Lithuanian Armed Forces Representative: Empty coffins are also used to spread disinformation about the pandemic



[ad_1]

Head of the Department of Strategic Communication of the Lithuanian Armed Forces According to Mažvydas Kunevičius, specialist and representative of SAM on disinformation management issues during quarantine, the coronavirus crisis, like other events of global importance, activated the creators of liars .

“The coronavirus is relevant to everyone in the world, so this period has become a great breeding ground for the development and dissemination of melons. The most important thing we must do to limit this spread is not to give in to emotions, share information responsibly and carefully check and verify its sources, ”advises M. Kunevičius.

According to him, the context of the coronavirus is exploited in the creation of liars on various topics, one of the most common being the desire to discredit the government and the state. “It is about instilling in people the idea that our young state, which is on the right path, is worth nothing. Lithuania is generally compared to other countries and is shown as an increasingly worse situation.

By the way, regarding the origin of the liars, in our country most of the misleading information is disseminated in Russian, citing Russian sources, “said the interlocutor, who will share his experience in handling disinformation during the pandemic on Thursday. at the National Center for Public Health Have we gotten stronger?

Promotes mistrust of the state

A military spokesman says the Liars are being built for different purposes. Some of them are directly related to the coronavirus: They have a very specific effect, for example, making people dissatisfied with government decisions. Alternatively, the coronavirus is used as a tool to address strategic problems at the state level.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, several virus-related melaggenes were created, including the wearing of masks, and medical concepts or ailments were not conceived, such as people inhaling too much CO2 while wearing masks, leading to poisoning. Doctors said this It was not the case, but the liars were successfully spreading all over the world.

An excellent example of strategic misinformation could be Russia’s humanitarian aid to Italy. Now we know that the measures sent were of poor quality, but behind this action was the message that the European Union (EU) is not rescuing its own, and here is Russia extending a helping hand, despite the fact that the EU is imposing sanctions. The message achieved its goal because many people in Europe were outraged that the EU was waiting and not helping one of its members, ”says M. Kunevičius.

According to him, although the least resistant to melalgia are more easily emotionally vulnerable, angry people in power, people with various pain, but no one is protected. “Education, wisdom, foresight will never fully protect a person, because each of us has our weaknesses, vulnerable areas and misinformation covers a large number of topics and aspects,” says the specialist.

Reliable sources must be followed

The disinformation management specialist identifies cases where actual visual material from one context is used in another as one of the most interesting methodologies for creating melagus.

“I got stuck with an empty coffin box. Some time ago in Brazil, it was discovered that funeral companies were burying empty caskets for profit illegally. And one of those photos was useful for disinformation disseminators in the context of the coronavirus – It was used to illustrate the lie that the government around the world is lying about the number of people dying, scaring us with mass graves and burying empty coffins, ”says Kunevičius.

When asked how to distinguish melagon from fact, the specialist emphasizes verification of the information. According to him, it is necessary to check whether the published message is also published by other reliable information channels, major news portals or newspapers.

“Of course, there are cases with the famous melancholy of the return of the dolphins to Venice, when even the great information portals are clogged. However, the basic rule of thumb when evaluating a story is to find out if other reliable sources are also publishing similar information. I would also advise against believing what is written on social media: they are not a reliable source of information.

At the end of the day, if students used social networks as a source of information when writing their work, such a step would not be justified, so they go to libraries and read scientific literature ”, smiles the army representative.

Don’t write what you wouldn’t say

Equally important for the verification of information is the publication of records on social networks and the exchange of information observed on the Internet. “If we create posts or share them without considering whether this is really true, we contribute to the spread of misinformation.

People must take responsibility for what they write and share on social media. Posting posts on social media is the same as saying a text out loud in front of hundreds of people. If you don’t dare to say that from the stage, don’t write it down or share it on social media ”, advises M. Kunevičius.

The specialist recalls that social networks have mechanisms to report liars, hate speech or other inappropriate content, so any user can report suspicious accounts, comments or publications.



[ad_2]