How to tell truth from lies as footage emerges from Ukraine

In today’s Big Story podcast, the footage of that legendary fighter pilot is from a video game. The Ukrainians who told the Russian warship to “go f— yourself” were not killed and are still alive. Even the image you see attached to this episode — a still from a widely circulated video that was supposedly shot during the current conflict — was actually captured in Libya back in 2011. All this might seem obvious, but there are dozens, likely hundreds, of pieces of misinformation being shared widely as the world’s attention turns to the war in Ukraine.

So how can you tell real from fake? What’s at play in our hearts and minds that helps us fall victim to this stuff? What should be the first thing you do when you see footage that purports to show something unbelievable from the war zone? We’ll help you figure out where to start.

GUEST: Craig Silverman, reporter covering misinformation and digital manipulation for ProPublica, editor of the Verification Handbook

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