War on Truth: 4. One Baby, Three Photos, and a Web of Lies
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BBC
2.8 • 947 Ratings
🗓️ 24 March 2022
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
When Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, it claimed that a wounded pregnant woman was faking it. Her friends told us something different.
Images of Marianna Vyshemirska fleeing the aftermath of the attack caused an outcry around the world. But they were also seized upon for a furious disinformation campaign, waged by people including Russian diplomats, that sought to justify the bombing.
But we’ve found clear evidence that the Russian story is false, and that the pregnant woman who was bombed was targeted again online - by pro-Russian trolls.
Marianna’s friends say she’s become a pawn in the information war over Ukraine that is raging alongside the military battle. And like the conflict on the ground, this fight also has real consequences for the people whose lives it touches.
In this podcast series, BBC disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates stories from Ukraine, Russia, and around the world, and hears from those caught up in the battle for the truth.
Producer: Marco Silva
Editor: Ed Main
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | An early start here. |
| 0:02.7 | It's time to kick off. |
| 0:04.0 | Your day. Morning! |
| 0:05.8 | What a line-up. |
| 0:07.2 | Oh, thanks very much. |
| 0:08.2 | We do get some great guests on the show. |
| 0:10.1 | The crowd is loving this. |
| 0:12.2 | Thanks, guys. Thank you. Too kind. |
| 0:14.1 | From morning chaos to match day commentary. |
| 0:17.6 | And everything in between. |
| 0:19.0 | BBC Sounds. |
| 0:20.2 | Packed with personality. BBC Sounds packed with personality. |
| 0:23.9 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:28.7 | First of all, I felt joy that I knew she was alive. |
| 0:35.9 | Secondly, I felt fear because I had seen that in the picture she was still pregnant, |
| 0:41.1 | but she hadn't given birth yet. |
| 0:44.6 | This is Natalia. |
| 0:46.7 | She's talking about her reaction to a set of photos that you've probably seen. |
| 0:52.0 | They show a pregnant woman with blonde hair, covered in blood, |
| 0:55.9 | wearing polka dot pajamas and draped in a duvet. She's fleeing from a maternity hospital in |
| 1:01.3 | Marieupol after it was bombed on the 9th of March. That woman is Natalia's friend, Mariana. |
| 1:08.8 | I knew exactly how Mariana was feeling at that moment, because all her shock was just so visible |
... |
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