I examined the article, Disinformation and the Media: the Case of Russia and Ukraine, which discusses the war between Russia and Ukraine, specifically the ways that social media manipulated the citizens of both countries.

The article starts by discussing the role that social media has in creating political change, particularly after the failures of the ‘Arab Spring’ and ‘Occupy’ movements; stating that these failures caused many researchers to dismiss social media’s significance. It pushes back against this skepticism, showing evidence of the ways that social media was used, by the government, media companies, and even citizens, to exacerbate conflict. It also looks at the changes in the media landscape since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, particularly in its various biases.

I found it interesting – albeit slightly scary – as I started seeing the ways that the social media landscape, as well as political discourse, in Australia, has a lot of similarities to both Russia and Ukraine, particularly in the way that ordinary citizens were creating and spreading disinformation just as widely, if not wider, than either traditional media, or ‘troll factories.’ I remember hearing on a podcast (possibly one of Wil Anderson’s) that most successful cult leaders and scammers have at least a small amount of belief in what they’re doing, which seems to tie in with the citizens’ actions.

The situation in Ukraine also resonated with me, with the authors stating that the regime change supporters claimed to be the ‘majority,’ even though much of the Ukrainian population were not online, and were unaware of the situation at hand. I have definitely seen this ‘echo chamber majority’ situation happening, both here in Australia, and worldwide. In many countries in South America, groups claiming to be ‘the majority’ often attempt to undermine populist left governments, and get favourable media coverage for it. Western left-wing movements, such as those supporting Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn, also seem to get stuck inside echo chambers, and have often not realised that they have not convinced anyone outside their circle to join in.

This article is useful for media students, especially journalism students, because it is able to show the ways that disinformation can be spread through social media, and the parallels between the lead-up to the Russo-Ukrainian War, and other political crises overseas.

References:

Mejias, U & Vokuev, N 2017, ‘Disinformation and the Media: the Case of Russia and Ukraine’, Media, Culture & Society, vol. 39, no. 7, viewed 19 April 2021, <https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0163443716686672>

After the Easter holidays, we recorded short news segments in the studio. It was an interesting experience working with professional equipment, as last year, we had to rely on whatever equipment we had at home. I felt like I was able to translate last year’s lessons to using the equipment in the studio. I also enjoyed working in different roles while other groups were recording their pieces.

We chose our story for a number of reasons. It’s a fairly complex story that has a complex verdict. This gave us an extra challenge for us to make the piece informative and engaging. Also, we wanted to avoid topics about COVID-19. While it’s relevant and would work well as a video, we just wanted something a bit different.

We wanted to examine the different definitions of what would be considered a subsidy, and how the differentiation can be deliberately used to misinform the public.

I believe that our piece was successful at communicating the difficult topic of subsidies as something concise and entertaining, but still detailed and informative. Sticking to the time guideline of 1.5-2 minutes was difficult when looking at the subject, but I think it’s the best amount of time for a video like this.

As the graphics computer and EVS machine malfunctioned, I edited the footage to add in the graphics and fades that we originally intended on using. If I was to edit this further, I would add some footage showing Matt Canavan’s quote with some B-roll, as well as some detailed graphics to go with the script.

To be honest, I feel like I could have contributed more to writing the script. As Callum originally thought that he was not going to make it to class, he offered to write the script for the task. While it can be difficult to work on a group assignment remotely, written work is probably one of the easiest things to work on collaboratively.

I watched Tom and James’ video based on Clive Palmer’s vocal skepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine. I appreciated that Tom was able to give a brief background of the issues preceding Palmer’s comments, as well as the early issues leading up to what has become a turbulent vaccine rollout in Australia. The segment was split up into different parts, reducing the risk of confusion from attempting to communicate different facts and details at the same time. Tom’s performance was clear and well-paced.

Uncompressed Edited Video

I enjoyed producing this interview. I visited my family in Canberra, and spoke to David – one of my friends from primary school – about my assignment, and he offered to help me with the interview. I ended up conducting it over Discord, as I left my equipment in Melbourne, but he also had a decent microphone, so he recorded his side of the call, so I didn’t have to worry about connection quality.

I chose this article from ABC Fact Check because I believe that stories about immigration, refugees, and ‘stealing jobs’ are popular for disinformation, because it is an emotive subject that is easy to use as bait, even for people who are supportive of the rights of refugees and immigration. The article also had a fairly clear verdict, which made it easier me to present to David, as I believe that it would be difficult to succinctly explain an article with a more ambiguous conclusion.

It is a bit heavy on technical language around visa types; though to be fair, Australia’s visa system is complicated, where seemingly small details can completely change what visa the applicant is eligible for. I have close family who work for the Department of Home Affairs’ visa team, and even they have trouble describing all the differences.

I also found it interesting to learn about how David consumes media, and how he checks facts. I was  a bit surprised that no one in class brought up using a smart speaker to consume the news; though I hope the stuff from Sky News isn’t just coming from their ‘After Dark’ programming. David seems very media-savvy, fact-checking any claims that come up.

Editing the recording was tedious though. While controls were straightforward; the creative side was a bit harder. Both David and I ramble, which meant that my recording was over twenty minutes long. This meant that I had to figure out what was important, slice and delete clips, and make sure I timed and crossfaded some cuts so it wouldn’t sound like an episode of Rock Bottom.

I believe that the audio form has the potential to be an effective method to present fact checks. It can be easily consumed in the background. It can also be adapted for different genres, or to focus on certain categories of facts.

The format can also be easily changed to suit different audiences. A podcast with short-form summaries or a talkback-style show would be as effective and engaging as a detailed, multi-episode epic involving interviews and thorough investigation.

References:

Bakir, V & McStay, A 2018, ‘Fake News and The Economy of Emotions’, Digital Journalism, vol. 6, no. 2, viewed 16 April 2021, <https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2017.1345645>

Gordon, J 2020, ‘Has the Government prioritised Australian workers through the migration program as Alan Tudge says?’, RMIT ABC Fact Check, 3 June, viewed 14 April 2021, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-03/fact-check-migrant-workers-457-temporary-visas/12299180>

At Home Practical

Piece to Camera

Disinformation and the media: the case of Russia and Ukraine