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Most in US fear Ukraine war misinformation

misinformation

A majority of U.S. adults say misinformation around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major problem, the Russian government’s spread of lies and deceit, coupled with two sides, one in supports of Ukraine and its plight, and the other who believe the Russian propaganda. Misleading social media posts, fake pictures or videos and propagandized headlines have proliferated on websites, from TikTok to Facebook, since Russia’s assault on Ukraine began. As reported by the AP:

About three-quarters of the American public fault the Russian government for advancing misinformation around the war

WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of U.S. adults say misinformation around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major problem, and they largely fault the Russian government for spreading those falsehoods.

FILE – Ukrainian soldiers collect multiple Russian ‘Uragan’ missiles after recent fights in the village of Berezivka, Ukraine, April 21, 2022. A majority of U.S. adults say misinformation around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major problem, and they largely fault the Russian government for spreading those falsehoods. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 61% of Americans say the spread of misinformation about the war is a major problem, with only 7% saying it’s not a problem. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 61% of people in the United States say the spread of misinformation about the war is a major problem, with only 7% saying it’s not a problem. Older adults were more likely to identify the wartime misinformation as an issue, with 44% of those under 30 calling it a problem, compared with 65% of those 30 or older.

Soldiers walk amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Misleading social media posts, fake pictures or videos and propagandized headlines have proliferated on websites, from TikTok to Facebook, since Russia’s assault on Ukraine began in February. In recent weeks, Russian state media and social media accounts have operated in lockstep to push tweets, TV reports and posts that claim photos of bombed buildings and bodies across Ukraine have been staged or faked. Even well-meaning, everyday social media users have fallen victim to the falsehoods, accidentally sharing or liking posts and images that turned out to be inaccurate.

About three-quarters of the American public fault the Russian government for advancing misinformation around the war, while many also blame social media users, tech companies and the news media. Far fewer place a great deal of blame on the Ukrainian or U.S. governments.

A new AP-NORC poll finds three-quarters of Americans say the Russian government bears significant responsibility for misinformation about the war, but about 6 in 10 also say social media users are largely to blame.

Russia’s falsehoods about the war are finding millions of eyeballs across social media and in state-media reports. Earlier this month, for example, a chorus of Kremlin media reports, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and Telegram channels tried to refute photographs and satellite images of bodies left by Russian soldiers in the streets of Bucha, Ukraine, by calling the images a “hoax.”

“Russia’s reach is broad,” said Darren Linvill, a Clemson University professor who studies disinformation. “They have a lot of different outlets that they use — everything from state media, in Russian, English and especially Spanish.”

Europe's
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, April 1, 2022. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The poll shows a majority of U.S. residents, about 57%, say they think Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed Russian troops to commit war crimes, while 6% say they think he has not done so. An additional 36% say they don’t know enough to say.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the AP and the PBS series “Frontline” have verified evidence of 178 potential war crimes.

The poll shows about 6 in 10 Americans say social media users have significant responsibility for the spread of misinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Roughly half also fault social media companies and the news media.

ukraine
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with independent Russian news media from Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Retiree Kellie Carroll, 58, who lives outside Fresno, California, said she is sometimes frustrated by social media users who share posts about the Russia-Ukraine war but don’t cite the source of their information.

“You’ll see things that people are stating as fact, like they are there,” Carroll said of posts she’s seen on social media around the war.

Carroll, who watches local news and listens to conservative talk radio, added that she, too, finds fault with news reporting on the war. She described it as difficult to find news reports around the war that are not injected with opinion.

“I don’t want the opinions, I just want the facts,” she said.

FILE – People walk past a crater from the explosion in Mira Avenue (Avenue of Peace) in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 13, 2022. Russia is bracing up for a massive new offensive in eastern Ukraine, hoping to reverse its fortunes on the battlefield after a catastrophic start of the invasion. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Half of Americans also blame the Chinese government, which has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, for spreading misinformation around the war.

Indeed, China’s state-run media outlets have made at least 74 English-language Facebook posts referencing a conspiracy theory that the U.S. is running secret biological warfare labs in Ukraine that have intentionally released deadly viruses, according to a new report from NewsGuard, a technology firm that monitors misinformation. (The U.S. runs biolabs in Ukraine. It’s not a secret, and they’re not crafting bioweapons there.)

FILE – The icons of Facebook and WhatsApp are seen on an iPhone in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Nov. 15, 2018. The cellphones of six Palestinian human rights activists were infected with spyware from the notorious Israeli hacker-for-hire company NSO Group as early as July 2020, a security researcher discovered just days before Israel’s defense minister branded some of their employers terrorist organizations. Facebook has sued NSO Group over the use of a somewhat similar exploit that allegedly intruded via its globally popular encrypted WhatsApp messaging app. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

“A lot of this is definitely geared toward the United States,” said Jack Brewster, an analyst for the firm. “They’re echoing the same talking points that Russia is.”

Somewhat fewer blame the spread of war misinformation on U.S. politicians, with 44% saying they bear significant responsibility and 32% saying the same about the U.S. government.

Three dug graves are ready for the next funerals at the cemetery in Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Roger Beaulieu, a 66-year-old New Yorker, said the Russian government is responsible for much of the misinformation around the war. But he’s been surprised when he reads The New York Times or watches MSNBC or CNN to see what he describes as misinformation coming from some Republican lawmakers about the war. Beaulieu specifically mentioned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who last month said that Ukraine invited Russia’s invasion by “poking the bear.”

FILE – In the courtyard of their house, Vlad, 6, stands near the grave of his mother, who died, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. Vlad’s mother died last month when the family was forced to shelter in a basement during the occupation by the Russian army. The family still doesn’t know what illness caused her death. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

“It just seems that there’s more support for Russia than I can possibly understand,” Beaulieu said.

Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans say Russia has a large share of responsibility for spreading misinformation, and 70% of Democrats along with 55% of Republicans say Putin has directed Russian troops to commit war crimes. About a quarter of Democrats and roughly a third of Republicans say they don’t know.

Ukrainian soldiers examine destroyed Russian military vehicles following a battle in Bucha, close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. Russia is facing a fresh wave of condemnation after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of dozens if not hundreds of civilians in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

But Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say social media companies (63% vs. 50%), the news media (61% vs. 38%) and politicians in the U.S. (52% vs. 38%) also bear a significant amount of blame for misinformation about the war.

Russia
Firefighters drive towards a fire at a factory after a Russian attack in the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, April 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

About a quarter of Americans overall said the Ukrainian government is significantly responsible for the spread of misinformation. Republicans were more likely to say the Ukrainian government had significant blame for spreading misinformation than Democrats, 32% to 15%. About 4 in 10 Americans say the Ukrainian government has little responsibility for the spread of misinformation.

By AMANDA SEITZ and HANNAH FINGERHUT

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