‘Freedom convoy’ forums find new focus: disinformation about Russia-Ukraine war
Global News
Some pro-convoy forums have shifted from posting misinformation about COVID-19 to posting misinformation about the Russia-Ukraine war.
As the tire tracks fade from the so-called “freedom convoy” that occupied downtown Ottawa streets, some of the Telegram forums devoted to the convoy have taken up the torch of a new cause: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Much like the misinformation that fueled some of the trucks headed for Ottawa, conspiracy theories are at the core of some of their conversations about Ukraine — leading them to decry Western intervention in the conflict, or in some cases, express outright support for Russia.
“I fully support Russia,” wrote one Telegram user in the channel titled Convoy to Ottawa 2022, which has just shy of 30,000 subscribers.
In another post on the channel, a user addresses the Russian military: “We, the Russian residents of Kiev, are waiting for you. But be careful, there are a lot of hostile people here. And outright enemies and simply deceived by propaganda.”
It can be difficult — if not impossible — to ascribe motivations to the people participating in these forums, disinformation experts say. But one thing is clear: some pro-convoy forums have shifted from posting misinformation about COVID-19 to posting misinformation about the Russia-Ukraine war.
“It is definitely a trend that is happening,” said Carmen Celestini, who is a post-doctoral fellow with the Disinformation Project at Simon Fraser University.
“I mean, we can see images where they’re posting pictures of the mall in Ukraine with a swastika in the background and sort of supporting this narrative of Putin’s, that he’s de-nazifying Ukraine.”
Celestini was referring to an LED display at a Ukrainian mall that lit up with a swastika in 2019. The mall quickly took the image down and apologized, saying in a Facebook post that it had been hacked. However, images like the hacked mall LED display — presented without context — can be used to bolster Russian President Vladimir Putin as he continues to justify his invasion of Ukraine as an attempt to “de-nazify” the region.
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