Disinfo: US Congress members, Macron accuse Sputnik and RT of election interference with no evidence

Summary

Several politicians, such as US Congress members and French President Emmanuel Macron, have accused Sputnik and RT of interfering in the elections in the USA and France. However, no evidence has been presented.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative claiming that there is no proof of Russian interference in the elections in Western countries and the US - see examples here and here. There is evidence linking Russian state actors with interfering in electoral processes. Interference in the French elections included personal attacks and mocking of the then presidential candidate, Emmanuel Macron. Apart from biased reporting in the pro-Kremlin media, there was a made up story about Macron's offshore accounts (the so-called MacronGate) and an actual hack-and-leak operation. According to the Insider and Mediapart, the hacking was purported by the same GRU unit responsible for the hacking of the Democrats' servers in the US. For more information, see EUvsDisinfo analysis “Tackling disinformation à la Française". The fact of Russian meddling in the 2016 US election was underlined by the US intelligence community in January 2017. These findings were confirmed by the US Special Counsel investigation which found that "[t]he Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in a sweeping and systematic fashion" (p. 1). See additional debunking of the "no interference" narrative here. Read more about election meddling in France and elsewhere here.

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publication/media

News Front - YouTube, German
  • Reported in: Issue 171
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20/10/2019
  • Outlet language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: France, US
  • Keywords: election meddling, Russia Today (RT), Emmanuel Macron, Sputnik
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Disinfo: Petro Poroshenko lied about his own provocation in the Kerch Strait and the US supported this lie

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has lied about the Kerch Strait provocation. And the West has supported this lie. Poroshenko has lied about the incident in the Kerch Strait: the Russians had nothing to do with it, it is his, Poroshenko’s provocation. And every time he lies, the United States and its allies support this lie.

Oct 19, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and the Azov Sea. No evidence given that the confrontation was a planned provocation by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. No evidence that the US supported his "lie". On 25 November 2018, border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters. However, a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty are considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine. The construction of the Kerch Bridge took place without Ukraine's consent and constitutes a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has led, in parallel with the militarisation of the Azov Sea, to tougher controls on naval traffic in the strait. The European Union stated that it expects Russia to stop the inspections. For further reporting see the Bellingcat, DFRLab and Polygraph.

Disinfo: Estonia. Entry only for those, who have forgotten their history

In the end of the event against Estonia’s “visa arbitrariness” to the members of Young Guard, the activists wrote on the pavement “Estonia. Entry only for those, who have forgotten their history!”.

Oct 19, 2019
Disproof

On 15th of August, Estonia added four people to the list who are not allowed to enter the Schengen area. While the official reason for this "visa arbitrariness" as pro-Kremlin media calls it, is not to be disclosed by the authorities, the media in Estonia has reported that the reason was their cooperation with an NGO called Russian Fellow Compatriots in Europe and participation in the Immortal Regiment march. The Estonian Internal Security Service regularly refers to various NGOs and individuals engaged in propaganda campaigns or subversive actions in Estonia with support from Russia. Propastop has mapped this network of NGOs and individuals. As for the slogan about forgetting history, pro-Kremlin media has been claiming that Tallinn was liberated and there was no occupation. In reality this was not the case: "On September 22, 1944, when the Red Army arrived in Tallinn, the Germans had already left the city. On 18. September, Otto Tief’s Republic of Estonia’s Constitutional Government, which had been formed by Prime Minister Jüri Uluots acting on behalf of the President was in force." That Estonian Government "affirmed the juridical continuation of the Republic of Estonia, and it showed that Estonia accepted neither the Soviet occupation nor the 3-year period of German occupation". The previous example of the 75 year old disinformation narrative about liberation of Tallinn can be seen here.

Disinfo: The result of Western reforms in Moldova is criminal groups occupying the prosecutor's office

The result of Western reforms is criminal groups occupying the prosecutor’s office. The whole system of Moldovan justice has turned out to be corrupt. And according to the Minister of Justice, “the situation in the prosecutor’s office is very bad; there are, most likely, criminal groups that were covering numerous crimes”. You see, criminal groups appeared in the Moldovan prosecutor’s office, and it is a hotbed of crime. And all this was the result of previous “reforms” of the justice system. But who led the process and financed it? Washington and Brussels. And inspired, and encouraged. Grants, cheap loans, financial assistance – this is a West’s long-standing strategy in subordinating other states and establishing control over them.

Oct 19, 2019
Disproof

Recurring narratives claiming that the US and the EU control state institutions in partner countries and are involved in their internal affairs. The Republic of Moldova has adopted a strategy for the reform of the justice sector for 2011-2016, the implementation of which was financially supported by the EU and the US with the aim of fighting corruption and ensuring an independent justice system. On 14 June 2013, the Moldovan Government signed a Financing Agreement with the European Union on the Justice Reform Support Programme, which stipulated that the state budget will receive international assistance worth a total of 60 million euros to support justice reform. Besides the EU, other donors such as the Council of Europe and the United States' Agency for International Development (USAID) made contributions. On 11 October 2017, the EU announced its decision to cut the budget support programme for justice reforms in Moldova and not to give the last financial contribution under the justice reform programme, which amounted to EUR 28 million. "The EU has closely observed the reform process and noted that the Moldovan authorities showed insufficient commitment to reforming the justice sector in 2014 and 2015. With insufficient allocation of funds and personnel, the necessary reforms have not been carried out. As a result, progress has not been sufficient,” noted the EU Delegation to Moldova. In July 2019, the EU announced that it is resuming budget support assistance to Moldova by disbursing €14.54 million to support the implementation of the EU-Moldova free trade agreement, to finance vocational education trainings, and to assist the implementation of the visa liberalisation action plan. In its decision, the EU recognised that Moldova's recently installed government has taken important decisions that have allowed the EU to assess that the conditions have been met to resume its budget support. For further information, see here.