The tragedy involving military personnel on the Caspian Sea has become a target of information manipulation and fake news. This was stated by the Center for Combating Disinformation, noting that police have already held several individuals accountable, reports infohub.kz.
According to the Center for Combating Disinformation, social media continues to circulate archival videos unrelated to the Mangystau tragedy, AI-generated content is being created, and speculation exploiting the deaths of service members and the grief of their loved ones is being discussed.
What fake news about the Caspian tragedy is spreading in the Kazakh internet
"The real death toll is being concealed." In reality, official data was updated as the search operation progressed. The final figures have been published: 14 service members died. The Ministry of Defense also released their names;
"The service members were deployed from a helicopter." According to published investigation data, it has been established that the tasks were carried out using a boat;
"The immediate commander was drunk." The commander in question died together with his service members. There are no grounds to believe he was intoxicated;
An old video of a deceased person being transported to entertainment music is being passed off as the transport of a fallen service member's body. Analysis of the video showed it appeared online back in August, long before the tragedy;
A dramatic staged video during the days of mourning on the Caspian Sea coast. In reality, the video was filmed in Tangier (Morocco). According to its author, it accidentally ended up in the Kazakh segment of social media;
The state is allegedly "not investigating anything." In fact, the rescue operation continued until the body of the last deceased service member was found. Also, on the instructions of Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, a Government Commission was created to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy. Criminal cases have been opened for negligent attitude to service and violation of navigation rules. In addition, by order of President Qasym-Jomart Toqaev, a separate commission was created to conduct a comprehensive audit of the state of affairs in the Ministry of Defense.
The Center for Combating Disinformation recalled that Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for criminal liability for spreading knowingly false information. The punishment under this article provides for up to three years of imprisonment, and in the event of grave consequences — up to five years.
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that Toqaev posthumously awarded the service members who died in Mangystau, as well as the surviving sailors.