, Columnist
Beware the Dangers of Digital Snake-Oil Salesmen
It turns out The Big Lie is harder to kill than the internet prophets promised.
Misinformation experts Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
In the western Russian city of Kirov last month, citizens spoke out fiercely in defense of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Olga Akishina, whose boyfriend was killed by a US-supplied missile, denounced supposed “NATO bases in Ukraine” and the “extermination” of Russian speakers there.
A thrice-wounded army officer said: “The US and NATO gave us no choice….I’m going back [to fight] because I want my kids to be proud of me. You have to raise patriots. Otherwise Russia will be eaten up.”