Hypocrisy! Big Tech Allows Reported Ukraine Hoaxes — Censored COVID-19 Debate

Reports of hoaxes regarding the Ukrainian War have been spread by Big Tech platforms, while they continue to censor those who post actual facts about COVID-19.

What is more risky, questioning the COVID-19 narratives, or spreading hoaxes that could lead nuclear war? Carlson criticized the exaggerated and completely false information about the conflict in Ukraine that is being spread on the Internet. “Just the other day, [Rep. Adam] Kinzinger [R-IL] posted images on Twitter of Ukrainian Air Ace called the ‘Ghost of Kyiv,’” Carlson explained during a Feb. 28 broadcast of Tucker Carlson Tonight. “Well, turns out the whole thing was a hoax, but of course, Adam Kinzinger had no idea because he knows nothing.” Carlson went on to hammer “buffoon” Kinzinger’s blunder:

“Kinzinger then attached an obviously photoshopped image of the comedian, Sam Hyde, sitting in the cockpit of a fighter jet. Sam Hyde is, to be clear, not a Ukrainian fighter pilot ace. Once again, he is a comedian. Adam Kinzinger was the one who did that. These are the people pushing us toward a new world war.”

Carlson wasn’t the only one to call out reported misinformation. 

Women’s publication Evie Magazine also called out the reported rise of hoaxes amid the war in Ukraine in a powerful piece: “We’re Being Bombarded By Old Photos And Fake Videos Of The Ukraine Invasion, And We Need To Ask Why We’re Being Lied To.” Evie Magazine asserted: “As the days go on, though, we have learned that most of the footage that has been going viral isn’t actually from the current Russia invasion.” The article also claimed: “You’ll find many photos and videos from years past that have little to do with today’s events in Ukraine..” [Emphasis added.]

The publication addressed one viral video that was presented as a “Ukrainian Father Crying As He Sends His Daughter To Safety.” Yet the video reportedly was “filmed prior to Russia invading Ukraine in February; it was instead filmed when people were evacuating from Donbass. This young girl was actually being sent to Russia to seek refuge.” In short, rather than a Ukrainian girl fleeing Russian invaders, it showed an ethnic Russian fleeing anti-Russian crackdowns by the Ukrainian government in the Donbass region, according to Evie Magazine.

Kinzinger wasn’t alone in propagating apparent falsehoods about the “Ghost of Kyiv.” Gaming outlet Kotaku on Saturday noted that footage shared of the possibly mythical Ghost of Kyiv pilot was a hoax as well: “A clip of a Ukrainian fighter jet blowing up a suspected Russian aircraft started trending on social media yesterday. Many believed it was proof of the exploits of a mysterious and unverified ace pilot called the ‘Ghost of Kyiv.’ It was actually fake footage from the 2013 PC game, Digital Combat Simulator: World.”

The verified accountThe following was posted by the Defense Ministry of Ukraine video, which Twitter has since flagged as “media presented out of context.” The fact-check explained: “A clip from Digital Combat Simulator, a flight simulation game, has been miscaptioned on social media, fact-checkers say. The clip does not show a Ukrainian fighter jet shooting down Russian planes, Reuters reports.”

Inconsistency in misinformation has a long history with Big Tech platforms. COVID-19 was an example of a situation in which users posted misinformation and were blocked. However, verified institutions weren’t censored because they were posting incorrect or factually inaccurate information. WHO served as the mouthpiece of Chinese authorities on Jan. 14, 2020 to deceive nations across the globe about the nature and severity of the virus. WHO claimed in a tweet:

“Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #China.”

This tweet will be allowed to stay in place even into 2022. Big Tech has been criticized by many sources for its censorship of Wuhan lab leak origin theories of COVID-19 pandemic. This was while the WHO has been deemed a trustworthy source.

Conservatives under attack Contact your local representative and demand that Big Tech mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s Contact formHelp us to hold Big Tech responsible.