DISINFO: European elites deliberately spread unfounded fears of alleged Russian interference in upcoming May European elections
SUMMARY
European elites are making alarmist statements about the dangers of “Russian meddling” in the May elections in order to pursue two objectives: 1) to encourage greater public interest in these elections and thus to get more pro-European voters to turn out (given that Eurosceptic voters are much more active than pro-European ones); 2) to be able to pin the blame on Russia in case European elites fail in the May elections and Eurosceptic parties significantly increase their influence in the European Parliament. Senior EU officials, mainstream European journalists and political analysts are now deliberately spreading fake news and unfounded fears about an alleged Russian interference in the upcoming May European elections. No evidence was ever provided to support the claim that Russia influenced the 2016 Brexit referendum.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative that allegations of Russian interference in electoral processes in the EU and in the West are spread by European elites in order to divert attention from the real problems of EU countries.
Disinformation produced and/or spread by Russian sources has been reported in the context of several elections and referenda in the EU, as noted in the EU's action plan against disinformation.Ahead of the elections, Microsoft registered cyberattacks targeting think tanks and non-profit organizations working on topics related to democracy, electoral integrity, and public policy and that are often in contact with government officials. Microsoft continues to investigate the sources of these attacks, but is confident that many of them originated from a group called Strontium, also known as APT 28 or Fancy Bear – which is believed to be associated with Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU. Read more here.
Numerous investigations have provided convincing evidence of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum and in elections across Europe and in the US - see more information here, here and here. See here for the list of the reports on Russian efforts to influence elections in various European countries.