Michal Šenk, Nik Hynek
Summary
This policy brief provides a first academic exploration of the clandestine Czech Elves – highly skilled expert volunteers combating disinformation. Drawing on twelve unique, in-depth semi-structured interviews with Elves, it demonstrates how voluntary expert groups enhance and complement existing NATO/EU structures in information element of hybrid warfare (IEHW).
The Czech Elves comprise an online civic movement formed around 2018 in response to rising Russian disinformation activity in the Czech Republic, which the government failed to adequately address. Partly inspired by Lithuanian Elves, they share characteristics with Baltic and other counterparts, notably a determination to counter Russian influence through methods like data monitoring (‘cyber scouts and double agents’), legal action against propagators (‘elves in suits’), or strategic communication (‘memetic warriors’) (Klečková 2022, p. 10-12). However, they differ significantly in professionalism and organization, operational breadth and depth, and environment. As our analysis shows, the Czech Elves operate a formalized, hierarchical organization with defined roles, contrasting with looser, more amateur groups (Zelenkauskaite 2022a, p. 135). While similar groups typically focus narrowly (Denisenko 2022, p. 175-177), the Czech Elves engage broadly – including social media and website analysis, chain-email database management, OSINT, pre-bunking, strategic communication, and public outreach – often supported by unique technological expertise. Geography also distinguishes them: unlike Baltic counterparts (see Zelenkauskaite and Niezgoda 2017), they often do not directly confront Russia but primarily address localized Russian narratives promoted by local actors with parochial motivations (Higgins 2017; Sakalauskas 2021).
Since its founding, the Czech Elves have acquired a notable reputation – both within the wider international Elf network and at home – but due to a high degree of secrecy remain unexplored. For this article, we obtained rare access to the community, enabling us to conduct a series of in-depth interviews with twelve of its members over a one-and-a-half-year period (March 2023 to October 2024). This period allowed us to study the group at the height of its activity. While the Baltic groups, active since 2014, peaked around 2018, the Czech Elves rose into prominence in the context of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Our sample, which included six men and six women, was constructed using a combination of gatekeeper and purposive methods (Campbell et al. 2020; Lamprianou 2021). Respondents were referred to us by the group’s leadership following a negotiation stage, during which we built trust and discussed our requirements (gender balance; variation in terms of background, expertise, position and rank in the group). An interlocutor trusted by both sides facilitated trust-building with the leadership, as did our positionality, as the group was aware of our academic activities and saw them as complementary to its work (Bourke 2014).
Lasting between 45 and 110 minutes, the semi-structured interviews took place mostly in Czech over Webex; two (numbers 7 and 11) occurred in person at public venues. To maintain anonymity, participants could turn off cameras, and recordings were destroyed after transcription; one session (number 7) relied solely on handwritten notes. At each interview’s start, we disclosed our identities, clearly explained the research aims in plain language, and stated that respondents could skip any questions perceived as risking their anonymity or the Elves’ operational security (cite plain). Interview topics followed categories developed abductively in a pre-analysis phase (see Thompson 2022), covering respondents’ personal backgrounds (family, career, values, politics, media usage) and Elf-related activities (entry and expectations, training, norms, team relations, work–life balance, reflections). While these themes guided each interview, their order and emphasis varied. Our questioning strategy – introductory, focused, follow-up, probing, specifying, and closing questions – adhered to semi-structured standards: questions were inviting, emotionally neutral, non-judgemental, and open-ended (King et al. 2018). After concluding interviews, the dataset underwent thematic analysis combining abductive and inductive methods, accommodating both predetermined and emergent themes (Braun and Clarke 2006; Thompson 2022).
Following the ethical standards of social research involving sensitive information, we gave the respondents aliases derived from mythical Elves, using the method of pseudonymisation, to protect their anonymity (Lahman 2018, p. 81-87; also von Feigenblatt and Islam 2024). In especially sensitive cases, only a generic ‘Elf’ or ‘respondent’ are used in the text below. As further precautions, transcriptions were kept in locked files, stored on a password-protected hard drive kept in a vault at a location known only to the researchers.
The Czech Elves come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds yet share a strong commitment to societal welfare and democratic principles. Among those we interviewed, ages ranged between early 30s to mid-50s. Some came from working class environments, while others grew up in middle-class and college-educated families. All interviewed Elves had university degrees – ranging from humanities and political science to technical sciences – with a few holding a doctorate. Geographically, they were dispersed around the country, and though many lived in or around the capital, some resided in some of the country’s most peripheral and disadvantaged regions. The professional background spanned both private and public sectors, junior and senior and managerial levels, with positions including consultant, analyst, conference organizer, civil servant, developer, engineer or university executive position. A few Elves had experience from the non-profit sector and civic activism, some combining multiple roles. One female respondent works within state security, demonstrating that even insiders sometimes turn to voluntary efforts for more agile responses to foreign influence. Personal responsibility for one’s community was common to them all. “I think one is responsible for one’s actions and to some extent for the community in which one lives,” says Adamar. Or, as Faeranduil puts it, “Solidarity…and personal responsibility…are not in conflict.”
Shared values revolve around truth, social justice, and accountability. Adamar feels strongly that individuals must consider the broader national community, while Merethyl recalls her early fascination with questions of freedom and fairness: “I was very interested in justice, early on… So certainly freedom.” Family surroundings also factor in. Naevys recounts how her mother’s practice of welcoming strangers into their home taught her compassion. Calarel sees freedom and mutual respect as cornerstones of her ethos: “I feel a form personal urge to contribute to the common good.” Religious identity varies. Some, such as Delmuth, are practising Catholics (“actively practicing, yes”), whereas Merethyl claims a cultural link to Judaism: “Nothing institutional… if you’re asking what religious institution I would gravitate towards the most, it would be Judaism… Out of some tradition.” Others, like Haryk, Sontar, and Lorelei, are not religious at all.
Politically, the Elves hold a wide range of views, often blending elements of left- and right-wing ideologies. Adamar leans towards the right in economic matters but believes in state intervention when necessary: “More to the right, certainly in the economic area… At the same time, I think that in some cases the state should take care of the weaker ones.” Faeranduil acknowledges both left- and right-wing principles, embracing solidarity from left-wing thought and personal responsibility from the right. Female elves also express varied political orientations. Calarel identifies as a “liberal leftist in a more, say, Western sense,” emphasizing social solidarity as vital for individual freedom. Eloen, whose political views evolved through her work in social activism, recalls moving from a right-wing upbringing towards leftist ideologies after experiencing the inequalities faced by marginalised groups. Many Elves are proponents of progressive social values. Merethyl, for instance, supports social progress while also valuing certain traditions: “We must always ask why we need progress, and whether it is not too much.” In contrast, Sontar, a male Elf, is accepting of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations but takes issue with what he sees as performative expressions of gender fluidity. “To me, that’s just a pose,” he adds.
The Elves generally praise the EU’s role. “I have a positive relationship with the EU…economically, it is definitely a big plus. But I think it also has major positive security significance,” explains Adamar. Naevys, who has participated in EU-related civic projects, similarly lauds the Union’s influence. NATO is similarly valued: Sontar half-jokingly asserts, “What is the point of asking an Elf this question? Without NATO there would already be someone else ruling this country.” State institutions, however, do not inspire the same confidence. Many criticise the government’s failure to develop a robust strategic communication structure. Faeranduil remarks: “We know that the current government has not decided to set up any fixed structure that would actually be in charge of strategic communication of the state.” Delmuth’s disappointment stems from the state’s apparent unwillingness to take over essential responsibilities in countering disinformation, forcing volunteers to remain engaged indefinitely. Even those Elves that are insiders in their professional lives do not have high hopes for effective state action: “I have no illusions”, states Lorelei. Here, the Elves’ readiness to engage in what we call Circulatory Institutionalism – explored in the following model – becomes especially clear.
In a similar vein, the Elves’ media consumption reflects a general balance of mainstream outlets, combined with a preference for sources they deem reliable. Adamar, for example, favours digital centre-right outlets like Hospodářské noviny and Seznam Zprávy and is active on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The female Elf Gaelira places a premium on public media, such as the Czech Radio and the Czech Television: “There is some guarantee that the information they provide will be fact-checked and balanced.” Meanwhile, Haryk enjoys reading the liberal weekly magazine Respekt and listening to podcasts, though he refrains from contributing content on social media himself.
Organisationally, the Elves follow a hierarchical structure intended largely to keep identities private and ensure operational effectiveness. They are organized into several thematic teams and cells – with clear chain-of-command – designed so as to ensure that disruption to one part does not endanger the rest of the organisation. One top Elf explains the system’s agility: “Even if the hierarchy stopped working, the teams could function on a horizontal level.” Meanwhile, Sontar emphasises that anonymity protects individuals and the group’s overall mission: “Anonymity is important to us… The way we work protects us.” Naevys finds the structure occasionally restrictive, limiting spontaneous collaboration. She also believes it can fail to recognise some individuals’ contributions: “it may create the impression, especially in the rank-and-file, that their efforts do not matter.” Still, asked if the group could function otherwise, she puts it bluntly: “Honestly? No.” Meanwhile, Eloen strives to cultivate improved cooperation, calling for broader exchange of knowledge and skills. Leadership is usually split among men and women. A male Elf coordinates large-scale operations, while a female supervises individual cells. Another female respondent focuses on open-source intelligence (OSINT). Typically, male Elves manage technical roles, such as maintaining a complex database to track chain emails, inheriting that responsibility from a male predecessor. Yet another male helps administer this data system and produces analytics for journalists. Female Elves often handle outreach and analysis: one leads a team investigating disinformation websites, while another oversees social media monitoring on networks like Facebook or Telegram.
This division of labour sometimes corresponds to differences in approach. Female Elves frequently emphasise education and engagement. “It is important to raise public awareness about disinformation narratives,” emphasizes Calarel. Meanwhile Naevys addresses disinformation’s deeper roots by framing it in terms of unmet needs or concerns among targeted individuals. By contrast, male Elves highlight technical or security matters. Sontar analyses data to spot disinformation patterns, and Adamar highlights identity protection to reduce infiltration risks. Emotional stress often weighs most heavily on the female members, who occasionally report genuine despair at the volume and acceptance of falsehoods. Eloen believes psychological support is essential, especially when witnessing the public embrace of extreme conspiracies: “It would be foolish to think that years in the ‘swamp’ have no effect on one’s subconscious.” Male Elves acknowledge these emotional burdens but lean towards practical solutions, such as carefully balancing volunteer duties with personal life. Some successfully: “Nobody has complained so far…and I am not complaining,” says Haryk. But monotony and exhaustion can set in, causing some, like Vartan, to leave when the effort becomes unsustainable vis-à-vis family responsibilities.
Over time, the Elves have professionalised their operations, adopting structured teams and advanced tools. The chain email database illustrates this perfectly. One of the Elves’ signature achievements, the database – which now contains over 27,000 samples of disinformation emails (compare with the 19,000 disinformation samples in the EU-wide EUvsDisinfo, above) – showcases the group’s ability to effectively synergize diverse sources of expertise. Volunteers and private citizens supply the Elves with discovered disinformation chain emails, which are then fact-checked and categorized by Elf analysts before being stored in the database. Originally manual, the database now runs on an in-house developed software, maintained, safeguarded and constantly improved by Elves with IT background, who occasionally provide automated analyses. One male Elf oversees the entire operation, assigning tasks and producing monthly reports and analysis of the situation, which are then publicly communicated by the group’s spokespeople. He is notably proud of the system: “It’s probably the world’s strongest.” Next to that, improved project management and training have become vital, with the group placing greater emphasis on standardising tasks so that knowledge is not lost if volunteers withdraw. They are open to cooperating with state bodies – provided their autonomy remains intact – and some highlight the value of sharing intelligence with authorities. Yet they see little sign that government entities will assume comprehensive responsibility for tackling the IEHW, leaving the Elves to continue their work. Faeranduil observes, “I think the existence of the Czech Elves will continue,” illustrating a shared view that their mission remains essential. Some believe broader cross-border networking would enhance effectiveness but implementing that has thus far proved elusive.
To summarise, the Czech Elves unite men and women in a shared pursuit: fighting information warfare and disinformation. Their different personal backgrounds and experiences fuel a varied set of strategies, with gender factoring into how each volunteer addresses challenges. Women emphasise empathy and public education, while men concentrate on data and secure operations. Shared values work as a glue, setting the Elves apart from the usually politically motivated trolls (see Zelenkauskaite and Niezgoda 2017). Despite difficult working conditions – hierarchy, anonymity, emotional stress – the Elves demonstrate a strong ability to synergize diverse sources of expertise, cooperating with people they never physically met to produce unique results (a possibly crucial skill for war scenarios). The database is merely one showcase, with similar dynamics informing skill-intensive operations like OSINT or public education, where the collective expertise and experience are operationalized by select Elves acting in their private capacities, taking part in the whole-of-society approach. Absent formal (state) institutional oversight, the group demonstrates high degrees of self-organization and self-regulation while retaining agility and flexibility. This dual character – independence combined with collaborative potential – helps them respond swiftly, guided by principle rather than bureaucracy. Male and female perspectives dovetail effectively, revealing the impact that grassroots groups can have in safeguarding democratic values against the rising tide of the IEHW.
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