«Це озброєння та техніка підуть безпосередньо на передову захисту свободи в Україні»
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Twitter is stepping up its fight against misinformation with a new policy cracking down on posts that spread potentially dangerous false stories. The change is part of a broader effort to promote accurate information during times of conflict or crisis.
Starting Thursday, the platform will no longer automatically recommend or emphasize posts that make misleading claims about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including material that mischaracterizes conditions in conflict zones or makes false allegations of war crimes or atrocities against civilians.
Under its new “crisis misinformation policy,” Twitter will also add warning labels to debunked claims about ongoing humanitarian crises, the San Francisco-based company said. Users won’t be able to like, forward or respond to posts that violate the new rules.
The changes make Twitter the latest social platform to grapple with the misinformation, propaganda and rumors that have proliferated since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. That misinformation ranges from rumors spread by well-intentioned users to Kremlin propaganda amplified by Russian diplomats or fake accounts and networks linked to Russian intelligence.
“We have seen both sides share information that may be misleading and/or deceptive,” said Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, who detailed the new policy for reporters. “Our policy doesn’t draw a distinction between the different combatants. Instead, we’re focusing on misinformation that could be dangerous, regardless of where it comes from.”
The new policy will complement existing Twitter rules that prohibit digitally manipulated media, false claims about elections and voting, and health misinformation, including debunked claims about COVID-19 and vaccines.
But it could also clash with the views of Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who has agreed to pay $44 billion to acquire Twitter with the aim of making it a haven for free speech. Musk hasn’t addressed many instances of what that would mean in practice, although he has said that Twitter should only take down posts that violate the law, which taken literally would prevent action against most misinformation, personal attacks and harassment. He has also criticized the algorithms used by Twitter and other social platforms to recommend particular posts to individuals.
The policy was written broadly to cover misinformation during other conflicts, natural disasters, humanitarian crises or “any situation where there’s a widespread threat to health and safety,” Roth said.
Twitter said it will rely on a variety of credible sources to determine when a post is misleading. Those sources will include humanitarian groups, conflict monitors and journalists.
A senior Ukrainian cybersecurity official, Victor Zhora, welcomed Twitter’s new screening policy and said that it’s up to the global community to “find proper approaches to prevent the sowing of misinformation across social networks.”
While the results have been mixed, Twitter’s efforts to address misinformation about the Ukraine conflict exceed those of other platforms that have chosen a more hands-off approach, like Telegram, which is popular in Eastern Europe.
Asked specifically about the Telegram platform, where Russian government disinformation is rampant but Ukraine’s leaders also reach a wide audience, Zhora said the question was “tricky but very important.” That’s because the kind of misinformation disseminated without constraint on Telegram “to some extent led to this war.”
Since the Russian invasion began in February, social media platforms like Twitter and Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, have tried to address a rise in war-related misinformation by labeling posts from Russian state-controlled media and diplomats. They’ve also de-emphasized some material so it no longer turns up in searches or automatic recommendations.
Emerson Brooking, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab and expert on social media and disinformation, said that the conflict in Ukraine shows how easily misinformation can spread online during a conflict and the need for platforms to respond.
“This is a conflict that has played out on the internet, and one that has driven extraordinarily rapid changes in tech policy,” he said.
your ad hereThe U.S. Senate completed congressional action Thursday on a new $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, overwhelmingly approving it and sending the measure to President Joe Biden for his expected signature.
The package is intended to buttress Ukraine over the next five months to combat Russia’s ongoing invasion. It includes money for military equipment, training and weapons, as well as billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, including money to help address global food shortages caused by the three-month conflict.
The assistance replenishes stocks of U.S. equipment sent earlier to Ukraine and provides financing to help other countries that are assisting the Kyiv government.
The 86-11 Senate vote came on top of an equally lopsided vote in favor of the legislation in the House of Representatives last week, a broad show of continuing U.S. support for Ukraine at a time when the politically fractious Congress is often sharply divided on the major issues of the day. Republicans cast all the “no” votes in the Senate.
The aid package was about $7 billion more than Biden originally proposed. But he has voiced support in one way or another for Ukraine on an almost daily basis and plans to sign the legislation.
Ahead of the Senate vote, several lawmakers said helping Ukraine in its fights against Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin was an imperative.
Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “Aid for Ukraine goes far beyond charity. The future of America’s security and core strategic interests will be shaped by the outcome of this fight.”
“Anyone concerned about the cost of supporting a Ukrainian victory should consider the much larger cost should Ukraine lose,” McConnell warned, calling on “every senator on both sides to join this bipartisan supermajority.”
A Democratic lawmaker, Senator Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, “The next several months will be critical. I think the realization is … that if the Russians succeed here, that won’t satisfy them, that that will empower them to do more.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said this week, “We all want to see the fighting end. What we’re doing in the meantime is trying to provide as many advantages to the Ukrainian armed forces as we can so that they are in a better position on the battlefield — and, should there be a negotiated end to it, that they’re in a better negotiating position as well.”
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Рішення про те, що Шредер повинен залишити кабінет у Бундестазі, ухвалив парламентський комітет із бюджету
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Окрім того, міністр запропонував Meta підтримати українську платформу для фінансової допомоги Україні United24
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Він – колишній художній керівник Баварського державного балету та народний артист Росії
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У своїй резолюції він просить Європейський союз якомога швидше надати всі необхідні ресурси для створення цього трибуналу
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На думку Києва, ці системи допоможуть Україні перевершити російську важку артилерію за дальністю дії та руйнівною силою, що може багато в чому визначити результат війни
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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday said it had confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in a man who had recently traveled to Canada.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its labs confirmed the infection to be monkeypox on Wednesday afternoon.
The state agency said it was working with CDC and relevant local boards of health to carry out contact tracing, adding that “the case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada late on Wednesday issued a statement saying it is aware of the monkeypox cases in Europe and is closely monitoring the current situation, adding no cases have been reported at this time.
Monkeypox, which mostly occurs in west and central Africa, is a rare viral infection similar to human smallpox, though milder. It was first recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1970s. The number of cases in West Africa has increased in the last decade.
Symptoms include fever, headaches and skin rashes starting on the face and spreading to the rest of the body.
The Massachusetts agency said the virus does not spread easily between people, but transmission can occur through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, items such as bedding or clothing that have been contaminated with fluids or sores, or through respiratory droplets following prolonged face-to-face contact.
It said no monkeypox cases had previously been identified in the United States this year. Texas and Maryland each reported a case in 2021 in people with recent travel to Nigeria.
The CDC also said it is tracking multiple clusters of monkeypox reported in several countries including Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, within the past two weeks.
A handful of cases of monkeypox have recently been reported or are suspected in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain.
Earlier on Wednesday, Portuguese authorities said they had identified five cases of the infection and Spain’s health services said they were testing 23 potential cases after Britain put Europe on alert for the virus.
European health authorities are monitoring any outbreak of the disease since Britain reported its first case on May 7 and has found six more in the country since then.
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The U.S. Senate is set to vote Thursday on a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine.
The measure includes money for military equipment, training and weapons for Ukraine, replenishing stocks of U.S. equipment sent to Ukraine and financing to help other countries that aid Ukraine.
It also includes billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, including helping money to address global food shortages caused by the conflict.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly gave its approval to the package last week.
If the Senate approves the measure, it will go to President Joe Biden for his signature.
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Перед цим Комітет Сенату США з міжнародних відносин одноголосно затвердив кандидатуру дипломатки Бріджит Брінк на посаду посла
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The jailing of a politician turned media owner sends a “bad message” from Georgia about the country’s commitment to press freedom and Western ideals, international bodies and rights groups say.
Nika Gvaramia, director of the opposition station Mtavari TV, appeared in court in the capital, Tbilisi, on Monday accused of harming the financial interests of a media outlet that he previously ran.
The court convicted Gvaramia of abuse of power related to his time as general manager and director of the independent TV station Rustavi 2. He was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.
His lawyer, Dimitri Sadzaglishvili, told local media they plan to appeal.
Gvaramia left Rustavi in 2019 after the European Court of Human Rights upheld a ruling by Georgia’s Supreme Court that the station should be returned to one of its former owners.
In response to the takeover, Gvaramia accused the government of using the judiciary system to give ownership to Kibar Khalvashi, a businessman seen as loyal to the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Both Gvaramia and other figures in Georgia’s opposition media have said they believe the ruling party is attempting to silence critical media.
In response to VOA’s request for comment, a spokesperson in Georgia’s Embassy in Washington said that the embassy “will refrain from commenting” on the case.
As well as working in media, Gvaramia was previously involved in politics, holding the posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Education and Science under former President Mikheil Saakashvili in 2007 and 2008.
He is also one of the lawyers representing Saakashvili, who was imprisoned in October 2021 upon returning to Georgia after eight years in exile. A court convicted the former leader in absentia of misuse of power.
International reaction
The arrest of a prominent media figure sparked international condemnation, with analysts and rights groups calling the case politically motivated.
David Kramer, managing director for global policy at the George W. Bush Institute, told VOA’s Georgian Service he believes the sentencing “is the latest evidence of the government abusing the judicial system to go after the political opponents.”
“It is not the first time; I fear it won’t be the last time,” said Kramer, who under President George W. Bush was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
The U.S embassy in Georgia said the case brings into question Georgia’s commitment to Western orientation.
“From its inception, this case has raised questions, including about the timing and the charges,” the U.S embassy statement read. It added that the ruling “calls into question Georgia’s commitment to rule of law, and further demonstrates the fundamental importance of having an independent, impartial judiciary.”
European Parliament member Rasa Jukneviciene noted that the arrest comes as Georgia pushes for membership to the EU.
“It’s one more bad message from Georgia, in terms of the Georgian people’s attempt to join the European Union one day,” Jukneviciene, a politician from Lithuania, told VOA. “This message comes as the European Commission will very soon be making a proposal to the EU Council on countries like Ukraine and Georgia for their candidacy status.”
Georgia applied for EU membership in early March, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Georgia says it wants EU integration. But Kramer said he believes that the Georgian Dream party is using government institutions for its own interests.
“I think the way to handle this is through a tough love approach, if you will, which is to continue to support Georgia, the country, the people, while going after the people who are responsible for taking Georgia in a wrong direction politically,” he said.
The nongovernmental organization Transparency International-Georgia said the case appeared to be politically motivated and aimed at “punish[ing] Nika Gvaramia and disrupt[ing] the activities of a critical media outlet.”
“The use of the justice system for media censorship and intimidation sends a clear message to other critical media outlets as well,” Transparency International-Georgia said in a statement.
Keti Khutsishvili, executive director of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, said the case showed “no signs of criminal liability, and therefore it should be discussed as an entrepreneurial affair.”
Linking income, liability
The investigation into Gvaramia started in 2019.
According to the public defender, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia was trying to prove that Gvaramia “could have brought more income to the company but he did not do so, and that this is a crime.”
The office of Public Defender Nino Lomjaria, however, told the Tbilisi court via a letter that Gvaramia’s actions were not criminal.
“An entrepreneurial decision may not lead even to corporate liability, not to mention criminal liability. The decision made by the director might be to make less profit, but it might serve the best interests of the corporation and aim to insure against short-term or long-term risks,” the letter read.
Deputy Public Defender Giorgi Burjanadze believes the court ruling sets a dangerous precedent for media and media managers.
“This action has a very big impact on the media,” he told VOA.
“We are talking about actions inside media, and a director gets punished because government tells him that he had to bring more income,” Burjanadzde said. “If theoretically we agree that this is right and the government can punish someone for this, in future this will have chilling effect for others, because every manager will think that if they did not get profit, they automatically are guilty.”
Such an approach could impact Georgia’s standing on press freedom rankings and be a “step back,” he added.
Currently, Georgia ranks 89 out of 180 countries, where 1 is freest, according to the annual index by Reporters Without Borders. The media watchdog warns that “official interference undermines efforts undertaken to improve press freedom.”
This article originated in VOA’s Georgian Service.
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Уряд Канади і сама CBC заявили, що «глибоко розчаровані» рішенням
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До вторгнення Росії у лютому Україна експортувала через свої порти 4,5 мільйона тонн сільськогосподарської продукції на місяць
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Бріджит Брінк чверть століття перебуває на дипломатичній службі
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A 21-year-old Russian soldier pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian in the first war crimes case Kyiv has brought since the Russian invasion three months ago.
Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin could be sentenced to life in prison for shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the head through an open car window four days after Russia launched the invasion in late February.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova previously has said her office is preparing war crimes cases against 41 Russian soldiers for offenses that included bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape and looting. It is not clear how many of the Russians are in Ukrainian custody or how many might be tried in absentia.
In Shishimarin’s case heard in a Kyiv court, Venediktova alleged that he was among a group of Russian soldiers that fled Ukrainian forces on February 28, driving to Chupakhivka, a village about 320 kilometers east of the capital, Kyiv.
The prosecutor-general said that on the way the Russian soldiers saw a man riding his bicycle and talking on his phone. Shishimarin, according to Venediktova, was ordered to kill the man so he wouldn’t be able to report them to Ukrainian military authorities but did not say who gave the order.
Shishimarin fired his Kalashnikov rifle through the open window and hit the victim in the head, Venediktova wrote in a Facebook account.
“The man died on the spot just a few dozen meters from his house,” she said.
In a brief video account of the incident produced by the Ukrainian Security Service, Shishimarin said, “I was ordered to shoot. I shot one (round) at him. He falls. And we kept on going.”
Venediktova’s office has said it is investigating more than 10,700 potential war crimes involving more than 600 suspects, including Russian soldiers and government officials. International authorities are also investigating possible Russian war crimes, while Moscow is believed to be working on crimes cases against Ukrainian troops.
Russia has denied targeting civilians and accused Ukraine of staging atrocities. Ukraine says thousands of its civilians have been killed.
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press.
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After months of siege, Russia is taking control of Ukraine’s strategic port city, Mariupol, and aid workers say they do not know how many civilians remain. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, that many risked everything to get out but even now, they still live in fear.
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