On October 28, 2021, the CCD published analytical material on the disinformation campaign in Ukraine about the Covid-19 pandemic. This material analyzed the causes and the beginning of the information-psychological operation, its threats, successes, and main narratives, as well as described the algorithm of actions of the Center in the fight against disinformation.
Thus, the disinformation campaign regarding the pandemic gained significant momentum in the fall of 2021. At that time, the number of vaccinated people began to increase, most states already had specific plans for mass vaccination of the population, and the vaccines themselves became more accessible all over the world.
The impact of this campaign was significant, because the anti-vaccination movement in the world, unlike previous movements, had many more supporters and even support among politicians and skeptical media. In addition, misinformation about vaccines has already gained huge demand on Facebook, but after the emergence of Covid-19, this movement received more and more support on other social networks.
The anti-vaccination movement in Ukraine, which previously did not have serious support, began to gain momentum among all sections of the population after the start of the pandemic, in particular, due to russian intervention. The purpose of the campaign was to destabilize the mood within society due to the decline in confidence in vaccination. In addition, russian narratives aimed at discrediting the authorities were observed among the publications.
The main social network in terms of the number of the spread of fakes about vaccination in Ukraine was Telegram, where the high activity of pro-russian channels was monitored, some of which had a direct connection with curators from russia.
Here are examples of messages from such Telegram channels:
– the vaccine is ineffective or accelerates the incidence rate of coronavirus;
– the vaccine threatens the health or provokes the death of the patient;
– vaccination is a violation of human rights and the Constitution of Ukraine;
– the authorities are trying to deceive citizens and make money from them due to the pandemic;
It should be noted that the disinformation campaign was also significantly spread with the help of the Orthodox Church (moscow patriarchate). In November and October 2021, anti-vaccinationists, with the support of this church, organized several anti-vaccination rallies.
Thus, the russian footprint was noticed at the rally on November 23, 2021. The participants of the rally were given posters with crossed-out QR codes and inscriptions: “I am a living person, not a product”, “Say no to QR codes”, and “Stop QR code”. But the QR code from the protesters’ posters was transferred to the website of the party “United Russia”. At that time, the russian state duma registered a draft law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare of the Population”, which provided that participation in mass events, visits to cultural institutions, public catering establishments and shops would be possible with the presence of a QR code about vaccination, confirmation of a previous illness or medical contraindications to vaccination.
For its part, the Center’s employees prepared and distributed analytical materials and publications that debunked fakes and exposed russian disinformation campaigns. At the same time, the participants and beneficiaries of these campaigns were identified, which made it possible to undermine the trust in pro-russian Telegram channels that mimicked Ukrainian ones.
In addition, the Center distributed current sources of information where Ukrainians could familiarize themselves with the mechanism of action of various vaccines online and obtain current data on the pandemic from the Ministry of Health.
Thus, already according to the results of public opinion polls in November 2021, you can follow the decline of the anti-vaccination movement and the increase in the number of people who were vaccinated or had a desire to be vaccinated — from 44% in August to 62% in November.
