Fake news and half truths create confusion, aiding the strongman and threatening democracy, this timely study argues In May 2014, at the height of the civil war in Ukraine, a fire broke out in Odessa’s Palace of All Trade Unions. Dozens of people died and within hours a new battle had begun over who was to blame, as Russia’s army of information warriors spread stories and images online and through state-owned media that pinned the responsibility on Ukraine’s revolutionaries. “War used to be about capturing territory and planting flags,” observes Peter Pomerantsev in his beautifully written, carefully reported and quietly frightening new book. But what was happening in Ukraine was an early example of something different – the information battle was becoming just as important, some times more so, than the actual fighting. Continue reading... |