How one fake Telegram account could have led to the end of Russia-Ukraine war

Fake news, misinformation, “the truth” name it what you may, unverified information has the power to topple governments. This couldn’t be far from reality in Ukraine. A Telegram Channel posing as the official account of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Ukrainian soldiers to put down their weapons. This happened just a few days after the Russian invasion began.

The Telegram account was eventually taken down but it had already reached a strength of 20,000 users. The real account of Zelensky warned the people of Ukraine about the fake message doing the round. But, there is no way to know the reach of that fake message. We can’t assume how many Ukrainian soldiers took the information at face value.

Instant messaging applications and social media have been instrumental in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Many also call it a ‘Social-media war’. There is a multitude of data flowing out of the conflict area and in this flood of videos and tweets and posts, it is easy to mistakenly believe in something that is unverified or simply false.

Telegram has a USP. The channels on Telegram are virtually limitless. The app allows massive groups of up to 2,00,000 members. While Ukrainians have grown to rely on this functionality of the app, it was also the reason why a fake account could go unchecked for such a long duration. If the Ukrainian soldiers would get misled due to the account, the situation of the ongoing war could be very different.

Information vs Misinformation

We can’t deny that social media and instant messaging platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp have made it possible for the world to rally with Ukraine in this time of crisis. However, Russia is known for its expertise in pushing its agenda.

An NBC News reporter Ben Collins made an interesting discovery about the use of AI in this modern warfare. He shared an image of Vladimir Bondarenko. A blogger who works as a blogger from Kiev. He not only dislikes the Ukrainian government to the core but also doesn’t exist. Yes, Vladimir is randomized creation of an AI.

What gives that away? Honestly, nothing substantial. Once you zoom into the picture you realize there’s a glitch in the top portion of the left ear. Such accounts have become a massive source of misinformation. The cascading impact of posts from accounts like these has an impact on the direction of the narrative.

Quick thread:

I want you all to meet Vladimir Bondarenko.

He’s a blogger from Kiev who really hates the Ukrainian government.

He also doesn’t exist, according to Facebook.

He’s an invention of a Russian troll farm targeting Ukraine. His face was made by AI. pic.twitter.com/uWslj1Xnx3

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) February 28, 2022

As relentless consumers of media, in every way and form, we ought to be more careful with our sources. We ought to raise questions at the right time. Educating oneself about a single piece of information from various credible sources is one way to go about it.

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