Infoguerre

Russia blames the EU for prolonging the war – while its own bombs rain down on Ukraine. Classic Kremlin logic. Kahl’s actual point? He warned that a negotiated end (or pause) to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine probably would not put an end to Russia’s aggressive tendencies and might even lead it to re-focus its energy on Europe. You know, the whole hybrid warfare, cyberattacks, election meddling thing. However, the narrative being pushed by pro-Kremlin outlets suggests this is just a facade, implying that the EU is more interested in prolonging the suffering than supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty. Because doesn’t it make perfect sense that the EU’s goal would be to keep Europe locked in a never-ending war, rather than working toward a peaceful resolution? This false narrative is really about deflecting attention from Russia’s own deliberate decision to launch a full-scale invasion and its subsequent war crimes. It is easier to point the finger at the West and say, ‘They want the war to continue!’ than, you know, acknowledge that Russia is the one who started it and keeps it going. […]

De la tromperie diplomatique à l’invention de prétendus marionnettistes, le manuel de manipu-lation du Kremlin semble évoluer en surface, mais ses fondamentaux restent les mêmes. Mardi 18 mars, Poutine et le président américain Donald Trump ont discuté par téléphone d’un possible cessez-le-feu de 30 jours en Ukraine. Cette proposition avait déjà reçu l’approbation de l’Ukraine lors des pourparlers entre les États-Unis et l’Ukraine à Djeddah. Le Kremlin a publié un compte rendu de l’appel de mardi, qui offre un cours magistral en manipulation de l’information. Le récit manipulateur soigneusement élaboré par le Kremlin positionne de façon trompeuse Poutine comme un «artisan rationnel de la paix». Il rejette aussi une fois de plus l’offre de cessez-le-feu tout en intégrant de nombreux narratifs de propagande bien rodés au sujet de l’Ukraine. […]

The Kremlin continues to use manipulative language in its narratives, as seen in a recent readout … From diplomatic deception to puppet master fabrications, the Kremlin manipulation playbook may evolve on the surface but its fundamentals remain unchanged. The Kremlin continues to use manipulative language in its narratives, as seen in a recent readout … From diplomatic deception to puppet master fabrications, the Kremlin manipulation playbook may evolve on the surface but its fundamentals remain unchanged. On Tuesday, 18 March, Putin and US President Trump had a telephone conversation discussing a potential 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine. A proposal that Ukraine had already endorsed during US-Ukraine talks in Jeddah. The Kremlin published a readout of Tuesday’s call which offers a masterclass in information mani-pulation. The carefully crafted manipulative Kremlin narrative deceitfully positions Putin as a ‘rational peacemaker’ while effectively turning the ceasefire offer down yet again and embedding multiple long-standing propaganda narratives about Ukraine. […]

The European External Action Service (EEAS) has released its third report on foreign information mani-pulation and interference (FIMI) threats. Like previous reports, the latest iteration of the report is based on carefully collected data of observed FIMI activity, to identify and analyse the key trends in 2024. Building on the guidance provided by last year’s report on moving toward collective response, the 3rd report on FIMI threats introduces a novel element to analyse foreign information manipulation and interference – the FIMI Exposure Matrix, which was applied to analyse a sample of 505 FIMI incidents involving some 38 000 channels engaged in information manipulation. EU H R Kaja Kallas presented the report and stated clearly that the threat of FIMI is global and must not be underestimated, because ‘the aim [of FIMI] is to destabilise our societies, damage our democracies, drive wedges between us and our partners and undermine the EU’s global standing.’ […]

« A drug addict, a dictator and a puppet, oligarch, collector of Nazi memorabilia and a Nazi himself, an agent of MI6 and perhaps the CIA », according to the Kremlin: These are not colourful descriptions of a Bond character, but the picture of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy painted by Russian state and pro-Kremlin outlets. It is one of the most prominent strands within the Kremlin’s disinformation narra-tives: smear Ukraine’s democratic leaders to delegitimise its statehood and the very existence of a free Ukraine. And in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, such slander takes on a whole new meaning. At the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian people rallied around their elected leader. President Zelenskyy has become not only a natural interlocutor for Ukraine’s friends and allies around the world, but also a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Breaking it has been the focus of Russian information warfare in order to demoralise, destabilise and divide Ukraine and its allies. […]

Lately, pro-Kremlin information manipulators have been putting on a show of a twisted victory dance over Russia’s war against Ukraine. Its central element is the myth of Russian military invincibility. The Kremlin’s flirtation with the idea of Russia’s invincibility started way before the recent heated Munich Security Conference. In fact, Moscow has been systematically deploying this idea as a tool of influence, blackmail and dissuasion all throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine. It may well be that the policy-makers in the Kremlin actually believe the narrative of Russia’s inevitable victory that their own propagandists have developed. How else could one explain the arrogant tone struck by the Kremlin’s disinformation superspreader-cum-news agency, state-run RIA Novosti, public-ly celebrating victory on day three of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine? […]

Russian state-controlled and pro-Kremlin outlets try to divide opponents by spreading rumours, lies, and slander while engaging troll factories, AI bots, and the like. This type of behaviour is consistent with classic psychological warfare operations. These efforts are taking up more space in the information landscape as they are made cheaper by AI and social media platforms designed to keep people glued to the screen. For the untrained eye, some Kremlin narratives could be mistaken as just ‘interesting news’ or ‘a fresh and alternative opinion’. Messages often focus on sowing division in societies between governments and people or pitting groups inside countries against each other. […]

Russia has not accepted the U.S. proposal for ceasefire in Ukraine – despite Putin’s deceptive words to the opposite.
The U.S. proposal for a 30 days ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine was accepted by Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy. Then it got the usual treatment in Moscow: a cacophony of allusions and contra-dicting views were voiced by different state repre-sentatives to create uncertainty and obfuscate Russia’s intentions. Then, amidst this uncertainty rife with anticipation, Putin himself chimed in only after a few days of deliberate delay. Unsurprisingly, his words were opaque and non-committal, expressing seeming ‘openness to the idea’ but reserving space for eventual denial by alluding to unspecified ‘Russia’s demands’. Another sign of an attempt to hedge their bets – Putin’s comments came not in direct response to the US proposal, but were rather wrapped into the press conference with Belarus dictator Lukashenka. […]

Les acteurs de la désinformation pro-Kremlin s’efforcent de ternir l’image, délégitimer et humilier le président ukrainien Volodymyr Zelensky depuis son arrivée au pouvoir en 2019. Nous avons documenté des centaines d’attaques menées contre lui et contre d’autres responsables ukrainiens. Le 28 février, lorsque le président américain Trump et le vice-président Vance ont eu un échange houleux avec Zelensky, les porte-parole du Kremlin et leurs laquais de l’écosystème de désinformation ont, sans surprise, pris un malin plaisir à disséquer la rencontre dans les moindres détails.
Ils ont qualifié le président et chef de guerre ukrainien de « toxicomane, délirant, psychologiquement inadéquat, incompétent, corrompu et, aussi incroyable que cela puisse paraître, «Führer sous cocaïne». Fermez le ban ! […]

Pro-Kremlin outlets focus on the imminent German Bundestag elections, with narratives stoking tension and division in society. Pro-Kremlin outlets are focusing their attentions on the imminent German Bundestag elections, with narratives stoking tension and division in society. The patterns we highlighted in our recent article continue, and remind us of what we saw at the time of the Olympic Games and the European Parliament elections, tactics such as Doppelganger campaigns, hijacking credibility from reputable outlets, and smearing prominent political leaders with fake videos, social media posts, and other false material. […]