By EU vs Disinfo

The many ways pro-Kremlin media deceives and distorts

Clickbait, deliberate fabrication, exaggerations and spurious headlines are used systematically in the pro-Kremlin disinformation ecosystem to entice and manipulate readers. Neither of this is a surprise, nor a novelty in the attention-grabbing economy. What’s perhaps a little more unusual is when an article goes on to debunk its very own misleading headline.

While scrolling the news online, you can sometimes be taken aback by a headline: “What?! No, that’s not possible!”. One response is to read the article and then conclude the headline was false, or at least deceptive. Another is to exclaim with satisfaction “I knew it!” and start sharing the story on social media, unwittingly spreading disinformation in the process.

What Lies Beneath

Take this example, from the French edition of the pro-Kremlin News Front. A headline declares, “Khrushchev offered Crimea to Ukraine by lack of means, according to TheBabel”. But TheBabel, a Ukrainian media outlet, in fact writes the complete opposite. Its article (here in Ukrainian or Russian) instead debunks the myth of “Khrushchev’s gift” to Ukraine, with a description of life in Crimea, and how Khrushchev wasn’t able to take decisions by himself. News Front accurately summarises TheBabel’s story, thus also contradicting its own headline.

So, what is the motive behind writing a story that debunks its own headline?

First, social media has changed the way we consume news. More often or not, people get it on their social media timelines (rather than going to a media homepage). Here, on Twitter or Facebook for example, headlines may be deceptive and not accurately reflect the story within. But in either tugging at heartstrings or making one angry, people react emotionally and end up sharing articles they haven’t yet read.

Second, even when an article is read, the idea most likely to remain with the reader is the one that makes them feel most comfortable. The commonplace belief in the News Front headline, that of “Khrushchev’s gift”, is agreeable and reassuring.

First impressions matter

Using a short quote as a headline can also mislead, as exemplified in a News Front article in 2020 entitled, “The coronavirus pandemic will end the European Union”. The story was illustrated by the image of an EU flag divided in two. Read the article, though, and a quite different story is revealed. The Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, had written an editorial in which he said the pandemic was the greatest challenge for the EU since World War II. He also quoted the Portuguese prime minister who’d said, “Either the EU does what needs to be done or it will end.” This is quite different from the absolutist prediction of the headline. Instead of an unconditional prophecy of EU collapse, his words are a call for action to be taken to resolve the crisis.

Sometimes disinformation can be a more subtle distortion of facts. It’s been previously discussed how pro-Kremlin media promoted Sputnik V by creating the impression that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had initiated negotiations with the developer of the Russian vaccine, before an application for a rolling review was received by the EMA. Indeed a headline can change the way we read, think about and remember an article.

So, take care over headlines, which, in just a few words, can distil disinformation!

Categories of manipulative headlines:

Clickbait:

Distortion of facts to establish a cliché

Editing a quote to change its meaning, cutting out the “if”

Saying the opposite of the article

Manipulative metonymy*:

(* when an object or idea is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it.)

Definite instead of indefinite article (a variant of metonymy)

Anticipate. Present tense instead of future

Disputable conclusions drawn in the title

Exaggerated terminology

Notes

[1] Les résultats de l’étude de la diversité génétique des Ukrainiens ont été publiés.

[2] Un journaliste finlandais a raconté ce qui l’a frappée chez les Russes.

[3] Les propriétaires de chats ont été avertis d’un danger mortel

[4] Vaccino Sputnik V, l’approvazione dell’OMS potrebbe arrivare a fine giugno.

[5] Mele grandi come angurie: i racconti di chi uscì vivo da Chernobyl.

[6] Stalin llega al poder en la India

[7] ¿Quiénes son los mejor y peor valorados? La nueva ola del coronavirus pone a prueba la imagen de los líderes de América Latina

[8] Европа мстит AstraZeneca

[9] Сторонники США заговорили о закупках российского “Спутника V”

[10] В ВОЗ рассказали, когда планируют дать оценку российской вакцине “Спутник V”

[11] Меркель рассказала, когда Германия может начать заказывать вакцину “Спутник V”

[12] В Киеве планируют подвергнуть тотальной фильтрации обладателей российских паспортов

[13] Les scientifiques ont nommé cinq moyens efficaces pour améliorer le sommeil.

[14] VillagesVoici les villes et villages où l’on vit le mieux en France en 2021.

[15] Ces sept aliments sont aussi bons pour votre portefeuille que pour votre santé.

[16] Les six applications à supprimer immédiatement de votre smartphone Android.

[17] Les dix personnalités les plus puissantes du monde selon le magazine Forbes.

[18] Quei 5 sottomarini che potrebbero distruggere il mondo in 30 minuti

[19] Tre sottomarini nucleari russi sbucano dai ghiacci dell’Artico per la prima volta

[20] Le vrai danger des vaccins occidentaux Pfizer et Moderna.

[21] Russia: la maggior parte dei siriani vive in povertà a causa delle sanzioni occidentali

[22] Ai ginnasiali di Kiev consigliano di imparare le abilità delle SS

[23] Per Damasco falso rapporto Usa sui diritti umani in Siria “basato sui dati dei terroristi”

[24] Ambasciata russa a Washington ricorda la presenza americana illegale in Siria.

[25] La doble cara de la diplomacia europea.

[26] Navalni, “miembro de una Quinta Columna que actúa dentro de Rusia”

[27] Documentos filtrados por Anonymous implicarían a la BBC y a Reuters en una guerra informativa contra Rusia promovida por el Gobierno del Reino Unido

[28] Անահիտ Ավանեսյանը միտումնավոր թաքցնում է AstraZeneca-ի կողմնակի ազդեցությունները

[29] Վտանգավոր «AstraZeneca»-ով պատվաստվելը նման է ռուսական ռուլետկա խաղալուն (տեսանյութ)

[30] «AstraZeneka»-Ն ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆԻՆ ՊԱՐՏԱԴՐԵ՞Լ ԵՆ

[31] Сторонники США говорят о возможности закупок российского “Спутника V”

[32] Pfizer тримає імунітет до шести місяців, а супутник V – до двох років. Але через владу українці кращу вакцину не отримають

[33] Гинцбург рассказал, чем опасна вакцина AstraZeneca

[34] La pandémie du coronavirus mettra fin à l’Union européenne.

[35] Khrouchtchev a offert la Crimée à l’Ukraine par manque de moyen selon TheBabel.

[36] Deputato ucraino minaccia l’occupazione della Russia

[37] В Испании задержали убийцу украинских правоохранителей на «майдане»

[38] Les Britanniques font la queue pour recevoir de la nourriture gratuite.

[39] L’Allemagne a indiqué pourquoi le Spoutnik V est supérieur aux homologues occidentaux.

[40] Anuncian acuerdos con España, Italia, Francia y Alemania para producir Sputnik V

[41] Les Japonais ont reproché au gouvernement de craindre la Russie.

[42] Швеція призупиняє щеплення вакциною AstraZeneca

[43] У Данії відмовляються прищеплювати населення вакциною Johnson&Johnson

[44] Les États-Unis perdent leur leadership économique: la Chine arrive en tête.

[45] США возобновляют санкции в отношении белорусских госпредприятий

[46] L’efficacia del vaccino Pfizer diminuisce dopo sei mesi: “Necessarie altre dosi”

[47] Direttore Centro Gamaleya sicuro, vaccino russo “Sputnik V” efficace contro variante indiana

[48] Rusia devuelve duros golpes a EEUU y sus vasallos

[49] В Европе хаос, а в эпицентре “Спутник V”: западные СМИ нашли виноватого

[50] Россия предлагала помощь замерзавшим штатам, но США отказались

[51] Бондаренко: У Європі всі знають, що США зацікавлені в загостренні на Донбасі і санкціях проти РФ

[52] Новое смертельное гиперзвуковое оружие: В Великобритании испугались испытаний российской ракеты

[53] Le génocide de la population du Donbass financé par RhinoShield.

[54] ’Vicepresidente turco afferma che il termine genocidio “andrebbe utilizzato per Washington”

[55] “Política de genocidio”: EEUU presiona a otros países para que rechacen la vacuna rusa Sputnik V

[56] Хуснуллин: Россия обеспечит Крым водой без Украины, которая устроила крымчанам геноцид

[57] Украинский политик назвал водную блокаду Крыма геноцидом

By EU vs Disinfo


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