endorsing the notion that Russia had invaded Ukraine to denazify it. Russian conspiracy theories have also been promoted by Cuban state media. Some observers have criticised the Western media's portrayal of events in Ukraine as different from those in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen. “The blunt reality is that in many parts of the world, antipathy for the West is deep and sympathy for Russia is real,” warned a social media researcher who found apparently orchestrated Twitter amplification of pro-invasion themes stressing Europe's history of colonialism and Russian assistance to liberation movements, especially in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. “...The fact that we don’t see information warfare doesn’t mean it isn’t happening, and it doesn’t mean we’ve won. It might just mean that ours is not the battleground on which it’s being fought.” Some politicians have also been critical of government actions regarding Ukraine but the supposed lack of action in regards to other conflicts. During a parliamentary hearing, Richard Boyd Barrett called out the Irish government for its double standards in regards to the Israel-Palestine conflict. When speaking at the hearing, Boyd commented: "[It took] five days for sanctions against Putin and his thugs -- 70 years of oppression of the Palestinians, and it wouldn’t be -- What was the word you used? – it wouldn’t be ‘helpful’ to impose sanctions.” He also said, "You’re happy to correctly use the most strong and robust language to describe the crimes against humanity of Vladimir Putin but you will not use the same strength of language when it comes to describing Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians." Terminology Western media have generally referred to armed anti-government and pro-Russian groups in Ukraine as "rebels" or "separatists." Reuters describes the events in eastern Ukraine as an "uprising" and "revolt" by "separatists." Casey Michael of The Moscow Times questioned the use of "Ukrainian" and "rebels" to describe the armed pro-Russian groups, saying that their leadership and many fighters were "outsiders and usurpers, men with either mercenary or imperial motivations." Canadian Estonian activist Laas Leivat criticised the use of the term "separatists," saying it "obscures the reality of the situation" and "supports the Kremlin's version of events." As of December 2014, BBC News and Reuters still preferred the terms "crisis" and "conflict" over "war". The word "invasion" was usually avoided, a choice criticized by Garry Kasparov, Ian Birrell of The Independent,