DISINFO: The US is meddling in the Slovakian election
SUMMARY
The US is meddling in the Slovakia election, according to Russian intelligence. Washington will stop at nothing, including blackmail, threats and bribery, to ensure a loyal government remains in power in the country. The opposition made clear that it would not unquestioningly follow the US lead if elected, and to prevent it from winning, the US instructed several of its European allies to conduct targeted work with local political and business circles. The US has already instructed the leader of the Progressive Slovakia party, Michal Simecka, who also serves as the European Parliament vice-president, to form a cabinet completely loyal to Washington should his party triumph.
RESPONSE
This unfounded disinformation narrative aims to discredit the electoral process in Slovakia, as polls around the day this disinformation story was published showed a very neck-to-neck race and the possibility of a victory of the incumbent Progressive Slovakia party led by Michal Šimečka seemed likely. The opposition candidate Robert Fico had expressed his willingness to cancel all support for Ukraine, a key goal for Russia.
The second goal of this disinformation story, by describing Šimečka’s eventual government as “completely loyal to Washington”, is to promote a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about “lost sovereignty”, based in accusing political leaders and governments of being puppets of the US when they don’t act according to Russia’s interests and portraying them as “independent” when they do.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the West puts pressure on Russia's allies and interferes in their internal affairs, that the US and some European countries interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states, that the West uses Russia as a testing ground for election meddling techniques, or that Russia has never interfered in democratic processes of other countries.
This disinformation claim was broadcast on the date mentioned above. Due to the EU decisions to temporarily restrict the spread and dissemination of RT, Sputnik and other instruments used to manipulate information and promote disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.