Authenticity 👕

Washington Post:

Anne Applebaum, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and former columnist for The Washington Post who now writes for the Atlantic, warned attendees that the traditional fact check — in which individual claims by politicians or advocacy groups are vetted for accuracy — may not be adequate in a world in which a government such as Russia’s not only tells a single lie but has spent years laying the groundwork for “a whole elaborate narrative” to undercut the idea of a sovereign Ukraine.

“A fact isolated from context, whether it’s true or false, is almost meaningless,” Applebaum said. “You have to explain it or tell it as part of a story.”

She said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has striven to demonstrate his authenticity — wearing T-shirts and shunning the trappings of power — to effectively counter the “contrived fake world” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government. She said his efforts have been especially effective in the West, but less so in countries in Africa and Asia where Russian propaganda has deeper roots and faces less pushback.

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