War on Truth

Citizen journalism – reporting by self-taught people, often on the ground – can play a vital role in the coverage of conflict. However, not everyone who contributes to this coverage is as 'independent' as they’d like their followers to believe.Roddy’s distrust of the media led him to start his own podcast. He also follows self-styled citizen journalists who are roaming arou

On the first day of the war, Ukraine gained a new patriotic hero and Tetyana thought she had lost a son. But the story wasn't quite as it first seemed.Tetyana’s son, Roman became world famous for defiantly swearing at a Russian warship which had threatened to bomb him and his fellow border guards on Snake Island, if they didn’t surrender.A recording of the exchange went viral a

After Russia’s first independent radio station was taken off air by the Kremlin, the journalists who worked there are finding ways to get round censorship of the war in Ukraine.Sergei Buntman helped to found Echo of Moscow which for more than three decades provided an alternative to the news on Russian state media.In the days following the invasion of Ukraine, his radio station a

Marianna Vishegirskaya is the pregnant woman who has unwittingly found herself at the centre of one of the most disputed events of the war.In a previous episode we looked at how Russia falsely accused her of helping fake photos of the aftermath of its attack on a maternity hospital, in which at least three people were killed.But now Marianna has told her side of the story, after es

What does the invasion of Ukraine have in common with the coronavirus pandemic?On the face of it not much at all, but disinformation about the war is also fuelling existing conspiracy movements around the world.Covid denialists who claimed the pandemic was invented by a shadowy elite to impose a tyrannical global government, now believe that the conflict in Ukraine is part of the s

When Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, it claimed that a wounded pregnant woman was faking it. Her friends told us something different. Images of Marianna Vyshemirska fleeing the aftermath of the attack caused an outcry around the world. But they were also seized upon for a furious disinformation campaign, waged by people including Russian diplomats, that sought to ju

Masha is one of the most famous faces on Ukrainian TV and a huge social media star.But the Russian-speaking celebrity has taken on a new role. Her Instagram posts about skin care tips have been replaced by patriotic propaganda.The former Eurovision Song Contest host says she is one of around 200 influencers who are using their social media accounts to help the Ukrainian government

When social media star Maxim was shelled out of his home, he didn’t expect to be called a liar by some of his followers. But did the hostility come from real people - or automated accounts?As the battle for Ukraine rages, another conflict is being fought in parallel – an information war. And like the conflict on the ground, this fight also has real consequences for the people w

What do you do when you’re Ukrainian and your cousin in Russia refuses to believe her country is attacking your home?After spending days huddled in an air raid shelter, Kristina and her family managed to flee the capital Kyiv with just the few possessions they could carry.Her ordeal has been made that much worse because her cousin in Russia - who’s been watching Russian TV - re

What’s fake, what’s real? Stories from the information war over Ukraine. BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring speaks to people caught up in the battle for the truth.