What I’m Reading
a guide to trustworthy & noteworthy resources about the war in Ukraine — Pt. 3
What I’m Reading returns with the third and final part of my guide to trust- and noteworthy resources about the war in Ukraine. After reading up on the basics and good context of this conflict and witnessing the human consequences of war in parts one and two, today I’ll include fact-checking resources, more powerful visual stories, and a list of journalists you can turn to, to stay informed about this conflict.
Learn to Trust (and Distrust)
Journalism is an exercise in critical thinking; for those that provide the news and those that receive it. The price for our digitized world, where anyone can publish anything, is that the quality of information is at risk. Whether it is honest mistakes made in the haste of the 24/7 news cycle, reporting that’s binned the guiding principles of accuracy and integrity altogether, or the deliberate dissemination of inaccurate information (fake news), people who care about journalism need to care about media literacy.
Judging a story’s (or news source’s) veracity begins with a few questions: where is a story coming from? Who is reporting it? Who’s giving me the information? Can I trust that person or organization? Why? Why not? Might they have an agenda?
Many times, questions like these suffice to answer the trustworthiness of a piece of information.
But campaigns that aim to spread deliberate incorrect information become more sophisticated. Technology can alter visual records or even create false records. We need support.
The most important step is to find news sources you trust. That’s a personal quest. A good idea is to check an organization’s history and track record. Look for signs of transparency; a newspaper that shows, at least partially, how they do what they do, sends a signal of trust.
But thinking about a combination of a few sources reduces the risk even further.
In addition to what one can do individually, below are a few resources that should help with trickier scenarios.
This AFP fact-checker lists deliberate misinformation. For example, a misleading use of pictures or a doctored video of a Vladimir Putin speech, where the “news provider” added false subtitles that turn the video into a declaration of war against African countries.
Simply scrolling through the list and realizing what kind of fake news or misleading stories circulate is a good exercise to improve one’s media literacy.
For German speakers, the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung offers a video explainer on detecting doctored videos. The video’s transcript is posted below the video, so with a bit of translation magic, you might get the gist of it. If you can, I highly recommend it.
The authors dissect three web videos that allegedly show Ukrainian aggression. In reality, the videos are fabrications that support the Russian war narrative.
The signs are subtle. Flora and hints of buildings in one video led a team of video analysts to study satellite images, which revealed that the actual geographical location diverted from the claimed location, making it nearly impossible that the aggressors are, as claimed, Ukrainian soldiers.
Other clues include metadata that reveals a creation day before the alleged event, the use of sound from archival footage, a confusing maze of videos being posted, taken offline, being re-posted by someone else (with added but unverified information), or websites that claim to be independent Ukrainian news while the domain is registered with a Moscow address.
First Draft News is a project that aims to fight mis- and disinformation. The project was founded by various news and tech organizations and receives funding from a variety of philanthropic organizations. The about section on their website lists all the details.
They’ve published their tips to identify and stay away from dis- and misinformation regarding Ukraine. You’ll learn about the difference between dis- and misinformation (and why it matters), how you can perform reverse image searches, and, among other tips, explain their “five pillars of visual verification,” a tool you should spend some time with.
Fakes of the war in Ukraine fact-checked by Joscha Weber is a five-minute video by Deutsche Welle, in which a fact-checker gives tips on how to navigate the current “flood of fakes,” as Weber puts it. Give this a watch.
Another resource I recommend is EDMO, the European Digital Media Observatory. They’re maintaining a list of fact-checked disinformation detected in the EU.
Finally, Harvard’s Nieman Lab journalism foundation provides us with a list of resources to stay informed on the conflict.
Picture Stories that Dig Deeper
The first story I recommend brings us back to about 2014/2015, just after the annexation of Crimea. The Idealists: Ukraine’s New Policewomen is a photographic essay by Misha Friedman that tells the story of the reformation of Ukraine’s police force.
The essay’s intro — written by the photographer — explains the story beautifully. The pictures show the transformation of the police force, how two women bring hope to turn the police from a force of bullies to the helping hand and protector citizens need. It’s beautiful work that provides a deeper look at Ukrainian society.
I also found a version of this story on Foreign Policy and The New York Times, which are presented a bit easier on the eyes.
I found the second story while checking the photojournalism blog of the Associated Press.
Ukraine’s far east falls back in time, into survival mode is a beautifully captured visit to eastern Ukraine. Mstyslav Chernov’s pictures capture a world that reminds of times long gone. They reveal the harsh reality of a war that hasn’t started this year but eight years ago.
It’s a powerful document of this conflict that brings the emotionality of life in eastern Ukraine just before the Russian invasion began to us. The photography is strong, emotional, quiet yet striking.
Every time I scroll through the site, I stop at the picture that shows a soldier standing in a trench, looking down. Or further into the story, the picture of a Ukrainian serviceman smoking at a shelter. The thoughtfulness grabs me. Beautiful.
Also published by the AP is Life in Ukraine on the edge amid war fears. It’s a collection of pictures from multiple photographers that show the impact of the looming war on life.
Photographers witnessed military drills for civilians, soldiers in the eastern parts, and civilians going on with life.
It’s a beautiful collection that invites us to learn about life in Ukraine and how a society handles the threat of war. A must-see.
Journalists to Follow
A guide like this wouldn’t be complete (if there is such a thing as complete) if I weren’t leaving you with a few names of journalists I think you should listen to or keep an eye on when browsing the news.
Our digital times have a benefit. You can pick up some of the news and a good bit of transparent looks behind the scenes of reporting directly from the journalists.
There are too many names to mention. But I still wanted to leave you with a starting point. So here’s a list of people who were covering this conflict at the time of writing this post.
In no particular order, if you’re looking for video work:
- Lyse Doucet / BBC
- Paul Adams / BBC
- Michael Downey
- Emily Rhyne / The New York Times
- Clarissa Ward / CNN
Some photojournalists:
- (Daniel) Shou Yi Ceng
- Lynsey Addario
- Paula Bronstein
- Carol Guzy
- Nicole Tung
- Erin Trieb
- Natalie Keyssar
- Heidi Levine
- Evgeniy Maloletka
- Tyler Hicks / The New York Times
- Robinson Chavez / Washington Post
- Ron Haviv / VII Photo
- Ilvy Njiokiktjien / VII Photo
- Emin Özmen / Magnum
- Marcus Yam / LA Times
- Ivor Prickett
- Alex Lourie
- Emilio Morenatti / AP
Some writers and agencies to look for:
- Christopher Miller / Buzzfeed
- Zoya Sheftalovich / Politicio
- Olga Tokariuk
- Magnum Photos
- Getty Images
- Reuters
- VII Photo
- Donbas Frontliner — for the local perspective
With that, I’ll leave you to your readings and hope you’ve found something of value today. I have fresh posts on journalism and photography coming soon, from my observations to my favorite reads on stories we shouldn’t forget despite such big events going on. This time, I’ll have something on Afghanistan, migration, and a great conversation on photography. Until then, happy reading and viewing.
