The propaganda, which looks like news, is part of Russia’s extensive disinformation campaign, with which it aims to weaken the EU’s unity and support for Ukraine.
Russia is extensively trying to influence the outcome of the ongoing European elections in various countries in favor of the far-right. The most recent example of disinformation spread by Russia, i.e. campaigns of false and misleading information, was published on Saturday morning Swedish public broadcasting company SVT.
One means of disinformation is fake news, which in appearance mistakenly resembles online news from well-known media in different countries, but is actually Russian propaganda.
SVT analyzed almost 2,000 fake news articles spread by bots on the messaging service X during the previous three months in Germany, France, Poland and Italy.
According to the report, Russia has spread its familiar messages in the fake news, with which it aims to undermine people’s trust in the EU, its own governments and support for Ukraine, and on the other hand to encourage extremist parties, some of which are pro-Russian.
The fake news analyzed by SVT presents, for example, the far-right parties of Germany and France, the AfD and the National Alliance, in a positive light. Both parties are strong in the elections that culminate on Sunday, he says Politico magazine.
In Italy, fake news spread by bots has outright praised the Russian regime, and in other countries as well, Russia and Vladimir Putin have tried to present themselves as neutral counterweights to the EU and Western leaders in disinformation campaigns.
In the fake news analyzed by SVT, which appear to be genuine, instead, the EU and the governments of the countries, as well as Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and other European heads of state.
In the European elections, Russia is encouraging both the far-right and the far-left, both of which criticize the EU and support for Ukraine. However, the role of the far-right will be emphasized in these elections, because it has more influence and support, said a senior researcher at the European Competence Center for Combating Hybrid Threats Jakub Kalensky To last month.
The support of far-right parties that sympathize with Russia is growing across Europe, and such parties are predicted to increase their number of seats in the European Parliament.
SVT’s analysis is just one example of Russia’s much broader efforts to spread disinformation and use it to influence, for example, the European elections. According to the European Parliament several attempts to mislead voters have recently been revealed.