Citizen journalism – reporting by self-taught people, often on the ground – can play a vital role in the coverage of conflict. However, not everyone who contributes to this coverage is as 'independent' as they’d like their followers to believe.

Roddy’s distrust of the media led him to start his own podcast. He also follows self-styled citizen journalists who are roaming around inside Ukraine.In this episode of War On Truth, the BBC’s specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring investigates some of their work. She speaks with an expert who has analysed some of their coverage, tries to understand how it gets made, what might be influencing it – and why it spreads to people like Roddy.

Producer: Joseph MartinEditor: Ant Adeane