Leading up to the recent European Parliamentary Elections, researchers at EDMO noticed an unmistakable and dramatic increase in the amount of EU-related disinformation circulating, reaching the highest level since monitoring began. The narratives perpetuated weren’t new, but they were hand tailored to the elections by exploiting current events. They consistently attacked Ukraine, climate change, immigrants, and election integrity, with many of the efforts coming from Russia itself and Operation Matrioska.
Beyond the debunking of old narratives, EDMO fact-checkers grappled with new and virulent ones. Most crucially was the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico. These narratives tied the assassin to the Slovak Opposition, Ukraine, NATO, or the WHO. To address these narratives leading up to the elections, EDMO started fact checking briefs and critical disinformation summaries on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. They also helped to establish the “Rapid Response System”, which combats urgent disinformation attacks as they come out, and issued 18 responses during the EU elections. These efforts were critical in keeping European voters as informed as possible and ensuring a healthier election cycle.
Read the report co-authored also by CEDMO researcher Michal Šenk. You can get inspired with this report here.