Grouped under the acronym NAFO, thousands of Internet users have been working for months to fight Russian propaganda on social networks.
A clear allusion to NATO (English version of NATO), the acronym NAFO stands for North Atlantic Fella Organization. And under its humorous and good-natured airs, this community actively fights against disinformation coming from Moscow, to the point of seriously irritating Kremlin officials.
Where does NAFO come from?
If the precise date of the creation of this group of shitposters is not known, those who call themselves the fellas (which can more or less be translated as “guys” or “pals” in French) made their first appearance on Twitter last May via a cryptic post. Quickly attracting a considerable audience, the fellas initially content themselves with posting memes with a photo of a well-known shiba (which is also the origin of the image of dogecoin) making fun of the statements of Vladimir Putin and Russian propaganda in general.
But the group of shitposters does not stop there: quickly, its members support the action on the ground of the Georgian legion in Ukraine, by organizing donation and merchandising campaigns allowing it to provide itself with military equipment. . More than $50,000 was raised in this way.
But it was on June 20 that NAFO achieved its finest coup. Several of its members then responded to a tweet from Mikhail Ulyanov, Russian ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, denouncing its propaganda. When the latter makes the mistake of answering them, the fellas decide they won’t let him go. Every one of his tweets even today sees many memes of shibas in Ukrainian uniforms mocking him in response.
Fight the Russian trolls on their ground
While poking fun at Russian disinformation can be relatively easy, NAFO’s action doesn’t just make a few internet users laugh. As noted by Ivana Strader, a Ukrainian journalist, this is an extremely effective way to invest the terrain of social networks, which until now did not present much opposition to the army of trolls of the Kremlin. . The Ukrainian Defense Minister also praised their action.
Jordan Maris, one of the spokespersons for fellas, explained in an interview that nothing was more effective than humor in conveying a message. For the man, who works in the European Parliament, denying false information requires much more work than creating a new one, and the denial rarely reaches such a large audience. So rather than attempt to fact check Russian accounts, they laugh at them. For him, it is much more effective. And it is a way for many, who felt powerless at the start of the war, to participate in the information war.
Several Russian media, refusing to acknowledge that it is a genuine and spontaneous movement, have called NAFO an army of bots. A qualifier that sounds like recognition in the eyes of fellashighlighting the very real effects of their action.
Sources: WSJ, DW, Spotters
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