Ukraine War Update EXTRA: "War is Europe's fault for not spending on defense" - Er, no.
Table of Contents 📖
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"If a source here, the ISW, can for a single day aggregate 93 sources and where some of those footnotes actually can represent eight different sources, you know, if they can do 93 sources in a single day, so I don't have to trawl through 93 sources plus all those extras. So that's probably 100, look, that one. So that's like maybe 130 sources. If they're looking at 130 sources so I don't have to, that allows me to do my work of presenting the maps."
Hello Team!
Jonathan introduces the video as a "little bit of an extra, a little bit of a rant" about how he compiles his frontline update videos using various sources, including the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
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Addressing criticism of using ISW as a source
Jonathan responds to comments claiming that ISW is a "NATO propaganda mill" and "repeat Yuko Nazi propaganda". He argues that these claims are demonstrably wrong and that while the individuals involved with ISW may have certain political leanings, he primarily uses ISW for their aggregation of both Russian and Ukrainian sources regarding frontline developments.
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Analysing ISW's sources
Jonathan examines the footnotes in an ISW report on the Luhansk Oblast frontline, revealing that the sources cited are a mix of Ukrainian (General Staff) and Russian (Ministry of Defence, pro-Russian milbloggers) origins, with a ratio of approximately 4:1 Russian to Ukrainian sources. He emphasises that ISW is not offering opinions in these sections but rather reporting the claims made by each side.
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The value of ISW's source aggregation
Jonathan argues that regardless of ISW's political leanings, their aggregation of a large number of sources (up to 130 in a single day) is invaluable for his work in presenting frontline updates. Without relying on ISW's source aggregation, he would have to spend an excessive amount of time trawling through these sources himself, leaving little time for other tasks.
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Wrap up
Jonathan concludes by reiterating that criticism of his use of ISW as a source is misguided, as he relies on them primarily for their factual reporting of claims made by both Russian and Ukrainian sources. He dismisses the notion that using ISW undermines his analysis and stands by his approach to compiling frontline updates.
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