If Russkies invade, let’s hope the Swedish sardines are real
Fake news, Ukraine style. BBC News, yesterday:
Arkady Babchenko sent shockwaves around the world when he arrived at a news conference … less than 24 hours after being reported dead. Ukrainian security chief Vasyl Hrytsak said a sting had been set up to catch hitmen paid by Russian forces … Hours after the news broke, Babchenko tweeted to say he would “die at 96” after “dancing on Putin’s grave” …
Fake news, US style. Frank Marshall White, New York Journal, June 2, 1897:
Mark Twain … said: “I can understand perfectly how the report of my illness got about, I have even heard on good authority that I was dead … The report of my death was an exaggeration.”
Fake news, Soviet style. Dina Newman, BBC World Service, December 30, 2015:
In December 1935, Time magazine’s cover … featured … Alexei Stakhanov … a poster boy for communism … Stakhanov … (was) a miner in … Soviet Ukraine … all mines were run by the state and had monthly production targets … “(Stakhanov) kept thinking how to increase the productivity of his mine …” says (daughter) Violetta … (using a drill instead of a pick he produced) more than 14 times the target. … Thousands of happy workers wiped tears of joy away as they listened to … Joseph Stalin (say) … “Life has become easier, comrades, life has become happier … If our life was hard, sad and joyless, we wouldn’t have had the Stakhanovite movement.”
Fake news, Aussie style. Andie Noonan, abc.net.au, May 31:
Victoria Police has had $4 million of road safety funding suspended after … officers falsified more than 250,000 roadside breath tests in the state over a five-year period … Professional Standards Command assistant commissioner Russell Barrett said … officers may have falsified the tests to meet targets. “(T)he main rationale, I believe, is to hide or highlight productivity.”
Fake occupation, Norwegian style. Alex Nelson, inews.co.uk, April 13:
The first series of Norwegian political thriller Occupied came dangerously close to creating a diplomatic situation, telling the story of a fictional near future in which Russia invaded Norway … That didn’t sit well with the Kremlin, and the Russian ambassador to Norway said it was a “shame” that the creators had decided to “scare Norwegian spectators with the non-existent threat from the east”.
Fake invasion, Russian style. Patrick Reevell, September 14 last year:
Russia has begun war games … Moscow (insists) the … drills … are defensive … involving only … 12,000 troops … the US and NATO say the real number … may be … 100,000 … (in) one of the games’ scenarios … Belarus … and Russia’s troops (repel) the forces of a fake state, Veishnoriya … that sounds uncomfortably like rehearsing for NATO’s nightmare scenario of a Russian tank rush into the Baltic states … Jokes have sprung up … (about) a looming invasion by … Veishnoriya … Veishnoriya’s foreign ministry has posted menacing messages (on Twitter) … (and) tourism advertisements (on Facebook).
Real sardines. BBC News, May 22:
Sweden … has sent leaflets to 4.7 million households explaining how to best prepare for various major crises … amid concerns over Russia’s military activities and the rise of … fake news. Under a section called “home preparedness tips”, there is an eclectic list of key items it says every household should have access to … such as … crackers … lentils … (and) sardines.