Edinburgh students urged to report ‘propaganda’

Tim Hayward, professor of environmental theory at the University of Edinburgh, retweeted a Russian representative to the UN who claimed that reports the country had bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, western Ukraine, were “#fakenews”.

Kvitka Perehinets, a Ukrainian student at the university who has family members fighting in the war, told BBC Radio 4: “The moment we start to equate the two sides in the story is the moment we lose our humanity. The oppressor — in this case Russia — should not be given the same kind of platform as those who are being oppressed.”

In March, Hayward shared a link to an article questioning whether a Russian attack on a Mariupol theatre was “staged” and said: “What do we know of the reality?”

The article claimed the assault might have been a false-flag operation carried out by Ukrainians in an attempt to generate public outrage and provoke military intervention from western states.

It appeared on the news website The Grayzone, which has denied the Uighur genocide and has published articles in support of the Kremlin.

The university said it was committed to freedom of expression and making it a “safe space for staff and students to discuss controversial topics” and “different viewpoints”. It added: “We take a strong view, however, against the spread of misinformation, and take complaints of this nature seriously.” The university said it did not comment on individual members of staff.

Jamie Hepburn, Scotland’s higher and further education minister, said attempts to circulate Russian disinformation over Ukraine were “unacceptable”. He said universities were “solely responsible for internal institutional matters such as the conduct of staff”.

Hayward has spread pro-Assad conspiracy theories promoted by Russia that claimed video evidence of Syria using chemical weapons on its citizens was fabricated. He was a member of the Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media and used the hashtag #Syriahoax when discussing chemical attacks in the country.

Hayward said he updated his Twitter feed after learning that a maternity unit in Mariupol that was attacked did contain patients, but suggested it was “uncertain” if it was bombed by aircraft.

He told the BBC: “I stand by the statement that I appended to that tweet, which is that we should strive to hear both sides. Acquiring knowledge involves investigation, research and reasoning. If that is always going to be dismissed as disinformation I think it’s a very dangerous line to go down.”