Werewolf experts: how anti-vaxxers lie about mobilization in Ukraine
Information war
The events of February 6 in the village of Kosmach in the Ivano-Frankivsk region demonstrate the impact of Russian propaganda and “useful idiots” who spread anti-mobilization hysteria. The latter are former anti-vaxxers who, following the onset of full-scale invasion, have become “experts” in mobilization.
Events in Kosmach can be paralleled with Novi Sanzhary in 2020. Back then, poor communication from the authorities and pro-Russian forces contributed to panic in the city. In newly formed local groups, fakes about people arriving from China were actively spread, along with links to pro-Russian and Russian TV channels: “NASH”, “112”, “ZIK”, “NewsOne”, and “Russia 1”. All of this was supplemented with fakes and manipulations about COVID-19. VoxCheck previously wrote about well-known anti-vaxxers in Ukraine and debunked their claims.
A similar situation occurred in the village of Kosmach. Locals reported that an anonymous message appeared in the Viber and Telegram chats of the town, stating that six cars of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center were coming to catch men and organize a “raid.” Russia has many bot farms that pretend to be Ukrainians and spread disinformation at various levels: from large groups or channels to local chats. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that this time, the Russians could have “throw in” similar information that stirred up people. As it turned out, there were no “raids,” “spotters,” or anything similar.
What do anti-vaxxers have to do with it?
The anti-vaccination movement is somehow connected to Russia. For example, even before the full-scale invasion of Russia, one of the leaders of the “Stop Fake Pandemic” movement, Serhii Mikiten, regularly reposted information from Russian and pro-Russian sources and was part of the “Concept of Public Security (????????? ???????????? ????????????)”. This movement encompasses everything: conspiracy theories, esoterics, the “Russian world.” Or Elena Faist, who claimed that Ukrainians and Russians are “fraternal” peoples and there is no war. Some of them were part of the pro-Russian party “Derzhava” (Victoriia Shylova, Kyrylo Stremousov and Dmytro Vasylets) and became collaborators.
On November 16, 2021, the Security Service of Ukraine blocked the activities of an anti-Ukrainian network that, under the guise of “anti-vaccination” slogans, tried to destabilize the socio-political situation in the country. According to preliminary information, their actions were coordinated by Russian curators. At the same time, the well-known anti-vaxxer Stakhiv was suspected of inciting violent changes to the constitutional order in Ukraine. On November 24, the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine announced the Russian trace in the protest action against vaccination.
Yesterday’s anti-vaxxers organize so-called “journalism courses” where essentially they teach how to obstruct the work of government agencies with requests. Their content aims to provide evidence that Ukraine does not exist. If there is no state, then there is no corresponding legislation, and therefore, no mobilization can take place. Such a course of events is beneficial only to Russia.