How “the Kremlin burned” and “they shot at protesters” – Saturday’s fake news from Navalnists
The State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications prepared an express analysis of fakes on the topic of rallies in support of blogger Alexei Navalny, which took place on January 23.
Kommersant writes about this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The largest concentration of false information was found on the TikTok platform, whose main audience is teenagers. The commission found 53 topics of fake messages, from which they identified the top 10: the first three places are shared by “news” about the police allowing the use of firearms against protesters, the shutdown of the Internet in Russia in connection with rallies, and the fact that Vladimir Putin allegedly approached the protesters .
In addition, the top ten includes footage from rallies of past years, passed off as fresh statements about the death of activists as a result of the actions of security forces and fake calls for protests on behalf of actor Alexander Petrov.
Deputies also found:
– edited video of the burning Kremlin;
– footage of a riot policeman providing first aid to a victim, passed off as a beating;
– videos with columns of military personnel allegedly moving around Moscow;
– messages with an inflated number of protesters;
– false reports about support for rallies by security forces.
In the latter case, we are talking about statements recorded using a service uniform and insignia.
“The committee intends to discuss the increasing incidence of bloggers impersonating security forces, defiantly tearing off their shoulder straps and announcing their resignation from service as a sign of protest,” the report says.
It is clarified that now the maximum penalty for illegally wearing a uniform “with insignia, with the symbols of state paramilitary organizations, law enforcement or regulatory authorities” is an administrative fine of 1,5 thousand rubles with confiscation of the uniform itself. Committee Chairman Alexander Khinshtein proposed increasing liability if this offense is accompanied by false statements or actions.
English version :: Read in English: How the "Kremlin burned" and "protesters were shot at" – Saturday's fakes from Navalny supporters