"Someone posing as a Ukrainian citizen just joins the chat and starts spreading misinformation, or gathers data, like the location of shelters," Tsekhanovska said, noting how false messages have urged Ukrainians to turn off their phones at a specific time of night, citing cybersafety. For example, WhatsApp restricted the number of times a user could forward something, and developed automated systems that detect and flag objectionable content. In 2018, Russia banned Telegram although it reversed the prohibition two years later. "This time we received the coordinates of enemy vehicles marked 'V' in Kyiv region," it added. False news often spreads via public groups, or chats, with potentially fatal effects.
from ca
