#disinforeview

Exploiting the crisis in Afghanistan: Russian and Chinese media draw parallels with Ukraine and Taiwan

Almost in unison, Russian and Chinese state-controlled media outlets continue to draw direct (and false) parallels between Afghanistan and Ukraine/Taiwan, alleging that after Afghanistan it was only a matter of time when the ‘unreliable’ US would ‘abandon’ Kyiv and Taipei. Both sides are aiming to capitalize on narratives portraying the US, and by extension the liberal world order, as crumbling…

Hushing up is also lying: this week’s pro-Kremlin disinformation

Sometimes, what is not lied about is revealing. Seven years ago last week, a Russian military unit shut down Malaysian Airlines MH17, killing all 298 people onboard. This, and the ongoing trial in the Netherlands, was extensively reported in the international media; for instance in United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. Major pro-Kremlin domestic outlets, like the…

Soviet Chornobyl-times instinct to lie still omnipresent in Russian propaganda

While Russia has declared a withdrawal from its vast military presence at Ukraine’s borders, Ukraine continues to dominate the flow of disinformation this week. We hear familiar tropes that “Ukraine is preparing a war against Russia.” “The US is pushing Ukraine towards a war, but blames Russia,” and “Ukraine obeys the US.” Ukraine is, together with Czechia, Slovakia, and the Baltic States, “US…

Kremlin’s propaganda in the year of the bull

According to the Chinese zodiac, 12 February 2021 marked the beginning of the Year of the Bull. The word “bull” has several meanings in English. The first is, obviously, a bull: a specimen of male bovine cattle. Strangely enough, the word also denotes “empty, boastful talk.” Since early February 2021, EUvsDisinfo has noted how Kremlin officials have started to intensively honor the Year of the…

“Who’s afraid of Russophobia”: this week’s Russian disinformation review

Life is tough when the whole world is pitted against you, or when you think that it is. This week, the disinformation reflects this mood, radiated by the pro-Kremlin media. Let’s begin with the coverage of the Davos Forum. According to pro-Kremlin media, Western media silenced the speech of President Putin, although it was covered by the FT, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Bloomberg, Deutsche…

Russian propaganda’s techniques: flooding the mind with hyperboles

A recent Oxford University study also sheds light on those that spread disinformation. It found that RT TV channel, a super spreader, uses disinformation to create (political) chaos. If chaos is the goal, the means is a massive number of disinformation narratives, like an incoming tsunami. In the search of clicks, unrestricted extravagancy is required. Looking at the disinformation trends this…

Manufactured support: Kremlin’s pocket journos and Western voices to spread disinformation

Outlets Pretending to be Western Pro-Kremlin media outlets recycle the conspiratorial musings of sympathetic Western bloggers, falsely implying they are journalists who represent the mainstream views of the West. Previously, EUvsDisinfo has reported on a common disinformation technique: creating websites and think tanks that present themselves as objective forums for the analysis of international…

Over 3000 Russian propaganda cases registered by EU disinformation watchdog in 2020

2020 is finally almost over. For many, this has been a challenging year, which brought not only a global pandemic but also an infodemic: an unprecedented flood of false or inaccurate information about the coronavirus. Unfortunately, pro-Kremlin media has actively contributed to fueling the infodemic in addition to finding many other opportunities to spread disinformation, amplify conspiracy…