Thread by @Kierand99

I took a look at how people in Russia appear to be contributing to the information battle around Ukraine. One development seems to be the start of an OSINT war./1

In the West much of the conflict has been documented via the OSINT community - the likes of @konrad_muzyka, @CITeam_en, @RALee85, @Cen4infoRes, @KyleJGlen, @CovertShores, @Michael1Sheldon @EliotHiggins amongst others - alongside news orgs doing verification./2

But a counter OSINT narrative exists on Russian social media sites./3

One example has been Telegram channels sharing 'forensic' information claiming the killings in Bucha were staged by Ukraine./4

Much of the shared info presents analysis of satellite imagery and highlights details in photos and videos to 'reveal' what really happened./5

Below is one example that suggests a cyclist killed in Bucha was working for Ukrainian forces. The markup of the imagery went alongside statements about how the cyclist was used as bait to draw out Russian forces./6

It's not true - @CNN spoke to the family of the Iryna Filkina who was killed - but the information was still presented in forensic style imitating what investigative orgs like @bellingcat do./7 cnn.com/2022/04/07/eur…

The example shows how easy it is to give the illusion of revealing the 'truth' with a bit of styling. In many ways it's the ultimate flattery of what the western OSINT community has achieved./8

Some of this is having an effect. This week the narrative about Bucha being staged has been promoted by a well known film director./9

But this info is mainly being shared on Russian language sites. That's where it's probably having most effect and according to media Professor @CharlieBeckett, the likely target audience./10

All this means it's vital readers and viewers scrutinise claims made in investigations./11

Some good Qs to ask: do the presented images actually show what is said in accompanying statements? Does the reporting make clear what isn't known? Does the source consistently push a particular view beyond this one investigation?/12

We shouldn't ignore all claims from pro-Russian OSINT sources - some might have merit, such as a video released which appeared to show Ukrianian forces shooting a Russian POW./13 news.sky.com/story/video-ap…

But if a source shares dozens of forensic 'reveals', all of which absolve Russia's actions, there's likely a motivation at play that means the material could be disinformation./14

And what's particularly tricky is this info isn't just being pushed by state media. It's ordinary people. I took a look at some other ways people in Russia seem to be contributing to the information war in the full story here: news.sky.com/story/ukraine-…