It would be great if computers could detect fake news and disinformation automatically and neatly classify information into true and false. But is this a realistic task? In their recent book The Language of Fake News (Cambridge University Press, series "Elements in Forensic Linguistics"), Jack Grieve and Helena Woodfield argue that it is possible to … Continue reading Is there the Language of Disinformation?
Category: Language genius
Lost in Translation: Feminitives and gender-inclusive language in Zelenskyy’s speeches
Kalush Orchestra's Stefania represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 and won. The video, filmed in Bucha, Hostomel, Irwin and Borodianka, features women soldiers carrying children out of bombed-out and burning buildings. Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses Ukrainian people almost every day. The transcripts of his videos are translated into English and Russian (just a fun … Continue reading Lost in Translation: Feminitives and gender-inclusive language in Zelenskyy’s speeches
Yevgeny Prigozhin: A businessman and a showman
Last weekend all the world talked about the Wagner Group rebellion headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin. It was difficult to say what was more unexpected, the beginning of the so-called "March for Justice" or its abrupt end. Everyone was mystified. What was Prigozhin's aim? Why did the march stop 200 km from Moscow? What kind of … Continue reading Yevgeny Prigozhin: A businessman and a showman
A negative fact: Putin’s silence about attacks on Russian territory
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1664626520667611136 In one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories, Sherlock Holmes used a "negative fact" to solve a mystery - the fact that a watchdog did not bark when a prize-winning racehorse was stolen. The Scotland Yard detective: Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?Holmes: To the … Continue reading A negative fact: Putin’s silence about attacks on Russian territory
“Progressive” language as a weapon in a special informational operation
While pursuing deeply authoritarian and conservative politics in Russia, Putin uses "progressive" words like diversity, equality, neo-colonialism and so on on the international stage. How is it possible? What does he want to achieve?
Top 10 weirdest messages from Putin in 2022
No doubt, it has been a crazy year. In February, Russia invaded Ukraine. Thousands of people have died, including children. Millions had to flee. Those who stay are fighting with cold and darkness. There is something carnivalesque about this parade of obscene, idiotic cruelty displayed by Russians. The mask of civilisation has fallen, and all … Continue reading Top 10 weirdest messages from Putin in 2022
Cognitive biases, communicative efficiency and propaganda
At least some of our cognitive biases can be explained by the tendency to save effort. But communicative efficiency also helps all kinds of manipulators to deceive us. An example is Putin's use of the word "genocide" when speaking about the conflict in Donbass. We should get used to spending more processing effort, before it is too late for our democracy!
Putin’s insanity talk
In recent months, Putin has been talking about his opponents' words and actions as "nonsense" and "rubbish". Two female politicians, according to him, are out of their mind. I think that Putin's insulting behaviour is another example of projection as a self-defense mechanism. He is trying to distract attention from his own fatal errors and present himself as a paragon of rationality.
What is a woman? A not-so-innocent question
In his documentary "What is a woman?" Matt Walsh manipulates his interviewees and viewers by pretending that he is interested in finding out the "truth" about what a woman is "in reality". His question thus contains the answer he expects to hear: a religious and conservative view of a woman as a "natural kind".
The “dirty bomb” and a typology of lies in Russian propaganda
Russian propaganda uses lies of different complexity. I discuss the most recent message by Shoigu and others about Ukraine's plans to use a "dirty bomb". This message is very worrying. It is also an interesting example of recursion, suggesting that the Russian propaganda is getting more and more sophisticated, perhaps to compensate for the lack of military successes.
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