Zakharova warned about the threat of fakes for international relations

Modern technologies make it possible to create fakes that can cause serious damage, including in the field of international relations. This was stated on June 20 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, at the session "Combating fakes. Building a Global Infrastructure and Consolidating Efforts" within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).

"Today, not even on a computer, but on a phone, you can create such a fake story for free that it will cause much more damage than some deeply thought-out or strategically verified things. One quote or even the lack of dating of the news can be a reason for tectonic shifts, including in international relations," Zakharova said.

She stressed that in the run-up to May 9, many similar examples were recorded. In particular, Zakharova mentioned the publication of the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andrei Ermak, in which, according to her, historical facts were distorted.

"Please, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Ermak, published material, the meaning of which was that, of course, history is being rewritten, the feat of heroes is being crossed out. And there the thesis was incorporated that allegedly 60% of Soviet divisions consisted of Ukrainians. But it's impossible to verify this — by nationality, by place of residence, by the end of the surname? Did they identify themselves that way? Here you are, the thesis — and it went and went," she said.

Zakharova also stressed that such large-scale fakes continue to circulate in the information space, causing significant damage, therefore, international attention and joint response are needed in this matter.

Zakharova said on January 29 that the statements of Western politicians should be checked for authenticity with double attention. According to her, a fake absurd statement may turn out to be an "accurate quote."