Russia's successful infiltration of media in the Balkans predates a possible invasion, thanks to a network of Kremlin-aligned businesspeople, politicians, and influence agents who shape editorial policies and amplify disinformation campaigns, write Goran Georgiev and Ruslan Stefanov.
European and American policymakers are responding at different speeds to digital challenges and the unilateralism must stop, Bill Echikson writes.
An explosion of Russian disinformation threatened a breakout of conflict in Kosovo, highlighting the urgent need to address the declining information environment in the region, writes Antoinette Nikolova.
Instead of seeking a diplomatic solution following the disaster it created with its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is seeking another conflict, so that its aggression will look as second-class news, writes Orhan Dragaš, according to whom Kosovo is such a target.
Elections in Serbia and an explosion of pro-Russian disinformation show why manipulation of social media in the Balkans by state actors is now a critical issue for Europe, writes Antoinette Nikolova.
The West is involved in at least two wars in Ukraine: a military war and an information war. Meanwhile, governments pressure the largest social media platforms as they are the biggest battleground for the information war, writes Maria Luisa Stasi.
The war in Ukraine is playing out across digital services and social media platforms, with disinformation and propaganda at its core. In just a few weeks, the Spanish fact-checker Maldita.es has already listed more than 750 fact-checks produced to counter disinformation items.
Questioning Ukrainian identity, the right to decide, defend themselves, and ask for sanctions to weaken the Russian economy and thus, ability to attack - remains a tool of Russian propaganda. Let’s make sure we don’t help spreading it, appeals Anna Romandash.
Given the war in the East, and recent riots in the United States, the quality of the information ecosystem has become central. Media leaders could seize industrial, policy and budget opportunities, beyond the basic democracy principles, with a view to media resilience, write Pedro Ortún Silvan and Christophe Leclercq.
It’s a global issue. It’s an existential threat to our way of life. And it threatens the collapse of entire ecosystems.
Without Silicon Valley's continuing goodwill, the Kremlin's information machine is in trouble.
A carve out for media in the EU’s Digital Services Act would leave a dangerous loophole in legislation that is desperately needed to tackle disinformation, writes Diana Wallis.
Allowing the US to focus its military resources in the Pacific requires a division of labor within NATO that requires the Europeans to take responsibility for the defense of their continent, writes Antonia Colibasanu.
The stunning events in Washington on January 6th not only showed the fragility of modern democracies but also demonstrated the untamed power of Big Tech, writes Marc Sundermann, Paolo Cesarini and Christophe Leclercq.
Even after US President Trump is gone, the underlying causes of division, mistrust, and frustration won't go away and Europe must future-proof itself against any risks to democracy – particularly in the online world, writes Věra Jourová.
While in most other countries experts blame disinformation on social media like Facebook or foreign powers such as Russia or China, in Bulgaria, the country’s own mainstream media and politicians have contributed the most to spreading confusion and ignorance, write Julia Rone and Georgi Hristov.
Platforms committed in 2018 to a Code of Practice against disinformation, including changes to their algorithms based on ‘Trustworthiness indicators’. As the EU prepares a Digital Services Act and Action Plans on democracy and on media, clearer references are required, write Marc Sundermann, Christophe Leclercq and Paolo Cesarini.
Ukraine, the laboratory of Russia’s disinformation techniques, wants to work closely with the EU and NATO to defeat disinformation together, writes Andriy Yermak.
There is no better strategy for the West in dealing with Russia than strength and unity, and there should be no appeasement and no return to “business as usual”, writes Kostiantyn Yelisieiev.
The EU needs a course correction in its approach to disinformation and fake news in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, writes Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck.
The Chinese government has flooded the European information space with disinformation, in an effort to control the narrative around the pandemic and divert the blame. This poisonous environment created by Chinese info-war operations calls for resolute answers, write Jakub Janda and Nathalie Vogel.
The whole world is preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic. Every day, we experience apprehension and our thoughts focus on how we can protect ourselves, our families and countries. Yet, while nations struggle to mobilise their resources to fight this unparalleled epidemic, another virus is spreading almost undetected, Daniel Milo argues.
The European Commission has just released a short-term action plan on disinformation. Remarkably, the sustainability of the media sector is hardly addressed, write a group of MEPs and media industry experts.
Our democracies in Europe are under attack from all sides – and online manipulations through fake news are at the heart of this threat.
