The Russian government has launched its own “fake news” watchdog service.
The heavily-controlled media landscape evidently wants to make it clear that it disagrees with a lot of the news published by foreign outlets.
In the western media, there are plenty of independent websites that claim to “debunk” articles and trends it deems false.
They do this using a step-by-step analysis detailing why the article in question is wrong.
Snopes investigates and shuts down viral urban legends and social media myths, while PolitiFact ranks the statements of elected officials on its Truth-o-Meter, supporting its claims with statistics and proof of contradictory statements. ABC Fact Check has a similar process.
But Russia’s tracker is… well… a little less considered.
The articles deemed false by the Russian government are shown dramatically on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, with a big red “FAKE” stamp over it.
It’s accompanied by a disclaimer that reads: “This material contains data, not corresponding to the truth.”
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the ministry, told state news agency RIA Novosti that the list will be “regularly updated” to “make an example of such propaganda dumped by various media outlets, providing links to their sources”.
The key thing to note here is there is no explanation. The ministry does not explain what part of the article it deems inaccurate, nor the criteria for a “fake news” report.
It basically provides zero clarification on what will actually earn you a “stamp”, although at least one of the reports centers around an allegation against a Russian politician.
A spokeswoman for The Times defended the article and criticized the tracker for not providing supportive evidence.
“It’s a dangerous and troubling situation for governments or individuals to simply assign the label of fake news to a story they don’t like, instead of challenging specific facts or offering counter evidence,” said spokeswoman Eileen Murphy. “We stand by our reporting.”
Meanwhile on social media, people are baffled by the service.
Ironically, Russia has been widely accused of spreading fake news since the US election campaign.
According to French intelligence, politicians and political experts, a Kremlin-backed disinformation campaign is now attempting to skew the results of the ongoing French election using similar tactics.
Ms Zakharova acknowledged these accusations during her announcement.
“Russia is being accused of doing this, but how can you accuse us of disseminating untrue information by government agencies and the media while you are doing the same against Russia?” Ms Zakharova said. “While publishing information about Russia, the world media is doing the same thing — they never cite concrete facts — this is a sad paradox.”
But as the Times points out, there’s a difference between what Russia is deeming “fake news” and what the Kremlin has been accused of disseminating.
This article was originally published in news.com.au