Marist Professors Discuss the Ukraine Crisis on Radio Kingston

Source: Flickr, User Astaken

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has captured the entire world’s attention, becoming the subject of ample media coverage. On March 28, Marist College professors Juris Pupcenkos and Kevin Lerner spoke on Radio Kingston to provide tips on combating misinformation amid this coverage. 

Dr. Lerner began by stressing the importance of a source’s credibility when scouring for information on social media such as YouTube. He emphasized the difficulty of doing so by admitting that even he, an associate professor of journalism, could be “very easily fooled trying to decipher information on Soviet tanks [on YouTube].”

Dr. Pupcenoks continued the discussion by commenting on the difficulty of accepting the Russian narrative of the war, despite the popular sentiment that “both sides” of a conflict must be considered equally valid and potentially true. Pupcenoks illustrated his point by referencing Vladimir Putin’s accusations of Nazism within Ukraine.

Dr. Lerner agreed, warning against a “false balance” generated by considering opinions solely because they clash with existing ones. “The press really should be seeking the true story as best as possible,” Lerner said. 

With the constant stream of statistics on the war provided by the media, Dr. Lerner advised that media consumers “immediately doubt” any stats disclosed by Russian propaganda organizations. Dr. Lerner also remarked that most available statistics during this crisis are likely estimates and will remain so until “somebody actually takes the time to count.”

Dr. Pupcenoks voiced his agreement by commenting on the vagueness of certain available statistics. “These numbers are interesting…even NATO numbers, so 7,000 to 15,000 (casualties)...what kind of number is that?” Pupcenoks questioned. 

Continuing on the topic of source evaluation and combating Putin’s narrative, Dr. Lerner discussed the media landscape of Russia. According to Lerner, the means to obtain reliable information within Russia is to rely on independent media outlets instead of state media that “parrots” the government line.  

Those as well-versed in media as Dr. Lerner agree that confirmation bias -- the behavior of wanting to believe information that aligns with one’s own beliefs -- is one of the most common human habits that allows for the spread of misinformation. “It’s one of the problems with this appearance of objectivity that we’ve cultivated. You make it sound like something is true even though maybe you haven’t challenged yourself in the ways you really need to,” said Lerner. 

Further into the talk, Dr. Lerner acknowledged the conflict between the First Amendment of free speech and the deliberate spread of misinformation. Dr. Lerner, labeling his past self as “about as close as you could come to a First Amendment absolutist,” warns that misinformation is made even more dangerous by the internet’s capacity to spread and strengthen it. 

In the talk’s final minutes, the theme of caution in the age of social media developed as Dr. Lerner addressed the current media landscape that consumers must wrestle with. “It puts a much bigger burden on consumers of media to be critical and think about what they’re talking about,” said Lerner.