Disinfo: The EU creates a “Ministry of lies”

Summary

Europe is threatening Russia again with tough and ruthless sanctions, this time for spreading wrongful information about the coronavirus. This is stated in the European Commission report titled “Action Plan for Democracy”. This is far from being the first time that Russia is accused by Western officials of spreading disinformation that undermines democracy and the pan-European fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, but not a single fact confirming those accusations has been presented. Russia got used to the fact that the West tries more and more to find a unifying reason in the fiction about Russians or other threats. European Commissioner Jourova, after threatening to take decisive action in the fight against “Russian disinformation”, said: “We are not turning into a Ministry of Truth”. And then added: “I don’t want the election to become a competition of dirty methods. We have seen enough of Cambridge Analytica and the Brexit referendum”. So the European official admitted a total falsification, since all the accusations about the Russian interference in Brexit turned out to be an empty shell. Given the dirty methods of the anti-Russian campaign of the European Union official division, it can be assumed that Brussels has already created its own “Ministry of falsities”.

Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aiming to deny any wrongdoing by Russia by accusing those attempting to counter its disinformation of waging “an anti-Russian campaign” and running a “Ministry of lies”. Contrary to the claim, there is ample evidence of Russia’s role in spreading disinformation with the goal of undermining foreign democracies and about Covid-19. Also, Russian state efforts to affect the outcome of the Brexit vote are well-documented in news reports and parliamentary enquiries (see especially pp. 43-52).

See other examples of disinformation narratives about this subject, such as allegations that neither the US Intelligence Committee report nor the Mueller report found any evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US elections, that there is no proof that Russia tried to influence the Brexit referendum or about the role played by RT and Sputnik in these and other processes, that “absurd” accusations against Russia are an attempt to demonise it, or that the US and UK are indeed the ones who try to interfere in Europe.

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  • Reported in: Issue 224
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 09/12/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Spanish, Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, Russia
  • Keywords: coronavirus, European Commission, Anti-Russian, European Union, Freedom of speech
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Disinfo: Violation of freedom of speech in Central and Eastern Europe supervised by the US

The authoritarian practices in the Baltic states and Poland become more and more obvious. No one is trying to pretend anymore that freedom of speech should be respected.

The repressions against the journalists in Latvia should not come as a surprise. It is not the first case of gross violation of freedom of speech in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly against the background of discussions about the rule of law in the EU.

Many believe that there is a group of countries of Central Europe which are under a strong influence of Washington and follow its political agenda. This block includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

The political influence of the US leads to an active role of American secret services in these countries. American curators influence local authorities to clear the information sphere from all alternative sources of information. Due to the geopolitical situation, the biggest part of these alternative sources of information is Russian media.

Dec 08, 2020
Disproof

This article repeats two recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives: one about the oppression of the freedom of speech in Central and Eastern Europe and another about the US presence in Europe.

The statement that the Baltic states and Poland manifest “authoritarian practices” in the area of freedom of speech is a manipulative one, especially in comparison with the situation in Russia. In the “Freedom of the press 2020” ranking (by Reporters Without Borders) Estonia is on 14th place, Latvia on 22nd place, Lithuania on 28th place, Romania on 48th place, Poland on 62nd place out of 180 countries. The region is not monolithic. Estonia belongs to the group of states where the situation is evaluated as “good”, the situation in Latvia and Lithuania is “fairly good”, Poland and Romania belong to “problematic” group of countries. Russia holds in this ranking 149th position, the situation of media freedom in the country described as “bad”.

Disinfo: NATO membership will lead Ukraine to disintegration

Ukraine’s entry into the North Atlantic Alliance will lead to the disintegration of its own statehood. As a result, part of Ukraine’s territory will turn into a security buffer between NATO and the Russian Federation.

Dec 08, 2020
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about NATO and Ukraine with no evidence given. This message is an example of a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine being abandoned by its Western partners and the disintegration of Ukraine.

Ukraine is a priority partner for the EU and NATO. Its sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost all the world. Neither the EU nor NATO are planning to turn Ukraine into a security buffer.

Disinfo: US election result was rigged by mail voting

A month has passed and the world is still waiting for the official announcement of the US presidential election results. It is difficult to understand what kind of democracy this is. However, some insist there is a winner. He was proclaimed by TV stations and NGOs. In the era of “rule of law” and “bourgeois democracy”, the verdict of American people was not decided by the ballot boxes but by the boxes of the US post offices, as minors, citizens who had never been registered to vote, and dead people voted.

Dec 08, 2020
Disproof

This report is part of a recurring pro-Kremlin media narrative that the US democracy is an illusion, the election was fraudulent, and thus the US has no right to lecture others about human rights or democracy.

The claims that the US Presidential elections faced an “enormous number of irregularities” and was not properly managed, especially because of mail voting, is not supported by evidence. The OSCE Observation Mission states that the 2020 Presidential elections vote was “competitive and well managed”. Read more OSCE statements on the American elections here.