Disinformation is one of the greatest threats to democratic countries, as it affects vital organs of democratic and social life such as institutions, elections, the media and freedom of thought. The work carried out by the European External Action Service has been decisive in recent months in the face of destabilizing campaigns against the European […]
Debunking Russian fake news about laboratories and biological weapons in Ukraine
The Kremlin disinformation machinery continues to fabricate make-believe stories about biolabs in Ukraine and bioweapons testing, while tossing its tentacles near and far. This week it appears that Kremlin propagandists were yet again tasked by their masters’ voices to celebrate a biolabs and bioweapons theme week. We also witnessed the pro-Kremlin disinformation ecosystem targeting Ukrainian […]
Why is the new AI tool ChatGPT causing so much chaos?
Ever since ChatGPT was released on 30 November 2022, it has shown its potential to revolutionise how we work and play. The most impressive chatbot to date produces human-like text that is being put to all kinds of questionable uses. Let’s start with education. ChatGPT recently passed law and business exams from two universities in […]
Belarus: Nobel laureate and opposition leaders on trial as repression hardens
In Belarus, police brutality, abuse of the court system, and the manipulation and repression of the public space is rife, silencing individual voices. The regime is using new ‘legal’ instruments of coercion to make a grim reality even grimmer. Nobel Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski on trial again On 5 January 2023, the trial in the politically […]
EUvsDisinfo: The crystal ball of wishful thinking
Around the globe, during the last days of the year, people customarily spend some time reflecting and trying to divine what the New Year might bring. Usually this is a time of sombre self-reflection, when people make an honest inventory of past successes and failures to chart out the year ahead. In line with previous […]
Disinformation: Kremlin ABC: Adapt Focus. Blame Others. Cancel Events
Last week the Kremlin performed a couple of well-known tricks from its propagandist playbook. Even if the tricks are old, they usually work, provided you dominate the information landscape. And the Kremlin is constantly working hard to secure a dominant place across digital spaces both at home and abroad. – EU and Kosovo in focus. […]
The European External Action Service and the ENISA join forces against disinformation
With broader hybrid threats crossing different domains, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) publish today a joint report on the relation between cybersecurity and FIMI to better understand and adapt to the evolving threat landscape. The report puts forward and tests an analytical approach to describe the creation and […]
Throwing mud at everyone and hoping some of it sticks
Since 24 February of this year, Russia has gone all out in using its diplomatic network to push its disinformation narratives across different social media platforms. For example, last week the EU launched the European Union Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) in support of Ukraine. The aim of the mission is to boost the military capabilities […]
Smoke, mirrors and gas: the Kremlin deflects blame for the energy crisis
The phrase ‘smoke and mirrors’ refers to a 19th-century illusion that magicians used to project an image in the air. Since then, it has come to mean chicanery and deception. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russian state and pro-Kremlin outlets have been active in spreading disinformation related to energy – […]