Inside the fight against Russias fake news empire Olga Yurkova
2014, July 5,
the Ukrainian army entered
Sloviansk city in eastern Ukraine.
They gathered all the locals
in Lenin Square.
Then, they organized
the public crucifixion
of the son of a pro-Russia militant.
He was only three years old.
Refugee Galina Pyshnyak told this story
to Russia’s First TV channel.
In fact, this incident never happened.
I visited Sloviansk.
There is no Lenin Square.
In reality, Galina’s husband was an active
pro-Russia militant in Donbass.
This is just one of many examples.
Ukraine has been suffering
from Russian propaganda and fake news
for four years now,
but Russia is not
the only player in this space.
Fake news is happening
all around the world.
We all know about fake news.
We see it and read it all the time.
But the thing about fake news
is that we don’t always know
what is fake and what is real,
but we base our decisions on facts
we get from the press and social media.
When facts are false,
decisions are wrong.
A lot of people
stop believing anyone at all
and this is even more dangerous.
They easily become prey
to populists in elections,
or even take up arms.
Fake news is not only bad for journalism.
It’s a threat for democracy and society.
Four years ago, unmarked soldiers
entered the Crimean Peninsula,
and at the same time,
Russian media was going crazy
with fake news about Ukraine.
So a group of journalists, including me,
started a website
to investigate this fake news.
We called it StopFake.
The idea was simple:
take a piece of news,
check it with verifiable proof
like photos, videos
and other strong evidence.
If it turns out to be fake,
we put it on our website.
Now, StopFake is an informational hub
which analyzes propaganda
in all its phases.
We have 11 language versions,
we have millions of views,
We have taught more than 10,000 people
how to distinguish true from false.
And we teach fact checkers
all around the world.
StopFake has uncovered
more than 1,000 fakes about Ukraine.
We’ve identified 18 narratives
created using this fake news,
such as Ukraine is a fascist state,
a failed state,
a state run by a junta who came to power
as a result of a coup d’état.
We proved that it’s not bad journalism;
it’s a deliberate act of misinformation.
Fake news is a powerful weapon
in information warfare,
but there is something we can do about it.
We all have smartphones.
When we see something interesting,
it’s often automatic.
We just click and pass it along.
But how can you
not be a part of fake news?
First, if it’s too dramatic,
too emotional, too clickbait,
then it’s very likely that it isn’t true.
The truth is boring sometimes.
(Laughter)
Manipulations are always sexy.
They are designed to captivate you.
Do your research.
This is the second point, very simple.
Look at other sites.
Check out alternative news sources.
Google names, addresses,
license plates, experts and authors.
Don’t just believe, check.
It’s the only way
to stop this culture of fake news.
This information warfare
is not only about fake news.
Our society depends on trust:
trust in our institutions,
in science,
trust in our leaders,
trust in our news outlets.
And it’s on us to find a way
to rebuild trust,
because fake news destroys it.
So ask yourself,
what have you lost your faith in?
Where has trust been ruined for you?
And what are you going to do about it?
Thank you.
(Applause)