The delegation of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine took part in the Stratcom Summit’ 22, which was taking place in Istanbul on December 2-3. The event was organized under the patronage of the General Director of Communications at the Administration of the President of Turkey.
The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Acting Head of the Center Andriy Shapovalov.
🔷He told the participants about the experience of Ukraine in the fight against disinformation and propaganda in the conditions of war, and also informed about the main tasks performed by the Center.
🔸A. Shapovalov emphasized the need for the international community to seriously oppose the russian propaganda machine, which threatens stability and undermines the world order.
«I would like to urge the distinguished guests to take this problem seriously, namely the threat of information terrorism. The russian propagandists also strike with words, and these words have direct consequences, because every war begins first of all in people’s heads, and only then – on the battlefield», said Andriy Shapovalov.
Talking about the main narratives of russian propaganda, it was noted that more than 100 russian information attacks against Ukraine have been recorded in recent times alone. In this connection, several recent attempts by russian federation to negatively influence Ukrainian-Turkish relations were also given, in particular, an attempt to tie the Armed Forces of Ukraine to support terrorist organizations.
A. Shapovalov noted that an important stage in cooperation with international partners is the definition of appropriate terminology and the development of a legislative framework in order to bring russian propagandists to legal responsibility.
He called on the international community to join forces to stop russia’s disinformation machine. «We sincerely invite partners to cooperate for the sake of protecting citizens. Only by joining forces will we be able to create a stable system of information security – a shield that will protect people and their consciousness», emphasized A. Shapovalov.
The summit gathered representatives of the media, government sector, communication experts, scientific and diplomatic circles. The participants discussed the international information policy, identified the main threats, and also developed the basis for the introduction of an effective international mechanism for countering disinformation.
