Volunteers urged to cold-call Russians to counter Kremlin propaganda

The #CallRussia initiative is hoping to contact 40 million Russians with independent news about the war in Ukraine

Volunteers are being recruited to contact up to 40 million Russians in a bid to tackle disinformation from Moscow about the war in Ukraine.

Russian-speakers who sign up to the #CallRussia initiative will be given phone numbers to call so they can spread the truth about Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Numerous western media outlets are now blocked in Russia and the authorities have introduced a new law that punishes the dissemination of “fake news” about the war with 15 years in prison.

As a result, many Russians are struggling to access independent information about the war and many rely on state media TV channels to tell them what is going on. Russian TV refers to the war as a “special military operation” and has portrayed the conflict as necessary to “restore peace” to Ukraine.

The Call Russia initiative said it is hoping to “bypass Putin’s lies and bring truth to the Russians”. In a statement on their website, it said: “These are people who have been lied to for decades about what is happening in Ukraine now. It is our responsibility and our duty to talk to them.”

Russian policemen detain a participant in an unauthorized rally against the Russian special operation in Ukraine, in downtown Moscow, Russia. (EPA)

The database of Russian phone numbers has been compiled by a group of technology, advertising and communications professionals, according to the organisers.

Paulius Senuta, one of the Call Russia organisers in Vilnius, Lithuania, said: “While Vladimir Putin rains horror on Ukraine and blacks out information sources that could reveal his lies, #CallRussia will personally connect Russians and volunteers for the most important conversations of their lifetimes.

“One conversation cannot overcome Putin’s evil propaganda, but 40 million might. Russians empowered with truth and compassion are the only ones who can stand up against Putin’s lies and end this war.”

This map shows the extent of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Press Association Images)

According to a recent poll shared with The Washington Post, about 58 percent of Russians approve of the invasion of Ukraine, while 23 percent oppose it.

The telephone survey, carried out last week by independent research organisations, found that roughly 23 percent of people oppose the operation. About 46 percent of the 1,640 adults surveyed said that they firmly supported the action, and about 13 percent said they somewhat supported it.

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalany has claimed however that anti-war felling is growing in the country with people “rapidly beginning to realise who is responsible for initiating the conflict.”

A series of snap polls carried out by his Anti-Corruption Foundation found that there have been “rapid shifts in the evaluation of the war” among Russian people.

Mr Navalny claimed: “Throughout the history of ACF’s polling department, we have never observed such dynamics of public opinion shifts. It took a few days of war to bring about radical mood changes among Russians.”

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