All the Nonsense
It's not hard to push back on nonsense.
At the core of each piece of nonsense, there is a lie. Use basic critical thinking to unpack the lie.
Now you are in a position to push back on the nonsense.
Congratulations! Donate to help Ukraine and you are now a NAFO fella.
Self Care
Fighting nonsense is not always a riotous memefest. Some nonsense pronouncers are the very worst of humanity. This is especially acute when things are going poorly for their glorious motherland.
Never feel you have to deal with this. #RageDonate instead. Lean on other fellas for support. Take mental health breaks. Step away until you are ready to do it again.
What to do about the nonsense
Some nonsense is especially hateful, making interaction inadvisable. In this case, review the nonsense and quietly follow your conscience about who should be informed. Tell friends, so they can also review the nonsense. Sometimes showing the nonsense to the world is a good thing. After all, #NAFOExpansionIsNonNegotiable! Sometimes, asking the advice of a few close friends works better.
Some nonsense is so silly, it's funny. Join in on the joke with memes and other commentary. Eventually the nonsense pronouncer will get annoyed and give up, or maybe pronounce some more nonsense that is reviewable.
It's rarely worthwhile to argue in good faith with nonsense. A quick review of a producer's nonsense usually shows only even more nonsense! They want to waste your time, make you mad, and by whatever means distract you from the important task of fighting nonsense.
Some nonsense is directly state-sponsored: nonsense government representatives, Bombili Dombass and other jurnalists who are paid to shill, obvious cut-and-paste content uncoincidentally distributed at a certain time by multiple pronouncers. There are hub pronouncers, and others who interact with a piece of nonsense to amplify it: often these others are independently pronouncing nonsense, sometimes much worse.
It's not a 100% reliable guide to look at size of the pronouncer's circle. These networks that are constructed explicitly to enable nonsense broadcasting can be broken up at any point. Twitter Circle is a useful tool.
Some cunning pronouncers may shape shift so their nonsense is harder to find. Fun fact: a given account has only one ID, although its handle is changeable. Tweeter ID allows reverse lookup of ID by handle and vice versa.
Sometimes the nonsense review can be demoralizing, resulting in an inexplicable "that was all OK" email for the worst hate speech. Do not give up: if enough like-minded people point out the nonsense, it can be stopped for a while, or permanently. Nonsense pronouncers finding themselves deplatformed frequently try to rebuild their audience under a new name. This behaviour is reviewable!
NAFO wannabes
Some less smooth-brained pronouncers of nonsense want to be like NAFO! Obviously, they are peak cringe, so that's not going to happen.
All the same, be careful to avoid slurs and other responses that can be reviewed by them. The wellspring of all nonsense is waging a hybrid war against the West, as well as committing imperialist genocide in Ukraine: it's not surprising they are unhappy about their info war efforts being burnt to the ground by a bunch of brain-damaged CIA-funded Shiba Inus.
Open organization of teams to review nonsense is not allowed. This is called 'brigading', and results in permanent removal of the nonsense producers in question. Remember that this is a two-way street: overt calls for "reporting" of nonsense can result in an unhappy fella. #nafoarticlewhatnow ?
Types of Nonsense
Pronouncers of nonsense are for the most part not very creative. They have a nonsense point they want to make, and they are going to hammer it home, come hell or high water.
The goal of nonsense is not to present a different version of the truth for civilized debate. The goal is to make people forget that the truth matters, or better yet that it even exists. Pushing back on nonsense requires you to step out of this framework, so you can target the lie at the core of the nonsense with the objective truth.
With this in mind, we can survey the most common types of nonsense, and concisely point out why it is horseshit.
In most cases the nonsense specifically targets Ukraine, i.e. "Someone else or a specific group of people".
Often images are included which are reviewable in their own right. Nonsense may appear in replies as well as original statement.
| The Nonsense | Why is it Horseshit? | Category |
|---|---|---|
| The Big Lie - "SMO" (sic) false excuses
NATO expansion Self defence Protecting Donbas Ukrainians are all Nazis (denazification) Desatanification Biolabs Stop genocide vs ethnic russians |
russia's 24 Feb 2022 invasion of Ukraine began war of choice to forcibly reunite mythologized 'brother nation', reverse Ukraine's pro-EU direction
russian leaders since say 'SMO' should result in the end of Ukraine as a nation: Putin/Medvedev/Prigozhin/Kadyrov/Dugin/Sergeytsev |
denial of violent event
attacks national identity |
| "Ukraine is full of /run by Nazis"
Also: #UkroNazi, UkroNazis, ucronazis, ucronacista, UkroReich, UkroGestapo, UkroWehrmacht, UkroSS, UkraineNazis, Ukrazis, Azov Nazis |
Slurs Ukraine as Nazi. This spreads fear about them: Nazis killed millions of people in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s
Slurs Ukraine as 'Ukronazi'. This ethnic slur merges ethnicity & nationality ("Ukro") with political affiliation ("Nazi"). This spreads fear about them: Nazis killed millions in Europe in the 1930s/1940s |
slurs/spreads fear
attacks national identity |
| "Zelenskler" to reference President Zelensky | "Zelenskler" slurs Ukraine president Zelensky as Nazi by conflating his name with "Hitler" | slurs/spreads fear
attacks personal identity |
| "Ukrainians are all Banderite Nazis" | Slurs 21st century Ukraine as Nazi solely by association with Stepan Bandera, who died in 1959. This spreads fear about them: Nazis killed millions of people in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s | slurs/spreads fear
attacks national identity |
| "NATO made us do it"
Also: Any casus belli other than pre-planned genocidal war of imperialist expansion |
Denial of violent event: Feb 24 2022 unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by russia, targets Ukraine's national identity, spreads fear vs NATO nations. NATO has never invaded the Russian Federation since the alliance was founded in 1949. | denial of violent event/spreads fear
attacks national identity |
| "Urkaine is ruled by a dictator"
May target Zelensky by name |
Ukraine is a representative democracy, a candidate for accession to the EU. President Zelensky was lawfully elected with 73% of the vote in a 2019 run-off. | slurs/spreads fear/encourages harassment/denial of business
attacks national identity|- |
| "Ukraine is corrupt"
Also: money laundering allegations (may also accuse US, EU, UK etc). MAGAs bleating about 'muh taxes' will sometimes pronounce this nonsense if asked |
Slurs Ukraine as 'corrupt'. This slur spreads fear, encourages sanctions and harassment by international law enforcement, denial of business (i.e. aid) by saying the target of the slur is criminal. | slurs/spreads fear/encourages harassment/denial of business
attacks national identity |
| "Zelensky is a cokehead"
Also: other drug abuse allegations, "Slava Cocaini" |
False allegations of drug abuse slur, spread fear, encourage sanctions and harassment by international law enforcement, denial of business (i.e. aid) by saying the target of the slur is criminal. | slurs/spreads fear/encourages harassment/denial of business
attacks national identity |
| "Ukraine is a hub for organ trafficking/human trafficking" | False allegations of criminality slur, spread fear, encourage sanctions and harassment by international law enforcement, denial of business (i.e. aid) by saying the target of the slur is criminal. | slurs/spreads fear/encourages harassment/denial of business
attacks national identity |
| Direct ethnic slurs: khokhol, hohol, chub (referencing Cossack hairstyle) | Ethnic slur vs Ukrainian(s) | slurs
attacks personal/national identity |
| Any non-ethnic slur vs Ukrainian | Slur vs Ukrainian(s) | slurs
attacks personal/national identity |
| "The Holodomor was an accidental famine"
Also: "watch this video" suggesting it never happened, other strawmen to deny genocide |
Denies the Holodomor, attacking national identity of Ukraine. In 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainians were killed in the Holodomor, a man-made famine engineered by the Soviet government of Joseph Stalin. | denial of violent event
attacks national identity |
| "Maidan was a US-backed coup"
Also: Victoria Nuland, WEF, "global cabal". Sometimes explicitly antisemitic. |
There was no coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014, and no US/NATO involvement. Pro-Kremlin outlets falsely portray the Euromaidan revolution as a coup. It was a massive popular protest vs pro-Kremlin Pres. Yanukovych breaking promise to move towards EU. | denial of violent event/spreads fear
attacks national identity |
| "Bucha was a false flag"
Also: "it's not proven", "check the timeline" Izyum, Irpin, Mariupol, any russian war crime out of 1000s |
2022 Bucha massacre was a well documented war crime committed by russian military vs Ukraine civilians. Denial of violent event, including via strawman, attacks victims, Ukraine's identity. | denial of violent event/spreads fear (for false flag)
attacks victim/national identity |
| "Kramatorsk attack was done by Ukraine"
"Barracks hit, foreign mercenaries killed in Kramatorsk" |
Denies russian Iskander strike June 27 2023 on pizzeria in Kramatorsk. Iskanders are very accurate, exclusive to russia: targeting pizzeria is a war crime, it's not a 'military target'. Strawman denialism lies about victims: there are no "foreign mercenaries" on Ukraine's side. | denial of violent event/spreads fear (for false flag)
attacks victim/national identity |
| "Ukraine shot down Flight MH17"
Also: nonsense about the missile serial number |
Civilian flight MH17 was shot down by russia-allied forces in Ukraine in July 2014. Denial of violent event attacks victims, Malaysia's and Ukraine's identity. | denial of violent event/spreads fear
attacks victim/national identity |
| "Ukraine destroyed Mariupol Arts Theatre" | Mariupol Arts Theatre in Ukraine was destroyed by russian air force bombers on March 16 2022, not by Azov or any other Ukrainian military formation. Denial via strawman is still denial. | denial of violent event/spreads fear
attacks victim/national identity |
| "Odessa Transfiguration Cathedral was hit by Ukrainian air defense" | Odesa's Transfiguration Cathedral was seriously damaged on July 22 2023 as a result of ongoing russian missile strikes against the city's population center and grain shipping infrastructure | denial of violent event/spreads fear
attacks victim/national identity and religion |
| Ukrainian air defence (or airstrike) hit Konstantinyvka market | Konstantinyvka market suffered russian missile strike on Sept 6 2023. War crimes denial and victim blaming by pro-russian account. | denial of violent event/spreads fear
attacks victim/national identity |
| "Watch my funny video with Ukraine as a pig"
Also: sometimes Nazi, UkroPest, roach, dog - any animal or disease, Pig or other emoji |
Hateful video dehumanizes as pig (or whatever) | slur/dehumanizes/spreads fear
attack national identity |
| reference to Ukraine as "country 404" | Country 404" denies nation's identity and existence: implicit call for genocide. Refers to HTTP error code 404 meaning 'not found' | wishes harm or violent threat
attacks national identity |
| "They should be denazified"
Also: Denazification |
'denazify' calls for / celebrates death and harm vs Ukrainians, and slurs as Nazi spreading fear | slur/wishes harm or violent threat or celebrates violent act ("denazified")
attacks personal/national identity |
| "He had a meeting with Bandera"
Also: should visit Bandera, took highway to Bandera |
Celebrates or wishes for death of Ukrainian(s): Ukrainian Stepan Bandera died in 1959 | wishes harm or violent threat or celebrates violent act
attacks personal/national identity |
| "Glory to PMC Wagner"
"Svinorez is coming" or other references |
Celebrates 'violent entity' russian criminal mercenaries "PMC Wagner" (aka the Orchestra, the Musicians) including war crimes in Ukraine, in contravention of Twitter's "Violent and hateful entities policy"
'svinorez' means 'pig cutter' in Serbian, alluding to an execution tool used in PMC Wagner (russian mercenary) promotional music video - celebrates violence and dehumanizes, in contravention of Twitter's "Violent and hateful entities policy" |
celebrates violent act
attacks national identity (Syrian, Ukrainian, Malian. etc) |
| "find my friends/frens" - after nonsense was permanently unpronounced
Also applies to reposts of removed nonsense |
Platform manipulation: ban evasion using new account @StupidNazi2 to continue activity after permanent suspension of prior @StupidNazi1 | affects Everybody
spamming using multiple accounts to coordinate |
Resources
Eu vs Disinfo has a great searchable database debunking nonsense of all types.
