Lessons in misinformation by Russia

If ever we needed a lesson in the power of information, Russia, and its present leadership, have arrived as our teacher. For let us get hold of these lessons for our century, if we truly want any kind of civilisation or quality of life ahead of us:

Nazis, liars and thieves

When any leadership starts using evocative labels for what their opponents are, please can we set our minimum standard at what evidence there is?

Let’s not get carried away by names that touch painful memories, without understanding the acts that are prompting these labels. Otherwise, we can just be manipulated by ruthless people with their own agendas.

So, how is Russia really teaching this lesson to everyone: it has said the whole point of its war is that the Ukrainian regime is Nazi.

Now, Nazi doesn’t mean too much in Africa, but in Europe, the Nazis invaded most European countries, ran huge rallies in stadiums calling for the ‘elimination’ of targeted groups (Jews, Gypsies, left-wing politicians, artists, intellectuals, etc), ran concentration camps, which killed millions of people, most often in gas chambers, and claimed Germans were a superior race, with fair-haired, blue-eyed Aryans meant to rule the world.

Is Ukraine doing any of these things? No. Are there any indications at all that Ukraine is a Nazi regime?

I don’t know of any, but I stand ready to be informed.

But what really disturbs me is this claim without any supporting evidence from a president (Russian) who is holding rallies in stadiums calling on people to bear the pain of attacking the Ukrainians, pounding civilian areas to rubble, killing tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides and civilians, generating 10 million refugees in three weeks, and now, supposedly, running ‘filtration’ camps, to cleanse people’s nationalities, because, as he has stated, his nation is the ruler and these other people aren’t even a real nation at all.

Sinner, know thyself.

But shame, too, on the Russian public, if their leader can call any government Nazi, or any other label that means it’s worth bombing, and never have to say what it did to earn that label.

For, yes, our politicians call their opponents thieves, but, in all fairness, we all know of the court cases and rulings, and we have a chance to ask: what is the basis for this label? Did this person steal anything?

Let’s never suspend that interrogation. Let’s never be Russians, who can have all their social media turned off, their non-government newspapers and TVs, and believe it is to ‘protect us’.

Media

For here is our second lesson, so that we never allow any dictator on our watch to kill our cousins and brothers, sisters and aunts, in the name of our nationhood.

If we maintain our capacity to seek the evidence for claims that are made, if we interrogate what we are told, we never need to be protected from bad or compromised media either. It’s a simple reality that people will try all the time to manipulate you to get what they want.

They might pay Sh10m to run a biased, evidence-free programme as a long advert, while presenting it as fair journalism. But that doesn’t stop us looking for the evidence.

We can get rabid media that bandies a round extremities and insults, we can have media that embarrasses celebrities and politicians by publishing details of their extra-marital excesses, and we can have social media without a single need for a fact-check.

A Tik Tok video can show tanks rolling into a street and tell us it is anywhere, or a child with a broken limb, or soldiers handing out food to cheering locals.

Russia, and this war, in 2022, have taught us it can all be fake, and from every side. And that means if we want the privilege of transparency and truth and a free media, we must be grown-ups, and not be believing everything the big man or the media tells us: we must triangulate, notice inconsistencies, test the proof.

And for as long as we do, we are citizens and we will hold our own nations on course.