Sośl mīdia trn on Pūćin, ɖ past mastr
(Transcription of an article published in the Observer on Sunday 6 March 2022)
Disinḟmeśn n fec acǎnts wr yzd agnst ɖ wst fr yirz – nǎ ɖ Cremlin z undr atac
Caṛl Cadwoḷdr, Súnde, 6 Marć 2022
Wn v ɖ wîldist aspects v ɖ frst Gret Inḟmeśnwor z nt jst ɖt y cn folo Ruśa’z inveźn v Ycren in riyl tîm, minit bî minit n step bî step, bt y cn olso jôn in.
Bcz in 2022, inḟmeśn z pǎr. N wn v ɖ mni hyj unixpctd jioṗliticl śifts v ɖ last wīc z ɖt ɖs pǎr hz bn rtrnd t ɖ ppl.
In Ruśa on Frîde, Vlajīmir Pūćin, a man hu z nǎ scerd v hiz ǒn śado, tc ɖ xtrordnri step v atmtñ t ǎtlw inḟmeśn. H bánd Fes-bc. H śut dǎn Twitr. H pást a ny lw ɖt dclerz jrṇlizm a criminl ofns: eni jrṇlist faund t hv publiśt “fec nyz” on ɖ wor in Ycren nǎ fesz p t 15 yirz in prizn.
It z, lîc so mni ʈñz in ɖ last wīc, increḍbl, unpresdntd, hoṛfayñ – bt mor importntli it’s olso despṛt n absrd. Bcz in 2022 y c’nt ban inḟmeśn. It’s lîc trayñ t ban oxijn. It’s ɖ cnd v muv ɖt wn v hiz gre-fest Sovịt prīdisesrz mt hv md. It’s az modn n p-t-det az a tîpraitr. Onli a fūl wd mc pridix́nz rît nǎ, bt hir’z wn enwe: it pruvz ɖt Pūćin, ɖ fǎndñfaɖr v ẃt’s cm t b noun az “inḟmeśnwor”, jst lost ɖ inḟmeśnwor.
Enʈñ cn n me hapn. Bt hvñ doṃnetd ɖ darc arts v disinḟmeśn fr ɖ last et yirz, ɖ Cremlin’z invinsbl masṭri v ɖ inḟmeśnspes hz bn xpozd az a śam, a fix́n, anɖr lî. Pūćin hz pt on ɖ iqivḷnt v a per v belbotmz n z dad-dansñ acrs ɖ inṭnet. Mnẃl Ycreńn prezidnt Volodimir Zelensci z’nt jst cmandñ hiz armd forsz: h’z cmandñ TicToc, Insṭgram, Twitr, Teḷgram. H’z simlteńsli aveḷbl acrs ol sośl-mīdia platformz – hîbrid worfér’z frst hîbrid līdr.
F ɖs sǎndz lîc wiśfl ʈncñ, it z. Ruśa’z wor on jrṇlizm n jrṇlists, lîc its wor on Ycren, z unspīcbli ćilñ. Bt it’s olso lîc woćñ Stalin tec on ɖ TicToc cidz. Mnẃl, Zelensci hz nt jst pt ǎt a cōl fr foṛn fîtrz – enwn priperd t gt on a tren n pic p a gun – h’z olso biyñ asistd bî a crac sqod v armćer intelijns ofisrz. Bcz wn v ɖ most rmarcbl aspects v ɖ wor so far z hǎ enwn wɖ a smartfon cn ple a rǒl in ɖ xtrordnri Ycreńn rzistns. “Osint” rsrćrz – opn sors intelijns gaɖrrz – r mʈodicli scǎrñ ɖ inṭnet fr ɖ lêtist fotoz n vidioz cmñ ǎt v Ycren n veṛfayñ n jioḷcetñ ɖm in riyl tîm.
Evri tanc z biyñ logd. Evri truc n evri trūpmuvmnt z tráct, rejistrd n add t opn-sors maps n deṭbesz. Ɖs z a cuntri v 44 miłn ppl rcordñ evri twić ɖer Ruśn invedrz mc. It’s a fîrhǒz v riyl-tîm inḟmeśn ɖt, wɖ ɖ hlp v ɖs voḷntir armi, z biyñ trnd intu riyl-tîm militri straṭji.
On Munde, I ćerd a panl wɖ Elịt Higinz, fǎndr v ɖ onlîn invstgtiv orġnîześn Belñcat, hu hz paynird so mni v ɖz opn-sors tecnīcs n huz tīm hz bn rsponsbl fr mni v its most astǎndñ fìts – îdnṭfayñ Srge Scripal’z pôẓnrz, t nem jst wn. Ẃt dstnḡśz ɖs wor, Higinz sz, z ɖt it’s ɖ frst tîm ɖ Osint cḿṇti hz moḅlîzd in riyl tîm.
“It hapnd in Siria,” h sd. “Bt it tc tîm.” N in ɖt tîmlag, lîz, disinḟmeśn, cnfyźn doṃnetd. Ɖs tîm arnd, h sd, ɖ disinḟmeśn jst hz’nt hd ɖ ćans t tec rūt – a rzult nt jst v ɖs gret sviłn inḟmeśn armi bt v YS intelijns tù. It tc ɖ unpresdntd step v rlisñ its fîndñz t ɖ wrld ahd v ɖ inveźn. It informd s ɖt ɖr wd b fec nyz abt fec bomz, n ẃn ɖr wr, w woćt ɖm biyñ dbunct in riyl tîm.
Ɖ wrld z teṛbl n darc, n so mć v ɖs z on s: it’s ɖ c’rupśn v ǎr guvnmnts wɖ ɖer ofśor strucćrz n oligarc-frendli lîbļwz ɖt z rsponsbl fr so mć v ɖs. Ɖt n ɖ insaṇti v alawñ Silicn Vali mnoṗliz t p’līs ɖ platformz ɖt pṛvîdd Pūćin wɖ hiz atacsrfis. Ol ɖs hz cm bac t bît Nato on its ars, n ɖr r trūli teṛfayñ posbiḷtiz ahd. Bt nt sins 2010 n ɖ Aṛb sprñ hz it flt so aktli lîc tecnoḷji cd b ɖ ppl’z frend.
It’s olso ẃ w mst, mst, mst cōl ǎt ɖ funḍmntl untruʈ ɖt unḍpinz ɖs, ɖ Cremlin’z wor on truʈ. Ruśa dd nt inved Ycren last wīc. It invedd Ycren in 2014. N it’s nt jst at wor wɖ Ycren. It’s at wor wɖ s tù. In Febrri 2014 it lōnćt a jônt militri asōlt on Ycren n ɖ wst.
W dd’nt nǒ it ɖen. Bt w d nǎ. Bcz ɖ frst stej in Pūćin’z inveźn v Ycren wz an atac on inḟmeśn. H dstortd riaḷti, injctñ ɖ toxin v fec nyz – a militri straṭji ɖt h dploid agnst s at ɖ xact sem momnt acrs ɖ xact sem platformz.
W ń ɖs bcz it’s leid ǎt in f’renzic n xōstiv dītel in ẃt me b wn v ɖ most misunḍstd dokmnts v modn tîmz: ɖ Mueller rport. W jst feld t unḍstand ẃt it mnt.
Bt nǎ w cn n mst unḍstand, bcz ɖ crtn hz bn liftd. Pūćin hz bn at wor wɖ s fr ɖ last et yirz. A man w riylîzd last wīc z ɖ Wiẓd v Oz. H’z a man hîdñ bhnd a crtn, a veil v lîz. A man hîdñ bhnd a crtn wɖ a staś v ńclir worhedz.
W fîṇli hv ɖ lît w nīd t si him fr hu h z, t unḍstand ɖ wor h hz bn wejñ agnst s in plen sît, edd bî hiz qizlñ wstn alîz – Fox Nyz n ol ɖ ćocḷt soljrz v “ɖ wor on wouc”. It jst me b tù lêt.
Ɖr hz’nt bn sć a starc n yṇvrsl momnt v moṛl claṛti fr 82 yirz. Ɖs z lîz vrss truʈ. It’s darcnis vrss lît. It’s Stalin vrss ɖ TicToc cidz.
Bt Stalin hz ɖ ńcs. H hz ɖ ʈrmobaric wepnz. H hz ɖ mīnz n motveśn t flatn nt jst Cyīv bt ɖ rest v s tù. N ẃt hapnz nxt z enbdi’z ges.
