Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 28/02/2022
Just like every war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started an avalanche of disinformation on social networks. However, this time a new phenomenon was noticed – disinformation about disinformation.
Just like every war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started an avalanche of disinformation on social networks. However, this time a new phenomenon was noticed – disinformation about disinformation. Allegations circulating on social networks claim that the Ukrainian editorial office of CNN announced that journalist Bernie Gores was killed in that country. At the same time, another alleged CNN Twitter account claims that Bernie Gorse was killed in Afghanistan. The websites supporting the invasion of Ukraine have started to spread allegations that a CNN journalist was “killed” twice and that the goal of this disinformation is to harm Russia.
“CNN’s fake tweet virus in the midst of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis: Journalist dies twice – in Afghanistan and Ukraine”, states the headline of the IN4S website.
“The story of journalist Bernie Gores, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2021 and recently in Ukraine, is circulating on many social networks. However, it has been proven that the news is absolutely fake, for which there is evidence. The first tweet, attributed to CNN in Afghanistan, is about a journalist named “Bernie Gores”, who was allegedly executed by Taliban soldiers in Kabul, after the explosion in Beirut in August 2020. Another tweet also mentions “Bernie Gores”, but describes him as an “activist” who was the first American victim of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. This tweet is attributed to CNN Ukraine. “Their tweet states that he passed away after a mine planted by the Russians exploded”, IN4S claims.
IN4S adds that “some even claim that there was never a person named Bernie Gores and that it was just fiction”.
The same claims appeard in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Raskrinkavanje.ba published their fact-checking analysis. According to them, these claims first appeared on the Croatian portal in the B/C/S speaking area, followed by Montenegrin and Serbian websites. In BiH they were not picked up by any media, but they were viral in posts on social networks, some of which also contained links to the mentioned articles.
And that part is actually true. Bernie Gores was not a CNN journalist, and there is certainly no information that he died in Afghanistan or Ukraine.
Tweets featuring a photo of the man who is allegedly Gores were published on the accounts of “CNN Afghanistan” and “CNN Ukraine”. As Politifact explained, none of these accounts were verified as official accounts.
Also, Matt Dornic, CNN’s head of strategic communications, confirmed to Reuters that none of these accounts belong to CNN and that they did not create them.
Moreover, Snopes and Factcheck.org have determined that the person in the photo is actually a YouTuber, Jordie Jordan.
This post is rated as fake news. The “fake news” rating is given to the original media report (entirely produced by the media that published it) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is assessed as fake news could have been created and disseminated to misinform the public, that is, to present a claim that is completely false as fact.