CHICAGO – The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), on January 10 issued a report titled “Putin’s Asymmetric Assault on Democracy in Russia and Europe: Implications for U.S. National Security.” The report includes a chapter on Ukraine, where the project StopFake was recognized as a cutting-edge innovation to counter Russian disinformation.
The report includes this reference: “As the Kremlin has made Ukraine the frontline in its battle against Western institutions, Ukrainian civil society organizations have developed cutting-edge innovations to counter Russian disinformation. In March 2014, the Kyiv Mohyla School of Journalism helped establish StopFake.org – a fact-checking website that works to refute Russian disinformation and promote media literacy, which has expanded to produce a weekly TV show and podcasts. StopFake’s show has debunked Russian propaganda that said the Islamic State terrorist group had opened a training camp in Ukraine and that Ukrainian nationalists had crucified Russian-speaking children. StopFake has become one of the most internationally recognized organizations for successfully countering Russian disinformation.”
StopFake has been featured repeatedly on major media networks and print media, among them CNN, MSNBC, BBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Currently the StopFake site has versions in 11 languages.
As noted on StopFake’s Facebook page, its fact-checking website was launched on March 2, 2014, by alumni and students of the Mohyla School of Journalism and the Digital Future of Journalism professional program for journalists and editors. Later, the initial team was joined by many journalists, marketing specialists, programmers, translators and others “who care about the fate of our country and its people.”
The Chicago-based Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation is seeking contributions to fund the Ukrainian version of the site and the dissemination of information in the Ukrainian language.
Readers can access more information about StopFake at https://www.stopfake.org/en/about-us/. The project also has a Facebook page: Stopfake.org Ukraine.
Editor’s note: A story by Mark Raczkiewycz about a co-founder of StopFake, journalism professor and director of the Mohyla School of Journalism Yevhen Fedchenko, appeared in The Ukrainian Weekly on November 19, 2017.
Marta Farion is president of the Chicago-based Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America (www.kmfoundation.org).