![]() ![]() There is no point in writing stories or narratives or a disinformation about something that nobody reads,” Golovchenko said. you will almost always go for the stories, narratives that captivate people that capture attention - that are viral. “If you look at the classical disinformation strategies. To Yevgeniy Golovchenko, a University of Copenhagen researcher on social media disinformation, Wali has been swept up in a larger “fog of war” - the barrage of true, twisted, and false information propagated by Russia in its war to sow support among Russians, despondency among Ukrainian forces, and confusion among everyone else. it certainly may affect individuals in Canada who are opposed to perhaps engaging in the conflict itself.” before he could do anything has the potential to be not only demoralizing for those of Ukraine who might have seen him as a potential asset. So by saying that you’ve killed an enemy combatant very quickly. “That’s kind of a classic model of potential psychological operations using information warfare. Thomas Holt, a professor in the school of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University who specializes in internet hacking, said that whether or not Wali is still alive, it’s clear why Russia would want to spread the story of his death. Wali is alive.”Ī Facebook post by the Norman Brigade, the group with which Wali said he was travelling, did not confirm whether he was alive or dead, but said he was not near Mariupol on the day the Russian posts claimed he was killed. “How could Wali have been in Mariupol the day after crossing the border into Ukraine?. “Think about it,” one Wali fan said in French in a video he made about the rumours. Wali’s internet following was not so quick to accept this news, which has not been verified by independent news or government sources.Ī spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said it hadn’t been informed of any Canadian volunteer fighters dying in Ukraine. The post was “liked” more than 12,000 times, and would go on to appear on countless other channels. killed by Russian special forces in Mariupol 20 minutes after landing,” read one post by the administrator of a Russian nationalist group. “Canadian sniper, which propaganda called the ‘deadliest sniper in the world’. As of Friday, he hadn’t made another.īut less than 24 hours after Wali’s last post, explanations for his silence were going viral on Russian social media networks such as VKontakt. That was the last post Wali made before his channel went dark. Still just as dirty, but impersonal.”įar from Lviv, he said, but he gave no indication of where he was. “Those who died probably did not see the Russian soldiers. “I am already far from the base that was hit yesterday,” he wrote, referring to Russian missile strikes near Lviv. On Monday, Wali had shared a post on the blog telling his followers not to worry for his safety following a deadly Russian attack. That purpose, and the fame Wali has garnered, may be why Russian troll farms want to spread word of his purported demise. Wali, who asked the Star that his real name not be used, has fought and documented his time in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and now Ukraine, always painting a picture of glory that comes from taking down enemies, and countering, he says, the images spread by the aggressors in war. Experts, meanwhile, say stories of his supposed death fit Russia’s misinformation playbook and the long history of information warfare. But he is in a war zone, and the truth remains elusive. Loved ones have posted online that they fully believe he is still alive. No official source has yet confirmed if he is dead or alive. ![]()
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