Inside the fight against Russia's fake news empire | Olga Yurkova

95,851 views ・ 2018-06-29

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2014, July 5,
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the Ukrainian army entered Sloviansk city in eastern Ukraine.
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They gathered all the locals in Lenin Square.
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Then, they organized the public crucifixion
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of the son of a pro-Russia militant.
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He was only three years old.
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Refugee Galina Pyshnyak told this story to Russia's First TV channel.
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In fact, this incident never happened.
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I visited Sloviansk.
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There is no Lenin Square.
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In reality, Galina's husband was an active pro-Russia militant in Donbass.
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This is just one of many examples.
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Ukraine has been suffering from Russian propaganda and fake news
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for four years now,
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but Russia is not the only player in this space.
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Fake news is happening all around the world.
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We all know about fake news.
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We see it and read it all the time.
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But the thing about fake news
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is that we don't always know what is fake and what is real,
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but we base our decisions on facts we get from the press and social media.
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When facts are false,
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decisions are wrong.
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A lot of people stop believing anyone at all
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and this is even more dangerous.
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They easily become prey to populists in elections,
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or even take up arms.
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Fake news is not only bad for journalism.
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It's a threat for democracy and society.
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Four years ago, unmarked soldiers
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entered the Crimean Peninsula,
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and at the same time,
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Russian media was going crazy with fake news about Ukraine.
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So a group of journalists, including me,
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started a website to investigate this fake news.
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We called it StopFake.
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The idea was simple:
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take a piece of news, check it with verifiable proof
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like photos, videos and other strong evidence.
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If it turns out to be fake, we put it on our website.
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Now, StopFake is an informational hub
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which analyzes propaganda in all its phases.
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We have 11 language versions, we have millions of views,
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We have taught more than 10,000 people
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how to distinguish true from false.
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And we teach fact checkers all around the world.
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StopFake has uncovered more than 1,000 fakes about Ukraine.
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We've identified 18 narratives
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created using this fake news,
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such as Ukraine is a fascist state,
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a failed state,
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a state run by a junta who came to power as a result of a coup d'état.
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We proved that it's not bad journalism;
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it's a deliberate act of misinformation.
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Fake news is a powerful weapon in information warfare,
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but there is something we can do about it.
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We all have smartphones.
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When we see something interesting, it's often automatic.
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We just click and pass it along.
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But how can you not be a part of fake news?
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First, if it's too dramatic, too emotional, too clickbait,
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then it's very likely that it isn't true.
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The truth is boring sometimes.
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04:02
(Laughter)
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Manipulations are always sexy.
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They are designed to captivate you.
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Do your research.
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This is the second point, very simple.
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Look at other sites.
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Check out alternative news sources.
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Google names, addresses, license plates, experts and authors.
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Don't just believe, check.
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It's the only way to stop this culture of fake news.
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This information warfare is not only about fake news.
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Our society depends on trust:
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trust in our institutions,
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in science,
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trust in our leaders,
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trust in our news outlets.
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And it's on us to find a way to rebuild trust,
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because fake news destroys it.
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So ask yourself,
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what have you lost your faith in?
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Where has trust been ruined for you?
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And what are you going to do about it?
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Thank you.
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05:09
(Applause)
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