俄罗斯媒体发布关于美国的假新闻

AS IT IS 2015-11-28 Russian News Media Fakes Stories About US 俄罗斯媒体发布关于美国的假新闻

Did you know the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, John Tefft, once gave a press conference on the moon?

And at center-ice of a hockey game?

And with General Douglas MacArthur when the general landed in the Philippines during World War II?

Well, of course, he was not in any of those places. Tefft was born in 1949, well after World War II ended.

But the U.S. Embassy in Russia tweeted out those fake photos with the help of a computer program. It did that in response to the Russians using the same tricks.

The first fake news came in September.

A local Russian news channel said Teftt attended a demonstration¹ of anti-Russian government activists². It layered a photo of Teftt over an image of the anti-government demonstration.

So the U.S. Embassy responded in good humor.

The Embassy took a photo of Teftt at a press conference and layered it on top of several backgrounds. Then the Embassy posted it on Twitter.

There’s one of Teftt giving a press conference during the moon landing.

Another has him at a Russian hockey game.

And a third places him at the airport with MacArthur, the famous World War II general.

This kind of photo “mash-up” can be Internet fun. Remember when McKayla Maroney, the American gymnast, missed out on a gold medal at the London Olympics? After she received her silver medal, she made a face showing her dissatisfaction with the result.

That photo gained a life of its own, and was mashed-up with Maroney looking unhappy with works of art, at the Great Wall of China and at meetings with celebrities³.

All were funny because the same photo of Maroney was used over and over in different settings.

When she met President Obama a few weeks after the Olympics, the duo posed for a photo while making the unhappy face.

Photo mash-ups are used all over the Internet.

But, US officials say, in Russia, such mash-ups are used to create propaganda.

Benjamin Ziff is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. He told a Senate foreign relations subcommittee that Russian propaganda reaches 600 million people. And it costs $1.4 billion per year to produce.

Ziff said that helping⁴ local communities develop a rich, uncensored media environment would be a good tool against the mash-ups.

Ziff said there is no reason to try to combat every instance of Russian propaganda. But, he said, in the case of Ambassador Tefft, it made a point.

The social media activity was noted⁵ by reputable news outlets⁷ in the United States and Russia. The website Buzzfeed wrote a story headlined “This Is The Best Photoshop The U.S. Government Has Ever Produced.”

Words in This Story

fake – adj. not true or real?

celebrity⁸ - n. a person who is famous

uncensored - adj. of or relating to freedom of the press; removal of restrictions⁹

combat – v. to try to stop (something) from happening or getting worse

instance - n. example

reputable - adj. respected or trusted

outlet⁶ - n. a television, radio or publishing company

1 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

7 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制