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Disinfo: The Europeans can’t even buy food for the first time in 75 years, but the EU prefers to remain silent

Summary

For the first time in 75 years, the Europeans can’t even buy food but the EU prefers to remain silent. If one EU member country faces problems, the rest gets away from it, hoping for the situation to solve itself. This approach has become a regular one. In Italy, for example, the system to deliver cash to the poor has failed, which led to the fact that for the first time in 75 years, a large number of Europeans can’t simply buy food, but bureaucrats in Brussels simply stick to the policy of ignoring the problems.

Disproof

This is a deliberate distortion of the words of BBC and The Guardian commentator Simon Jenkins, who wrote a critical op-ed about the role of the European Union during the economic crisis caused by coronavirus. The NewsFront article pretends to report on this op-ed, but whole paragraphs were added to the original, such as mentions about the EU preferring to “remain silent” and “stick to the policy of ignoring the problems”, “hoping for the situation to solve itself”. Besides, the headline was misleading, adding “the” to the word “Europeans” to imply that the whole of Europe was finding it difficult to purchase food. In reality, though significant, those concerned were actually a minority in southern Italy. Indeed, by the end of March 2020 the Italian government started a programme of aid for those most in need [see the original decree here in Italian].

This is part of a recurrent Kremlin-led disinformation narrative to portray the European Union as a dysfunctional entity, especially during the coronavirus crisis. You can see other examples in our database, such as claims that the European project is dead because the EU is unable to handle the Covid-19 crisis, which will lead also to the end of the euro; that Brussels tried to finish Italy off because it opposed sanctions against Russia; that the Italian Parliament lowered the European flag; that the European Union is ruled by an American NATO general; or that the EU is trying to blame Russia for its internal problems.

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publication/media

News Front - Spanish
  • Reported in: Issue 193
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11/04/2020
  • Language/target audience: Spanish, Castilian
  • Country: EU, Italy
  • Keywords: coronavirus, EU, EU disintegration

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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The US fears Russian monarchists, so it labelled them as terrorists

The US State Department designated the organisation Russian Imperial Movement as a terrorist one, the first time that they accuse a group that doesn’t practice radical Islamism but Orthodox Christianity. The decision is justified by the allegation that the group holds and promotes white supremacist ideas, which from the point of view of the institution represents a threat to the State. But if we analyse the publications of this group in social media, the movement actually focuses on the restoration of the order that existed in the Russian Empire and not on racism. Its manifest doesn’t include any article indicating their adherence to white supremacism. Rather the US State Department affirms that RIM’s international activities aim to join forces with its allies in the US and Europe in a common front to fight against their enemies, and that is what the US is afraid of.

April 15, 2020
Disproof

The designation of the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) as a global terrorist group is based on its responsibility in paramilitary and terrorist actions, which led to violence against innocents, and not on its ideological stance, according to the US State Department. In addition, RIM has provided paramilitary-style training to white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Europe and actively works to rally these types of groups into a common front against their perceived enemies. RIM has two training facilities in St. Petersburg, which are likely being used for woodland and urban assault, tactical weapons, and hand-to-hand combat training. In 2016, two Swedish individuals attended RIM’s training course; thereafter, they committed a series of bombings in Gothenburg, Sweden, targeting a refugee shelter, a shelter for asylum seekers, and a café, for which they were convicted in Sweden. The Swedish prosecutor credited RIM for their terrorist radicalisation and relevant training. RIM has also provided paramilitary-style training to white supremacists from Germany, Poland, and Finland.

RIM’s racism and its anti-Semitic ideology are well documented. Though not officially promoted or funded by Russian authorities, RIM has been tolerated by the Kremlin for its role in recruiting, training and sending volunteers to the Donbas war. Russian former intelligence officer Igor Girkin [a.k.a. Igor Strelkov], indicted for his responsibility in the downing of the MH17 flight in Ukraine, expressed solidarity with RIM over the designation as a terrorist organisation. Members of RIM’s paramilitary wing, the Imperial Legion, also fought in support of Russian interests in Ukraine, Syria and Libya.

The “operation COVID-19” should have led to the overthrow of three world leaders

In general, if we talk about the operation COVID-19 as complex, in addition to destabilising the world, it should have led to the overthrow of three world leaders: Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. That is, it is a game against the triumvirate, against three specific political regimes. The communication between these three leaders should gradually lead to a “new Yalta” – modelled on the Yalta Conference in February 1945.

April 14, 2020
Disproof

A conspiracy theory concerning the coronavirus outbreak as a pretext to resist the new world order. A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about "secret elites" controlling global development. This is one of the common pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about a "Deep state" or Shadow Government of all-powerful groups ruling the world and controlling leaders.

No evidence is provided to support the claim. The COVID-19 has spread throughout the world, it did not exclusively affect Russia, the United States or China. More information about coronavirus disease can be found on the dedicated page of the World Health Organization.

150 tons of medical cargo disappeared from the Ukrainian superplane

If it is true that Ukrainian plane “Antonov” brought only 90 tons of cargo, it means that with a lifting capacity of 250 tons the plane used less than 1/3 (sic) of its transport capabilities. Kombinat Górniczo-Hutniczy Miedzi is the Polish state corporation responsible for the transaction. It paid 12 million zlotys. This is a gigantic mismanagement, for which someone should answer criminally. Thus, Internet users conclude that the fate of at least 150 tons of medical equipment is unknown.

April 14, 2020
Disproof

The conclusion in this article that "Poles wonder where the 150 tons of cargo go" is based on one Facebook post.

Ukraine's An-225 Mriya plane (the world's largest transport aircraft) has delivered a record medical cargo from China to Poland - 100 tonnes, the press service of the Antonov Company has reported on Facebook. It notes that in China, about 100 tonnes of medicines, laboratory tests, medical masks and other remedies were loaded into the aircraft.