‘Fake news’ claims not only a problem in Russia

Following the daily news from Ukraine has been a trying experience during the past few weeks.

Seeing the video footage of residential buildings being destroyed by Russian missiles and the anguish of more than a million people having to flee their country for safety is heart-wrenching and has not been seen in Europe since the end of the Second World War.

With Russia being a major world power with a large nuclear arsenal, Western nations have not responded with weapons to avoid escalating the situation. Instead, they are relying on economic sanctions to put pressure on the Russians to cease this invasion.

While it's easy to focus on the physical war that's being waged, we also need to be aware of the information war that is underlying this conflict and will play a major role in this conflict and others in the future.

There has been a lot of discussion in our society about the dangers of disinformation and the divisions which have been sown in our communities by this process. Many people now get their information from social media and there has been a concerted effort in some sectors to malign the mainstream media – remember Donald Trump's constant attacks against the media? – and portray them as being biased and inaccurate. The present situation in Ukraine is a case in point of what can happen when independent media is prevented from giving accurate information.

While we in the Western world have been presented with horrifying footage of Russia's

aggression against its independent neighbour, the people of Russia are being told a different story. Russia recently passed a new censorship law, allowing for up to 15 years in prison for news organizations that distribute "fake news" about the war in Ukraine, including calling it a war.

To be clear, "fake news" is anything not officially approved by Moscow, including Putin's bizarre claim that he is trying to prevent the Nazification of Ukraine at the hands of its Jewish leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.

This law has effectively shuttered any semblance of independent journalism among Russian news organizations and has forced Western news groups to pull out of Russia altogether or stop broadcasting from the country to avoid imprisonment.

The only narrative the Russian people will hear is Putin's opinion on what the facts are, regardless of how bizarre or outlandish. It allows the people to be manipulated into believing that they are "rescuing" Ukraine and there will be no voice to challenge this assertion with actual facts.

There was a campaign of misinformation that preceded the beginning of this war, a present campaign of misinformation that will only accelerate with the passage of a law that essentially criminalizes independent journalism, and the disinformation will continue unabated once the war ends. This is the bigger war that is being waged against us and, while we must focus on the present crises in Ukraine, it is vital that we also take steps to recognize and address the erosion of the truth that represents an even bigger threat to our freedom and our democracies.

It is a sad irony that those who are responsible for disinformation are the first to cry "fake news;" we need to aware of those in our own society who use the same tactics.

One of the foundations of democracy is a free and independent press and it's clear this is presently under attack in our society. We are not immune from this in Canada; we need only remember the verbal abuse hurled at members of the media trying to cover the recent convoy protest in Ottawa to see how it is beginning to take root.

Like any competent carpenter will tell you, once the foundation begins to crumble, the house is at high risk of collapsing. As we attempt to stand in support of Ukrainians as they fight for their freedom, we should be thankful for our independent media for ensuring their struggle is being recognized by ourselves and the rest of the world.