The Russia-Ukraine Crisis: The Importance of Fact-Checking
As the war in Ukraine continues to get more violent, global involvement has become crucial to understanding the cause, implications, and possible outcomes of this war. As a Ukrainian, I have been exposed to a slew of media from the Ukrainian perspective of ongoing events, from bombings of my parent’s childhood neighborhoods to videos of troops marching down the streets that my aunt sends to my family. Throughout, I’ve been cognizant that the information I have seen on the crisis has been very one-sided. As time went on, I began to wonder for myself the reality of what was going on. What do the people of Russia think? What are they being exposed to? How are they feeling?
After watching video upon video of Russian news, social media posts, and reactions, it has become clear to me that the nation is split in half. A large portion of the Russian population seems to be enraged at how their president is acting, angry at the prices in their local supermarkets almost tripling in price, and/or frustrated that flights to see their loved ones are being canceled. However, the other half seems to believe that what Vladimir Putin is putting into action is what is best for the country, and that they are saving Russian separatists from oppression in Ukraine.
What does this say about the influence of the media in today’s society? How can one tweet, broadcast, or text change somebody’s opinion on the necessity of war? Well, the answer lies within one’s ability to check their sources. When we are in doubt about whether information is true, our first thought is to check the news. We are told from a young age that a website with ‘.gov’ at the end of it is trustworthy, and that the News app is the most reliable place to look. Currently, in Russia, this belief is causing thousands of people to be misinformed. With a spree of censorship laws being enacted over the past few weeks, the ability to stay informed for the population is becoming increasingly difficult. Instagram has been shut down throughout the country, facebook is being regarded as an ‘extremist media’ due to the opinions on there, and people who spread what the government considers ‘fake’ news can be imprisoned for up to 15 years. Countries around the world– the U.S., England, France, Poland– are choosing to back Ukraine after examining both sides’ motives. But when you’re a citizen of the offensive country within an authoritarian context with state-supported media, there is little you can do to understand the situation based on the one-sided information available.
Here is a video I found (translated to English) of a broadcast by Vladimir Putin two days ago. In it, he describes the Ukrainian people as ‘nazis who abuse people’.
Following, here is a video from VICE News, an American news station, that covers what is happening in Ukraine. The highlight of this video, in this case, is from around 3:51 to 6:07, where a man on the VICE team interviews Ukrainian citizens on their thoughts about the war.
As you can see, the speech that Putin gave to his country and the way that he describes his attacks is vastly different from what is actually happening, and what the Ukrainian people are experiencing. In addition, while Putin spreads misinformation about the oppression of Russians and russian-speaking people in Ukraine, we hear that one of the people being interviewed by VICE is speaking the Russian language, facing not oppression by the Ukrainian people but rather fighting with them against the invaders.
This crisis brings into perspective the importance of being critically conscious of the media that we as a society ingest in the United States every day. As people are brought together under difficult circumstances, it is twice as important to make sure that what we read, watch, or listen to is unbiased and taken straight from the source. I believe that witnessing the events of this war and possibly even feeling its effects should be enough to persuade both ourselves and the people around us to begin educating ourselves on the importance of ‘healthy skepticism’ and avoiding gullibility when it comes to political affairs. Without being able to check and diversify sources, our right to be informed would be at stake. Amidst the challenges, with social media and the internet being so prevalent in our lives, the ability to google a video from the opposite point of view has become significantly easier. Thus, the reality is this: we can’t control what people choose to say, but we can control who we listen to.
Kristina Kianovski is a junior in Staten Island Technical High School. She has always been passionate about writing and advocating against social justice issues in her community. She hopes to one day pursue a career in law, and in her free time can be found writing, painting, or dancing.