Report: Russian Disinformation Spreading Widely Online

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Report: Russian Disinformation Spreading Widely Online

Russian disinformation is spreading fast and wide on the internet even though major Russian news organizations remain banned in some countries.

A new report finds the Russian government has been able to get around the bans by finding new places online to publish its desired messaging.

The report was based on information collected by NewsGuard, a New York-based company that studies and follows online disinformation activity.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the European Union (EU) moved to block two of Russia's top state-controlled media companies, RT and Sputnik. RT is an international television network and Sputnik is a news agency.

In addition, Google announced at the start of the war that it was blocking the YouTube channels in Europe for RT and Sputnik. And Meta also took action to block the two Russian media companies from its Facebook and Instagram services across the EU.

But now, NewsGuard says Russia has found ways to keep publishing the same kind of disinformation on a number of other websites.

The group said in its report it had identified 250 websites that are actively² spreading Russian disinformation about the war. Many new sites were added in recent months, NewsGuard reports.

Among the claims appearing on the websites was an accusation³ that Ukraine's army had staged some deadly Russian attacks in an effort to increase international support. Another report claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was faking public appearances. And another reported that Ukrainian refugees⁴ were carrying out crimes in Germany and Poland.

Some of the sites describe themselves as independent think tanks or news services. About half of the websites are English-language, while others are in French, German or Italian. Many were set up long before the war and were not directly tied to the Russian government before.

"They may be establishing sleeper⁵ sites," said NewsGuard co-CEO Gordon Crovitz. Sleeper sites are websites created for disinformation campaigns. They are designed to slowly build a following by putting out general news before beginning to publish propaganda⁶ or disinformation later on.

NewsGuard's study found that much of the disinformation about the war in Ukraine is coming from Russia. But it also found cases of false claims that took pro-Ukrainian positions. Those included claims about a heroic Ukrainian fighter pilot known as the Ghost of Kyiv that later turned out to be false.

Stronger moderation measures for social media content could make it harder for Russia to get around the bans, said Felix Kartte. He is an adviser⁷ at Reset⁸, a British nonprofit that supports efforts to fight online disinformation.

"Rather than putting effective content moderation systems in place, they are playing whack-a-mole with (Russia's) disinformation apparatus⁹," Kartte said.

EU officials are continuing to take action aimed at reducing the flood of disinformation. Earlier this year, the EU approved legislation¹⁰ that would require technology companies to do more to identify and block disinformation. Companies that fail in those efforts could face large fines.

Last month, European Commission¹¹ Vice¹ President Vera Jourova called disinformation "a growing problem in the EU" and said "stronger measures" were needed to deal with the problem.

Words in This Story

stage – v. to produce or cause to happen for public view or public effect

fake¹² – adj. false, not true

think tank – n. a group of people who advise the government or organizations about particular subjects

moderate – v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken

whack-a-mole – n. a game in which players use wooden mallets to hit toy moles¹³ that appear at random¹⁴ in holes

apparatus – n. a set of equipment or tools used for a particular purpose

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

4 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

5 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

6 propaganda   

n.宣传，宣传机构

参考例句：

• A lot of propaganda has painted him as bad.大量宣传把他说得很坏。
• Art may be used as a vehicle for propaganda.艺术可以用作为宣传的媒介。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

9 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

10 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

11 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

12 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。

13 moles   

防波堤( mole的名词复数 )； 鼹鼠； 痣； 间谍

参考例句：

• Unsightly moles can be removed surgically. 不雅观的痣可以手术去除。
• Two moles of epoxy react with one mole of A-1100. 两个克分子环氧与一个克分子A－1100反应。

14 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。