NATO Article 4 Invoked by Poland and Misinformation in Russia-Ukraine War

Communication and Invoking Article 4:

Last week, the world was a nicer place than it is this week. We’ve had weapons from Ukrainian territory spread into Poland from the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war. This led to the question of whodunnit. The mainstream media here in the UK seem hellbent on causing war by spreading misinformation. This is because it gets more eyes on their publishing. An act of greed, and the kind of behaviour that can lead to escalations in conflicts. Look at where you find your news, and always question these kinds of media. If everyone believes them without looking deeper, the world becomes a lot more fragmented than it already is.

The fragments of the weapon that hit Polish territory seem to be S-300, the Ukrainian air defence system. This doesn't make this Ukraine's fault. So, Article 4 was invoked by Poland. It details that NATO members will “consult together whenever territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened”. 8 countries invoked Article 4 upon the Russia-Ukraine war starting. The countries were Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. So this isn’t a major development in escalations. Only a reiteration that the previous threat remains. The alliance’s secretary general will hold a meeting of NATO today in Brussels.

Biden and Sunak refused to talk to Lavrov at the G20. Putin is not attending, which also reflects Russia for its lack of communication. Where’s Erdogan when you need him to get people talking, right? The US has come out and stated that it appears the missile is unlikely to have been fired by Russia. So the mainstream media is jumping on the hardest-hitting story for impact, regardless of whether it's right or wrong.

Scholz and Macron have communicated with Lavrov a the G20. At least some G7 leaders know communication is a key element to solve issues. In negotiating anything, both sides need to listen and attempt to compromise. If one party is asking too much, of course, we don't find an agreement. This appears to be the current problem with a lack of solutions in the war.

Even like the pettiest squabbles, we solve them by communication. If leaders want to isolate themselves and not communicate, then they are partly to blame. Not acting to reduce tensions is reckless. Especially when they have the power to do so if it becomes a negotiable situation.

How Our Biases Affect How We Interpret Misinformation

Borders and countries are human-created constructs. We fight over human-created structures that separate us. The fates of the masses are often decided by the powerful few. Let’s hope their lack of communication doesn’t lead to escalations that are too far to come back from.

In our modern world, information is becoming one of the most powerful assets to have. But when that information is misleading and incorrect, it can be one of the most damaging assets. It's up to us to separate what is true. The goal for everyone should be the end of hostilities and de-escalation. For the media, conflict fuels them. It gets more hits and pays better. We are more drawn to negativity as humans. We remember negative experiences more and reflect on them more than on positive events. This is negativity bias. The media is full of it. But with awareness, we can break biases. Don’t let the media blur negativity bias with panic and fear. Be aware of it and look deeper.

This is like the Illusory truth effect. If false information is spread around enough, it is more likely to be believed as correct. Something familiar overpowers what is right. This is especially scary with unhinged media reporting. And it walks hand in hand with propaganda.

Contrasting to this is confirmation bias. We believe what we want to believe to be true. In this case, nobody wants to believe it could be a Russian missile because if it is, we know what it could lead to. This makes us anxious and can lead to wishful thinking. This is why we need to break down many sources of information to judge where we are being misled.

The world is full of biases. In our brains, society, and technology. Be aware of them to break them down and see situations from above your own personal operating system.