Fake news: the Verkhovna Rada wants to cut off mobile communications and the Internet

Hula says that the MPs are once again plotting something hostile against Ukrainians, because “they talk more and more about evacuations, lie about the lack of electricity, and scare people with whatever they can.”

Previously, Behind the News repeatedly refuted fakes and disinformation spread by Serhiy Hula. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, he created anti-vaccination videos about vaccinations and vaccines. We also explained how Hula and other fake news creators made up their wild stories: they take a real fact, pull it out of context, and give their own interpretation. The more expressive the author, the more shares it gets. Unfortunately, people are easily deluded by anything that evokes strong emotions. 

The Verkhovna Rada wants to cut off mobile communications and the Internet. Audio recording. Title image: Why the heck did I read this? 

Explanation 

On November 7, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers registered bills No.8185 and 8186 in Parliament; they propose to amend the Air Code of Ukraine and a number of other laws, such as the Law on the State Border, the Law on the Security Service, the Law on the National Police, etc. As a professional fake news creator, Serhiy Hula focused on only one point of the amendments, ignoring the others. However, they are all related to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in law enforcement and combating offenses involving their use. In particular, free registration of drones is provided, fines are imposed in case of violations, and some law enforcement officers have been given more powers in the field of civil aviation security.

Due to martial law, Ukraine’s airspace is closed to civilian users, including drones, as they can be used by sabotage groups, to monitor critical or military infrastructure, for example. Currently, a civilian drone or quadcopter can be launched only with the approval of the SBU.

However, at the legislative level, civilian drones weighing up to 20 kilograms and with a range of up to 10 kilometres, an altitude of up to 1000 metres, and a time of use of up to 60 minutes can still be purchased legally and without state registration. In peacetime, no permits are needed to fly such drones. Apparently, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to resolve these issues with draft laws No.8185 and 8186.

Draft law No.8185 contains a clause on communication that lawmakers propose to add to Article 43 of the Law on Electronic Communications. It states that during a sabotage or terrorist attack by drones, the relevant units of the Ministry of Defense, the Security Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Protection Service, the State Border Guard Service, and the National Police may jam mobile communications and the Internet using radio electronic means or radiation producing devices. Restrictions will be imposed in certain areas and only for the time needed to neutralize the threat.

Thus, law enforcement officers can indeed “jam” mobile communications and the Internet… however, only during a drone attack and not across the whole country. The “lawyer” fails to mention this, but only emphasizes that the Rada wants to cut off communications. In addition, Hula refers to blackouts and Internet interruptions, which are a sensitive topic for many Ukrainians. Thus, Hula’s video is just another example of his manipulations