The analysis of the information space since the establishment of the state of emergency indicates a continuous and growing process of spreading fake news and manipulative comments/ statements on the natural gas topic, which in turn generate the following risks to national security:
1. panic in the society;
2. interethnic hatred;
3. compromises national efforts to remedy the situation in the energy sector.
Examples of recent fake news:
- mass disconnections from electricity networks of household consumers from the Republic of Moldova;
- stopping the supply of electricity by the Cuciurgan Power Plant;
- temporary disconnection of the Eternal Fire at the “Eternity” Memorial Complex - a “demonstrative action of the Moldovan authorities”;
- spreading the messages of national/ international experts without expertise in the field, who suggest false hypotheses about the reasons for the natural gas crisis;
- false assumptions about “blackmail used by the Republic of Moldova” in the negotiation of contracts for natural gas supply;
- references to non-existent contracts/ agreements by citing anonymous sources;
- supporting false conspiracy theories.
Identified manipulation techniques used to promote fake articles/ manipulative comments include the following:
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selective presentation of data;
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cognitive distortions such as “catastrophizing”;
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citing a single unofficial or anonymous source of information;
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interpreting/ commenting on the facts, highlighting the opinions of certain “experts” (without expertise in the field);
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emotional manipulation via sensational headlines that do not correspond to the content and reality.
In this context, in order to ensure the consumption of truthful information but also to avoid participating in the dissemination of fake news, the SIS urges you to go through the following steps before making the decision to like or share a piece of news/ comment:
- Do your research and assess the news by correlating it with official sources. At the same time, if the article contains declarations or press releases of the officials or national/ international organizations or companies, compare the content of the message in the article with the original one (check official websites or official accounts on the social networks);
- Compare the content of the article with the primary source;
- Avoid sharing news considering only the headlines without an assessment of the content (one of the methods used by certain websites spreading fake news is posting sensational “clickbait headlines” that manipulate readers’ curiosity). Thus, some anonymous sources spreading fake news determine readers to share their news via social networks. Usually, their goal is to get more pageviews;
- Assess the source of information (pay attention to the author of the article, the web address, other articles posted on that website, editorial policy);
- Pay attention to the content of the news (compliance with ethical rules in the article, proper grammar, authenticity of the photo, video, audio content);
- Pay attention to the release date of the news (sharing news about past reality is irrelevant in the present);
- If you find articles shared via social networks, assess the source that disseminates them (some fake news are shared via fake accounts on social networks);
- If you find comments/ statements of experts, evaluate their background and level of expertise.
We encourage you to consider the infographic shared by the Security and Intelligence Service, in order to learn how to distinguish fake news.
In the circumstances of the state of emergency approved by the Parliament Decision No. 148/2021, the SIS recommends to check information primarily at the following official sources:
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Institution/ organisation |
Official website |
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Parliament of the Republic of Moldova |
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Presidency of the Republic of Moldova |
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Government of the Republic of Moldova |
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Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development |
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration |
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General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations |
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JSC "Energocom" |
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LLC "Moldovatransgaz" |
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JSC "Moldovagaz" |
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JSC "Termoelectrica" |
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LLC "Chișinău-Gaz" |
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SOE "Moldelectrica" |
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FIE "Premier Energy" LLC |
https://premierenergy.md |
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FIE "Premier Energy Distribution" JSC |
https://premierenergydistribution.md |
The SIS relies on your responsible attitude, therefore strengthening efforts in this regard is crucial.