Thread by @wordpaley

I shared a thread on the war I thought was unbiased—after spending 10+ hours absorbing material from all sides (literally The American Conservative to Jacobin)—from an independent academic and was accused of sharing Russian propaganda. I think this should give some folks pause.

I deleted my quote tweet of the thread because there were inaccuracies in it I was unaware of. I no longer believe it to be unbiased. I also don’t appreciate people talking down to me as if I haven’t done my own research on the topic or I’m a naive Russia sympathizer.

There wasn’t anything in the thread that was explicitly pro-Russian. Only claims that apparently contradict what some of you have read elsewhere. That doesn’t mean it’s propaganda. It means reality is complex. Especially the reality of countries we don’t really understand.

If your reaction to incongruous information is “that’s Russian disinfo!”, maybe you should think about why you’re having that reaction. Could it be there are people in power—yes, in the United States of America—who want you to have that reaction?

Could it be they don’t actually care about civilians—Ukrainian or Russian? Could it be there are other motives at play in a war in which two of the largest corporate interest groups in this country—oil and weapons—stand to gain or lose billions?

Could it be the mainstream media has strong connections to corporate power (I mean WaPo is owned by Bezos, for crying out loud) and thus can’t be relied upon for the absolute, unvarnished truth?

I urge you to ask yourself these questions. All the time, but especially now.

I don’t know where some of you are getting your information, but I will continue getting mine from reputable sources across the spectrum. I will not take the NYT, WaPo, and CNN at their word, just as I won’t take RT or Ukraine’s Twitter at their word. I expect more from myself.

And if you aren’t aware, Ukrainian mis/disinformation is rampant on here. The Ghost of Kyiv, the Snake Island martyrs, maybe even the sunflower seed woman. Even mainstream media like the BBC and Reuters are reporting on it. Be mindful of what you share.

bbc.com/news/60528276