opposite, use of ‘cheapfakes’ still predominates (Paris & Donovan, 2019), these being “hoaxes created by users from the functions of their mobile devices, crude manipulation of pre-existing files or the simple addition of text to alter the original meaning of shared messages” (Gamir-Ríos & Tarullo, 2022, p. 98), their high frequency being due to their proven efficacy and low technical difficulty (Fazio, 2020). One of the main contributions of this study is in determining the differences in the visual disinformation coming from the two sides. Pro-Russian fake news makes greater use of invented content and employs a larger number of distribution platforms. Fake stories of attacks are more common from Ukraine, while fake news about the international community’s reaction to the Russian attack is more frequent in the disinformation favourable to Moscow. Significant differences can also be observed in the timing of disinformation: as the conflict has developed, Ukrainian fake news is less frequent, while Russian disinformation has grown in proportion. 18 Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943
Disinformation and war. Verification of false images about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict This study allows the profiling of types of malicious visual content which gained greater international circulation at the beginning of the conflict, as well as characterization of disinformation which was more quickly checked. Content based on identity theft, be that of individuals or media outlets, is the type of information disorder propagated in the largest number of countries. Narratives that seek to offer a distorted image of key persons or actors in the war had greater international propagation, as did visual disinformation shared on Twitter, that favouring Russian interests and that distributed during the days before the conflict started (the last week of February). As for the time required for checks, fact-checkers were swifter with fake contexts, disinformation propagated via Twitter, that distributed in February, that favourable to Ukraine and stories of non-military decisions. The data on fact-checking times shows fact-checkers’ effectiveness in testing fake content. The quick reaction of these agencies was fundamental in debunking hoaxes before they were taken to be true by a large part of the population. Nevertheless, authors such as Wardle (2019) question what the ideal moment for posting checks is, as, should they be published too soon, the fact-checker may actually contribute to the propagation of the misleading fact. Finally, it is worth noting the considerable increase in checking times as the conflict has gone on, and, paradoxically, the volume of disinformation has diminished. Future studies should confirm this tendency (also observed in the Covid-19 infodemic) and discern what could be the cause: whether it derives from a more complex production of fake news as the conflict has unfolded or if, on the contrary, it is the consequence of lesser attention being paid to disinformation related to the conflict which, over the months, has become less important in the daily activities of the fact-checking entities. Authors’ contribution David García-Marín: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Visualization, Writing- original draft. Guiomar Salvat- Martinrey: Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Writing- review and editing. All authors have read and agree with the published version of the manuscript. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Funding This work is supported by the Jean Monnet Chair EUDFAKE: EU, disinformation, and fake news (Call 2019 – 610538-EPP1-2019-1-ES-EPPJMO-CHAIR) funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Commission. Icono14 |Enero-Junio 2023 Volumen 21 N° 1 | ISSN: 1697-8293 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v21i1.1943 19
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