With the growing war in Ukraine, propaganda and fake news from Russia have become more prominent than ever. Forged documents and fake news have been coming out of Russia for years and with the recent developments with their war against Ukraine, that propaganda has grown exponentially.
Literacy and navigational skills in social media and broadcasting companies are more important now more than ever so that audiences can be more informed on what really is happening.
Dr. Kevin Page is an associate professor for the Journalism and Mass Communications Department at Benedictine College. He talks about methods on how we can familiarize ourselves with navigating propaganda.
“You should never just get all your information from a single source,” Page said. “When you read content, you should always content from a news source that’s in the center or in the middle area.”
He continues later the dangers of social media.
“If you get anything off of social media, it should be suspect right away. Never take anything you see, really from any source but especially from social media at face value. So, if you see something on Facebook or Twitter or Tik Tok or whatever that somebody is posting, it’s not that you should reject it outright, but you should do more follow up and read a variety of sources to see whether that information is being applies consistently throughout.”
People should be looking to find stories in the media with credible sources, unbiased opinions, and factual reporting on the war in Ukraine.
Dr. Michael Throop is another professor for the Journalism and Mass Communications Department. He expressed his concern for students and others who are not paying attention to the war.
“First off, I hope students are paying attention because this is something that is going to directly affect students as they become adults. This is not going to end in a year, this is going to go for a decade, maybe two decades,” Throop said. “We have to be on our guard and pay attention, have trusted sources, verifiable sources so that you know what’s going on over there.”
Ukraine is facing more problems today than the media tends to portray. Over 13 million Ukrainian citizens are stranded, almost 4 million have fled the country, the water and food supplies are being cut off in major cities and schools and hospitals are being bombarded every day.
If you or someone you know is looking to find out how they can help, consider donating to Ukrainian through these sites: BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator and Charity Watch.
