Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Fakes and false information are weapons used by Russia's adversaries, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on November 5.
"We must understand that this is a weapon that Russia's adversaries are using against us, and they are perfecting it," the head of state emphasized, speaking about fakes and fabrications, on November 5 during a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations.
Putin called the fight against fake news, which is used to try to influence society, an important area.
The president also noted at the meeting that Western countries are increasingly trying to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia by talking about the "decolonization" of the country.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called fake news not just a tool for manipulating public opinion, but a fully-fledged weapon of information warfare.
In her opinion, today it's possible to create a fake story that will cause far more damage than any carefully thought-out or strategically calculated piece of information. Even the lack of a date for a news story can trigger tectonic shifts, including in international relations, the diplomat noted.