Social Media's Role in the Ukraine War
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Season 2: Episode 95 Description
Ukraine update: 😔 It’s been over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine, why might what you see on social media might not be correct. Ten News Contributor Bridget Todd explains Russia’s efforts to spread misinformation and how false information can spread on social media. ✔️ Fun Fact Check: What leader during the Middle Ages wrote a fake letter to regain control of his castle? And, test your Ukraine knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten. ✅
Sources
Situation Ukraine Refugee Situation (unhcr.org)
Conflict in Ukraine | Global Conflict Tracker (cfr.org)
Russia arrests nearly 5,000 anti-war protesters over the weekend : NPR
Brittney Griner: U.S. State Dept. rep says star is in ‘good condition’ - Sports Illustrated
Digital Citizenship Resources for Family Engagement | Common Sense Education
3 Historical Examples of "Fake News" - Scientific American Blog Network
The Deepest Metro Stations in The World | Amusing Planet
Links
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TRANSCRIPT:
Sound Bit 0:00
As Russian forces retreat from the area north of key is in their wake scenes of utter destruction, of course of nations calling for war crimes, tribunals. Moscow claims it was all staged. Ukraine's President calls it genocide.
Bethany Van Delft 0:15
It's been over a month since Russia invaded Ukraine. Are you wondering what's the latest news? Today, we'll update you on the war in Ukraine and Russia's efforts to spread misinformation. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's Tuesday, April 5th, and this is the Ten News.
Various Voices 0:34
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bethany Van Delft 0:41
To help explain what's happening in Ukraine, we're breaking things down by the numbers. 4 million. That's the number of refugees who have left Ukraine since February 24th. That's more people than the entire population of Los Angeles, the United States second largest city. Okay, that's bad. 50,000 is the number of deaths in Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict with Russia from 2014 to 2021. This is terrible. 100,000. That's the number of Russian troops that surrounded Ukraine at the end of December 2021. Man, over 70 million is how much fortnight and Epic Games have raised to support Ukraine, making them the largest corporate donor with the money going to four different humanitarian agencies to go 40 miles. That's the distance Russian military vehicles were lined up along one road outside of Kyiv in early March. Now the trucks and tanks have spread out. Okay. 5,000 is the number of anti war protesters who were arrested in Russia in just one weekend. This is an outrage. One, that's how many WNBA stars have been detained by Russia. Brittney Griner, a 6'9" basketball superstar who's one of the greatest athletes of all time was detained in Russia in February. Since then, photos have been shared of her in detention. And the US State Department is working on getting her back home now. Have you seen a video shared on social media that you later found out wasn't real? Here to talk about how the Russian government is sharing fake information about the war in Ukraine is the host of one of my favorite podcasts. There Are No Girl's on the Internet, Bridget Todd.
Bridget Todd 2:51
In February, Russia's President Vladimir Putin invaded another neighboring country, Ukraine. Now you might have listened to the Ten's special report all about what's happening and why it matters. Or maybe you've been hearing about it in school or on the news. That's because it's a pretty big deal. People in Ukraine have had to leave their homes and go to nearby countries for safety. It's a scary, hard and confusing time. And when things are big and scary and hard, it's really important that the information available is accurate, because otherwise, nobody would know what's really going on. On social media sites like Facebook and TikTok, it can be kind of hard to know what's true and what isn't. And that's a problem because most people, 71% according to the Pew Research Center, don't get their news from a newspaper or from watching the news on television. They get it on social media. And because news travels so fast on the internet, it is especially important that information on social media is true. So I'm going to tell you about two ways that false information spreads on social media. The first is what we call disinformation. That's when someone is spreading false information on purpose because they want to make other people confused about what's going on. Social media being run by Russian state officials has a history of spreading false or misleading information on purpose to confuse people on the internet about what's going on in Ukraine. For instance, false statements from Russian officials make it seem like the people of Ukraine are to blame for the invasion when they aren't. Russian run social media accounts have even tried to say that Ukrainian people hurt in the invasion are just pretending or sometimes on social media. People use videos from video games and say that their videos from what's happening in Ukraine when they aren't. Are you kidding me? Now, not everyone who shares incorrect information on social media is doing it on purpose to confuse people, which is the second kind of false information I'll tell you about. Sometimes when people share fake or misleading information on social media, they might not even know what's fake. When someone shares fake information online, but not on purpose. It's called misinformation. It's different from the kinds of disinformation we talked about earlier because the person sharing it isn't trying to confuse people on purpose. They might be sharing something because they think it's really real, or because they don't know if it's real or not. And they want to share it just in case. But even though they're not doing it on purpose, it's still a problem because it confuses people. That's why it's so important to make sure what you share on social media is true, especially during a hard time and people are already confused and scared. With everything being so confusing. You might be thinking, How could I know if something is true or not? Yep, don't worry, because here's some tips. First, always check to see if something that you saw online is actually true. Speak up to the grown up in your life about stories that you're seeing online or on television, they can help you figure out if it's trustworthy or not. And if you're not so sure about what you're seeing, you can always try to find the same story from a different source. If a lot of different news sites are saying the same thing, that's a pretty good sign. The most important thing is to not share stories that aren't true, because it confuses people. And the more incorrect information spreads, the more people see it, and the more people believe it. And you can always reach out to us here at the Ten, if you're not sure if something that you read or heard is true. Back to you, Bethany.
Bethany Van Delft 6:02
Thank you, Bridget. If you want to learn how to check your sources, like a digital champion, head to Common Sense Media at the link in the show notes for their digital citizenship resources. Hey, Tessa, do you have a tidbit for us?
Tessa Flannery 6:20
I sure do. Misinformation has been used throughout history, especially in wartime. In the Middle Ages, European knights took control of a castle in Syria. The Sultan wanted to get the knights to leave. So he wrote a fake letter from their leader telling them to surrender. It worked. The Knights surrendered and handed the castle over to the Sultan. That's unbelievable.
Bethany Van Delft 6:44
Thank you, Tessa. And now here's the Ten News head writer Ryan Willard with your rundown.
Ryan Willard 6:57
Thank you, Bethany. We have lots going on in the gaming world today. So let's go. Sony has announced that a revamped PlayStation+ subscription service. The new service will come in three tiers essential, extra and premium. Each tier has a set of games that come with it, while premium will include trials of new games. Unlike the Xbox, Sony is not making its upcoming PlayStation exclusives available on launch day through the service which seemingly gives the Xbox games past the edge in this battle cool. The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild sequel has been delayed. The much anticipated sequel was set for a 22 release window but has been pushed back to the spring of 23. In an update video, the game's producer Eiji Aonuma announced the schedule change and that we will see gameplay extend up into the skies as well as new gameplay elements and encounters. As much as I want this game right now. I'm happy that their team is taking the time they need to make it the best it can possibly be. Okay, fortnight zero Build Mode is here to stay. Epic Games has listened to the community uproar and is making zero build mode its own separate and permanent mode in the game so you'll be able to play fortnight without the building aspect. Zero build mode will be available on solos Duo's trios and squads matchmaking and will keep the newly introduced mantling and over shield game mechanics for the purists out there. The original building modes are available in Battle Royale. I'm Ryan, and that's the rundown. Back to you Bethany.
Bethany Van Delft 8:28
Coming up next...
Various Voices 8:29
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 8:36
Trivia on the Ten. Ukraine has the deepest metro station in the world. It's called Arsenal in the station and it's 105.5 meters deep. That's about 350 feet down. But do you know what city the station is in? Is it a) Lviv b) Kyiv? Or c) Odesa? Did you guess it? The answer is b. Kyiv is the home of the deepest metro station in the world. It takes four minutes and 11 seconds and two escalators to reach the subway platform. That's incredible. It's one of the stations residents went to when Russia attacked the city because it's safer further underground. Time's up, but before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to the Ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is practicing their Ukrainian pronunciation and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Ryan Willard, Adam Barnard, and Tessa Flannery, Bridget Todd contributed to this episode. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leads Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft. And thanks for listening to the Ten News. Ten’ers that have a good day in Ukrainian. Practice it today.
