Russia and Ukraine: Who to follow to help cut through the misinformation

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine early Thursday, staging an assault on the country from three sides: the northern, eastern, and southern borders, NPR reports. Before dawn, Russian forces attacked locations near Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles, and are using long-range artillery against targets in Kharkiv, a Ukrainian city near the Russian border, according to CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law, but urged the public to remain calm. 

"The most important message is that Ukraine is united, we are strong," he said Thursday morning in a public address. "We are optimistic. We are looking into the future with wide open eyes, and we shall overcome."

A map of Ukraine showing its border with Russia. Credit: Getty / DigitalVision Vectors

As Russian military forces and Russian-backed separatists strike targets across Ukraine, it can be difficult to ensure you're receiving the full breadth of information at hand. There is an ongoing joke that every time something big happens geopolitically, people on the internet take on overconfident stances as experts — and that can lead to the spread of misinformation. Russia is also a country known for spreading misinformation to sow panic and confusion for its benefit.

The internet is full of grifters who rely on our basic trust to amplify their message, whether it's dipped in truth or not. On TikTok, for instance, some users are saying that they are livestreaming the "Ukrainian invasion" and asking for donations — but the videos they're posting are actually just shots of houses in the U.K. dubbed with sirens and gunshots, according to a report from NBC. So it's important to navigate this time with care.

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If you're following along with what the New York Timeshas called the "most significant European war in almost 80 years," there are plenty of trustworthy experts to listen to so that you can understand what is happening in Ukraine. Here are some of our favorites, on a variety of platforms.

Fact checking the Russian attack on Ukraine

Even if you think you're following reports from reputable sources, it's still important to do your due diligence and fact check it yourself. Here are some pointers on how to do that:

• Investigative news site Bellingcat has created a frequently updated database of footage from Russia and Ukraine that is false, which they debunk. It's very helpful if you find a piece of footage that you think might not be quite right.

• This piece from Poynter explains how to identify fake photos and videos.

• The Verge has a guide for how to navigate the internet when lies, tricks, and chaos abound. 

Live Blogs

Some news organizations put together live blogs of the news coming out of Russia and Ukraine. There are plenty of trusted news organizations that are live blogging the war in other languages — like elDiario in Spanish or Le Monde in French. But here are some of the English-language sites we're following:

• BBC News 

• The Guardian

• The Kyiv Independent

TV stations

If you want to see how different new sources are covering the invasion at the same time, Matt Taylor of the Financial Times put together a screening room with streams of coverage from BBC News, Sky News, NBC, CNN, ABC, Al Jazeera, and more.

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Twitter accounts 

You can, of course, follow trustworthy news sources on Twitter to get more information about the war, and there are a few well-curated lists of journalists covering the invasion. If you're looking for individual journalists to follow on Twitter, here are a few we've been watching.

Journalists to follow:

• Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of the Kyiv Independent (Ukrainian media on the ground reporting in English)

• Anastasiia Lapatina, a reporter for Kyiv Independent

• Igor Kossov, a journalist in Kyiv

• Nick Beake, the BBC News Europe correspondent

• Myroslava Petsa, a journalist for BBC Ukraine

• Sarah Rainsford, eastern Europe correspondent for BBC, currently reporting from east Ukraine

• Christopher Miller, BuzzFeed correspondent, former Mashable senior correspondent, reporting from Ukraine

• Steve Rosenberg, the Moscow correspondent for BBC News, reporting from Russia

• Christo Grozev, the executive director of Bellingcat 

• Nic Robertson, reporting from Moscow for CNN

• Andrew Roth, the Moscow correspondent for Guardian

• Max Seddon, the Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times

• Nataliya Vasilyeva, the Moscow correspondent for The Telegraph

• Nika Melkozerova, the executive editor of New Voice Ukraine

• Kristina Berdynskykh, a reporter at New Voice of Ukraine currently reporting from Kyiv

• Marichka Varenikova, a journalist in Kyiv

• Alec Luhn, a roving reporter across Ukraine and Russia

• Olga Tokariuk, a correspondent for EFE Noticias in Kyiv

• Nika Melkozerova, executive editor at New Voice of Ukraine

• Shaun Walker, the central and eastern Europe correspondent at Guardian

• Katerina Sergatskova, the editor-in-chief of Zaborona Media in Kyiv

• Myroslava Gongadze, the Eastern Europe chief at the Voice of America

• Alexander Khrebet, the international desk editor for ZN_UA (Ukraine's Mirror Weekly)

• Katerina Sergatskova, editor-in-chief at Zaborona Media

• Isobel Koshiw, a journalist in Kyiv

• Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist in Kyiv

• Tanya Kozyreva, a journalist in Ukraine

• Ollie Carroll, a journalist in Ukraine

• Luke Harding, journalist for Guardian currently reporting from Kyiv

• Valerie Hopkins, a reporter for the New York Times, currently reporting from Ukraine

• Mark MacKinnon, senior correspondent, the Globe and Mail, currently reporting from Ukraine

• Nataliya Gumenyuk, a journalist and founder Public Interest Journalism Lab

• Tim Mak, an NPR investigative correspondent currently reporting from Kyiv

• Frank Langfitt, an NPR London correspondent currently reporting from Ukraine

• Eleanor Beardsley, an NPR Paris correspondent currently reporting from Ukraine

• Nexta, large network covering Ukraine and Russia
  

Public figures:

• Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine

• Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine foreign minister

• Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine defence minister

• Lesia Vasylenko, Ukrainian MP tweeting in English

• Alona Shkrum, Ukrainian MP tweeting in English

• Sam Greene, King’s College professor of politics

• Michael McFaul, leading expert on Russia, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow

• Edward Lucas, security specialist and author

• Peter Pomerantsev, journalist and scholar 

• Michael Kofman, Russian armed forces expert

• Michael McFaul, a Standford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia

Open-source intelligence (OSINT):

• Rob Lee, reliable source tracking military engagements in Ukraine

• OSINTtechnical, reliable source tracking military engagements

• Jane Lytvynenko, resources for journalists 

• Elliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat

• Maria Avdeeva, disinformation analyst in Ukraine

• Aric Toler – East European researcher, Bellingcat

• Oliver Alexander, geolocation analyst 

• Karina Nguyen, visual investigations with the Human Rights Center, New York Times

• Conflict Intelligence Team, visual investigations in Ukraine

• Thomas Eydoux, OSINT journalist

• Michael A. Horowitz, geopolitical and security analyst

• Christiaan Triebert, visual investigations at the New York Times

• Christo Grozev, executive editor of Bellingcat 

Regardless of how you get your news, staying abreast with the goings on in Europe now — and ensuring that you don't contribute to the spread of misinformation — is ever-important.