Latest posts by Aric Toler
Fact Checking the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine
The citizen activists fact checking the conflict in eastern Ukraine believe their approaches are more honest and revealing than the narratives spun by either the Ukrainian or Russian state-controlled media.
The Russian Military Commander Allegedly Leading Ukraine's Separatists
OSCE photos on Twitter indicate Lentsov was about 35 miles from Debaltseve on February 16, where he met with separatists in an official capacity as head of the Russian Representation.
Ukraine Arrests Journalist on Treason Charges for Calls to Boycott Mobilization
Ukrainian journalist Ruslan Kotsaba called for boycotting the latest wave of military mobilization in Ukraine—and now faces treason charges. Is he really a traitor? Internet opinion is divided.
Pro-Russian Forces in Eastern Ukraine Apparently Fire on Another Civilian Vessel by Accident
This is not the first time separatists have boasted of an attack online, quickly followed by an assertion that the attack was actually carried out by the Ukrainians.
Hijacked Printers in Eastern Ukraine and Russia Print Pro-Ukraine Messages
Ukrainian hackers are fighting the Russian-led occupation of Donbas and Crimea by occupying security cameras and hijacking networked printers in Eastern Ukraine and Russia.
Meet the Kremlin's Snitch
A Russian Internet group has leaked a trove of emails allegedly from inside the Kremlin, showing reports about the political activities of influential bloggers and independent journalists.
Ukrainian Hackers Leak Russian Interior Ministry Docs with ‘Evidence’ of Russian Invasion
Ukrainian Cyber Forces hacker collective has leaked documents from Russian Interior Ministry servers that activists claim show evidence of Russian military presence in Ukraine.
Fake ‘Ukrainian’ News Websites Run by Russian ‘Troll Army’ Offshoots
A new investigation of Russia's information war has revealed fake 'Ukrainian' news sites are actually hosted, operated, and staffed in Russia without any local correspondents.
Kremlin Has Mastered Propaganda, But Not Photoshop: Fake MH17 Photo Lights Up RuNet
A purportedly new satellite image presenting unbeatable 'proof’ of Ukraine’s fault in the Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane crash has garnered ridicule on the RuNet.
The Space Race Is Over, But Russian Schadenfreude at American Rocket Troubles Soars
In Russia's post-Crimea era, almost any event seems capable of sparking spasms of patriotic fervor. Thanks to the legacy of the Cold War, space travel is a particularly sensitive flashpoint.
Russian Opposition Leaders Support Ukraine, But Crimea Is Not Coming Back
Russia’s leading opposition figures Alexey Navalny and Mikhail Khodorkovsky have a message for Ukrainians: Crimea is gone, and Ukraine is not getting it back.
New Document Leak Reveals Scope of Collaboration Between Moscow and Donetsk
These documents offer fascinating insights into the relationship between the Russian Far Right and the separatists now active in eastern Ukraine.
Russian Nationalists Grasp at Straws with ‘Scottish Solidarity’ Campaign
Russians' connections between the Scottish and Eastern Ukrainian independence movements are, for the most part, thoroughly imagined, but the fantasy has produced several funny pictures.
Crowdsourcing the Investigation of Eastern Ukraine's Russian Ghosts
Armchair military experts, social-media archive spelunkers, and ideologues all work together in creating conflicting versions of events in eastern Ukraine, making disinterested analysis and verification very difficult.
Russia's Trojan-Transformer Convoy to Ukraine
This mystery over the white trucks headed for the Ukrainian border has led many on the RuNet to imagine what is in the trucks—and what Ukraine suspects is inside.
Spinning the MH17 Tragedy, Moscow's Victory Isn't What You Think
Kyiv and Moscow trade evidence and conspiracy theories about whose BUK surface-to-air missiles downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. What game is the Kremlin playing online?
Russia's Armchair Warrior Turns on Ukraine's Rebel Leader
Russians are finding the humor in one intellectual's rant against the rebel militia commander in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Rebels Worry that Putin Will Repeat Milošević's Mistakes
Eastern Ukraine’s rebel military commander warns that Putin might be repeating Slobodan Milošević’s wartime mistakes, though not in the way you might be thinking.
Russia's Irresistible Putin Swag
Last week, two fashion designers opened a kiosk in a shopping mall outside Red Square, selling t-shirts celebrating Vladimir Putin. Within a day, they'd sold over five-thousand.
Jen Psaki, the Russian Internet's Public Enemy No. 1
“Psaki” has become a stigmatizing catch-all term for everything Russians dislike about US foreign policy (especially America’s involvement in Ukraine).
Russia's Hashtag Activism in Ukraine
Russian activists are capitalizing on #BringBackOurGirls by framing in analogous terms Ukraine's capture of two Russian journalists, hoping for a similar groundswell of awareness and public outrage.
