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Disinfo: The US organized Brexit

Summary

The EU is a “scapegoat” of the US. Washington doesn’t want a strong European Union, so it tried to weaken it. One of the most visible and effective measure of the US in order to destroy the EU was Brexit.

Disproof

No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Brexit and EU-US relations. In fact, studies show that Russia itself had an interest in influencing the discussion on Brexit: over 156,000 Russian-based Twitter accounts had massively tweeted about Brexit in the days leading up the June 2016 referendum. According to the study by data scientists at Swansea University and the University of California, Berkeley, the accounts posted more than 45,000 tweets about Brexit in the 48 hours before the vote. The majority of the posts encouraged Britons to vote for Brexit. The authors believe the posts were seen hundreds of millions of times. More about the EU's position on Brexit here.

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News Front - Russian (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 125
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 08/11/2018
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US
  • Keywords: Brexit, European Union
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Lithuanian MFA has put up with the launch of the Belarusian NPP

Lithuanian MFA has put up with the launch of the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Belarus.

Nov 07, 2018
Disproof

No evidence given. In fact, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius clearly stated that the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant under construction in Belarus is a "serious threat for the whole region". More information regarding the position of Lithuanian MFA concerning this issue to be found here and here.

The head of EU diplomacy does not care about Ukraine

The head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini does not care about Ukraine.

Nov 07, 2018
Disproof

No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the EU abandoning Ukraine. The EU does not recognise and continues to condemn the violation of international law by Russia. Earlier this year, at the joint press point with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman, the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini reiterated the continued support from the European Union side, "both on the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the country and on the reform process that the Ukrainian citizens want to see and expect from the government, and on which you have personally done so much and continue to do so much". Read more about EU's position regarding Ukraine here.

It was revealed how the migrants got UN debit cards, Soros also spent USD 500 million on them

The migrants are using unnamed UNHCR-EU debit cards in the Balkans. Migration is partly financed by the UNHCR and the EU. They receive money on the cards every month directly from the EU and NGOs, but George Soros is also financing it. This explains how illegal migrants are financing their lives while they are waiting in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Croatian policeman said that many migrants are wearing new shoes and clothes and have expensive smartphones.

Nov 06, 2018
Disproof

According to Snopes, the websides conflated an existing UNHCR programme with a separate humanitarian program involving Soros and Mastercard. The UNHCR programme was launched in Moldova in 2011 and expanded in 2016, and the beneficiaries receive 30-36 Euros a month. Most beneficiaries only receive money for six months, until their asylum applications are evaluated - althogh the period can be extended for refugees and those under humanitarian protection if they are sick or unemployed. The Mastercard programme was established with the involvement of Mastercard, the Serbian Ministry of Labour and Mercy Corps to provide debit cards to refugees to meet basic needs. Families received cards with EUR 210 and individuals got EUR 70. The money could be used to help meet basic needs. Later, in January 2017 Soros and Mastercard launched a new programme providing private sector solutions to social issues. The UNCHR has been involved with a program to provide cash to refugees via debit cards to help meet immediate needs, and George Soros has been involved with a program to assist migrants in partnership with MasterCard, but Soros is not funding the distribution of MasterCard debit cards to refugees via the United Nations. bit.ly/2Oy3KpJ,