Disinformation as a weapon: how competitors use fakes and how to recognize them

Disinformation has become a powerful tool in political and business games. Competitors often resort to spreading fake news or rumors to discredit opponents, divert attention from their own failures, or gain an advantage in the market. UNN looked into how to recognize such fakes.

Modern media and social networks allow for the rapid dissemination of information to a wide audience. Fake news often comes in the form of “sensational revelations” that may contain partial or completely fictitious facts. Such reports may include false accusations of corruption, fraud, personal scandals, or sensitive topics such as ties to Russia.

Fake news launched to defend political or business goals is usually published systematically to attack the reputation of opponents.

In political and business struggles, materials often refer to “interlocutors” or “sources” who allegedly confirm certain accusations. This approach creates the impression of “legal” credibility of the fake, which can confuse the audience, and therefore it is necessary to carefully check the reliability of the source, read more than the headline, pay attention to the date of publication and monitor who else is writing about it .

Otherwise, a fake launched for the purpose of political or business competition can quickly spread and eventually be perceived as “reliable truth.” This was the case, for example, with fake about Viktor Polishchuk's wife Lilia Rizva allegedly being the niece of Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev's wife. It was also spread in 2015-2016 by the then current MP Pavlo Rizanenko in his blogs, but he never provided evidence of this information. UNN asked Rizanenko to provide documents that would confirm his assumptions, but he refused to comment, citing the fact that he has not been a public figure since 2019.

So it is worth remembering that disinformation in the modern world is an integral part of competition in business and politics. However, knowing how it is spread and being able to distinguish truth from fake helps to maintain reputation and successfully respond to such attacks.

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Over the years, the fake about Viktor Polishchuk and his wife's alleged family ties to the Russian elite has been repeated even by civil servants. Recently, Viktor Polishchuk filed a lawsuit with the Shevchenkivskyi District Court against the ARMA to protect his honor, dignity and business reputation. In a commentary to UNN , he explainedthat he was forced to go to court because of a statement by ARMA chief Olena Duma that he and his wife had “close relations with the Kremlin elite.” Polishchuk emphasized that this information was fictitious and untrue.

In response to a request from UNN , ARMA head Olena Duma explainedthat she accused Polishchuk and his wife of having ties to the “Kremlin elite” because she saw such information in the media.

The court will consider Polishchuk's lawsuit against the ARMA on October 10.