Ukraine soldiers bombarded by ‘pinpoint propaganda’ texts

Raphael Satter, AP, wtop.com

Image from article, with caption: In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, television journalist Julia Kirienko holds up her smartphone to show a text message reading “Ukrainian soldiers, they’ll find your bodies when the snow melts”, in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers fighting pro-Russian separatists are being bombarded by threats and disinformation via text message, the 21st-century equivalent of dropping leaflets on the battlefield. (AP Photo/Raphael Satter)

Excerpt:

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Television journalist Julia Kirienko was sheltering with Ukrainian soldiers and medics two miles (three kilometers) from the front when their cellphones began buzzing over the noise of the shelling. Everyone got the same text message at the same time.

“Ukrainian soldiers,” it warned, “they’ll find your bodies when the snow melts.”

Text messages like the one Kirienko received have been sent periodically to Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. The threats and disinformation represent a new form of information warfare, the 21st-century equivalent of dropping leaflets on the battlefield.

“This is pinpoint propaganda,” said Nancy Snow, a professor of public diplomacy at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. ...