Divisive anti-refugee videos are spreading from TikTok to Facebook as the threat of Russia grows. In the 20-second TikTok video, two men wrestle inside what looks like a shop selling notebooks and iPhone cases. One of them appears to be drunk, and he is shouting “Glory to Ukraine!”—demanding the other man say it as well. Together, they stagger across the room. The video was posted to Facebook on March 4 with a caption that reads: “How Ukrainian emigrants are behaving in Moldova.” The authenticity of the TikTok videos that are spreading rapidly on Facebook is not in doubt—although there is uncertainty about where the two men were filmed in this particular clip, because a “share the video” message hides a sign that could hint at the store’s location. But the way videos like this one are amplified across different platforms point to a coordinated campaign, according to Valeriu Pașa, president and chairman of Watchdog.MD, a Moldovan think tank that has been tracking disinformation and online influence campaigns. Pașa shared 100 examples of Facebook posts, mostly videos, that he called “manipulated content about the war in Ukraine,” although 28 had been taken down by Facebook as of April 7. Out of the 72 links that were still available to view on the platform, 20 were reposts of TikTok videos. Moldova, a small ex-Soviet nation sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, has been suffering from what researchers describe as “an explosion” of disinformation since war broke out in Ukraine. In a type of smear campaign against Ukrainian refugees, researchers say, real videos that express anti-refugee messages are being artificially amplified across both Facebook and TikTok. Around 400,000 people have arrived in Moldova from Ukraine, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR. Around 100,000 have stayed in the country, meaning right now it is the European country with the highest number of refugees per capita.
via wired: An ‘Explosion’ of Anti-Ukraine Disinformation Is Hitting Moldova