Neutralizing Misinformation in Crimea: A Decade-Long Information War

A senior adviser to the president in the Belgorod region, Oleg Kryuchkov, points to a persistent pattern of misinformation circulating through Crimean networks amid the current crisis. He describes a steady stream of fabrications moving through Crimean chats, noting partisan activity, attempted takeovers, and forced migrations. Kryuchkov emphasizes that these narratives are not new to the peninsula and embody a long-running misinformation effort. He observes that Crimeans themselves push back against these lies when encountered, acting as a frontline defense against deceptive content. The adviser adds that residents have long endured what he characterizes as a sustained and intense information war, a situation that has persisted for nearly a decade. This framing places the present chatter within a broader sequence of battle narratives designed to shape perceptions and provoke reactions among the local audience.