War on Fakes

Russian disinformation website

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War on Fakes

Founded	23 February 2022
Owner	Timofey Vasiliev
URL	waronfakes.com

War on Fakes is a Russian website and associated Telegram channels^[1] which claims to fact check news about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has been identified as a purveyor of Russian propaganda and disinformation about the invasion.

History

According to the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research (DFR) Lab, the War on Fakes website's original Russian version and Telegram channel were registered on 23 February 2022, the day before the invasion of Ukraine. The English website was registered on 1 March. As of 9 March, the Telegram channel had over 625,000 subscribers and was one of the most viewed Telegram channels in Russia, with over 30 million views.^[2]

A March 2023 investigation by Logically, a British disinformation analysis organisation, found that Timofey Vasiliev, a former Russian journalist, is behind War on Fakes.^[3]^[4] Vasiliev previously worked as a "citizen journalist" for various pro-Kremlin news organisations.^[4]

Disinformation

A review of the website's purported fact checks by PolitiFact in August 2022 found that they were pieces of disinformation that relied on well-known techniques used in Russian propaganda to confuse readers trying to learn about the war in Ukraine.^[5] In February 2023, Roman Osadchuk of the Atlantic Council's DFR Lab said that War on Fakes had "become a powerhouse of spreading false debunks", adding, "It works primarily because fact-checking usually serves for readers as an 'authoritative' source to seek 'objective information.'"^[6] War on Fakes has been promoted by the Russian government on its social media accounts,^[2]^[6] and by Russian state media outlet RT.^[2]

References

^ "Tactical Media Room | Weaponized OSINT: The New Kremlin-Sponsored Participatory Propaganda". networkcultures.org. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wesolowski, Kathrin; Baig, Rachel (9 March 2022). "How one 'fact-checking' site spreads Russian propaganda". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ Walter, Kyle; Backovic, Nick. "Russian Propaganda Disguised as Fact Checking". Logically. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b Bergengruen, Vera (15 March 2023). "The Man Behind One Of Russia's Most Popular Propaganda Channels". Time. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ Romero, Luiz (8 August 2022). "How 'War on Fakes' uses fact-checking to spread pro-Russia propaganda". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Fake 'fact-checks' seek to obscure Russian role in war". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 16 February 2023. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.