Infoguerre

While rumors circulate about the Kremlin’s crypt-keeper chilling in a deep freeze, violent mobs in Daghestan attempted a pogrom-like attack. Mean-while, EUvsDiSiNFO database edges over 16,000 cases of unceasing pro-Kremlin disinformation. For the moment, the Russian disinformation ecosystem appears to have resigned to leave the tales of frozen people in an internal deep freeze, perhaps hoping to thaw them one day. As for now, they are concentrating their efforts on other, if nevertheless familiar, narratives. Moscow has cozied up to Hamas terrorists(opens in a new tab) and spread disin-formation about Hamas’ attack on Israel. These actions beg the question whether the anti-semitic outburst in Daghestan is a warning sign of the chickens coming home to roost. Moscow might be unable to control the situation as the war in Ukraine continues to drain Russian security forces. […]

Pro-Kremlin disinformation praises Russia’s real or imaginary friends, attempts to placate people at home, distracts from Russia’s quagmire in Ukraine, blames the West for all the worlds’ ills, and spews conspiracy theories and doomsday prophecies. As Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets are desperate to diversify their palate with any topics that could draw the focus away from Russia’s quagmire in Ukrainian territory. The world is seized by uncertainty and the Kremlin seeks to exploit these tumultuous times to spread its disinformation, distractions, and deceit. This week, we can narrow down the Kremlin’s disinformation stories to two main axioms. First, life in Russia is better than ever and it is surrounded by friends who unflinchingly support the Kremlin. Second, everything that the ‘evil West’ touches turns to dust. Hence, its downfall is inevitable. […]

Le Kremlin a de nombreuses étiquettes pour désigner ses ennemis réels et inventés. Il traite certains d’entre eux de nazis. Il en qualifie d’autres de sombres «élites mondiales». Parfois, il s’en prend aux bureaucrates de Bruxelles. Souvent, les experts de la désinformation pro-Kremlin frappent en dessous de la ceinture dans le but de diaboliser leurs adversaires. Le Kremlin ne s’en cache pas. Si vous ne soutenez pas la vision qu’a Poutine pour son pays, alors vous êtes très probablement un défenseur décadent et fier de l’être de la communauté LGBTIQ+. Et LGBTIQ+ est presque toujours synonyme de dégradation morale dans la vision déformée du monde qu’a le Kremlin. […]

Attacks against the EU’s critical infrastructure saw the pro-Kremlin creative juices flowing, and remorseless propagandists leave no human tragedies in peace. Last week, the Finnish authorities reported that Balticconnector, a gas pipeline connecting Finland and Estonia(, was ruptured, likely because of an ‘external activity.’( Related to this incident, in addition to factual reporting, the pro-Kremlin ecosystem started circulating a number of narratives resembling those utilised earlier in relation to the explosions of the Nord Stream pipelines. Hamas’ attack against Israel continues to stir interest in pro-Kremlin disinformation circles, as the disinformers attempt to capitalise on human suffering by attaching their false narratives to the tragic events unfolding. […]

On Saturday 7 October, Hamas launched multiple and indiscriminate attacks against Israel. After this deadly incursion of Hamas, top-ranking Kremlin officials went on an information offensive and tried to pin fault for the escalation on the West. While the EU and many countries across the world immediately condemned the terrorist incursions. Russia’s official statement was ambiguous. Worse still, several top-ranking Kremlin officials went on an information manipulation offensive and tried to pin fault for the escalation on the West. In addition, pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets did not hesitate to cynically use these horrid assaults to draw a false parallel between Hamas and Ukraine. […]

Pro-Kremlin information manipulators push distorted versions of reality and attempt to capitalise on momentum with fabrications. This week’s Disinfo Review takes yet another deep dive into the distorted world of the pro-Kremlin information manipulation ecosystem. We explore not only how Russian propagandists sought to capitalize on the controversy surrounding Yaroslav Hunka, where the Canadian parliament unknowingly applauded a former Waffen SS soldier, but also delve into the Kremlin’s longstanding tactics of distorting and misrepresen-ting factual reporting. Facts will not get in the way of pro-Kremlin propaganda. […]

While Russia asserts that it is uniquely positioned to provide security to African nations in need, the reality paints a starkly different picture. Over the past five years, Russia has cultivated a disinformation eco-system, where fabricated and unverified information often eclipses factual reporting and independent journalism in a number of African countries. Beyond the realm of using information manipulation against the West, this insidious activity undermines trust in democratic institutions and raises significant security concerns for local populations. The motivations behind Russia’s use of FIMI targeting African countries are multi-layered. […]

n the UN, Lavrov tried to talk about anything other than Moscow’s role in its war against Ukraine while Moscow tried to blame US and European leaders for the events in Nagorno-Karabakh. Speaking to a half-empty hall, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made another attempt during the UN General Assembly in New York to derail the international focus by avoiding any mention of the obvious: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Instead, Lavrov spent most of his time blaming the West for everything from creating an unjust world to waging a hybrid war on Russia. Simply exchange the words ‘West’, ‘US’, or ‘Ukraine’ with ‘Russia’, and vice versa. The result will give a more sober reflection of realities! […]

Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets claim Russia wants peace, even as it continues to wage its brutal war against Ukraine. Blaming the West and falsely claiming the world is on Russia’s side reveal the Kremlin’s efforts to manipulate the peace narrative. In fact says EUvsDiSiNFO, we have seen this manipulative tactic to reverse the roles of the victim and the aggressor in other pro-Kremlin disinfor-mation cases. This time, the Kremlin deploys it to deny Ukraine’s legitimacy as the victim of aggression and dismiss its striving for peace. If the Kremlin were really interested in peace, it should be willing at least to engage in negotiations with Ukraine, the country that it has invaded repeatedly since 2014. […]

According to the Kremlin’s disinformation mouth-pieces, the big show in town this week, quite literally, was the visit of North Korean Supreme Leader (read: dictator) Kim Jong-Un to Russia. It was a welcome distraction from the 3-day-‘special military operation’ – turned-into-endless-existential-war for most pro-Kremlin outlets. As such, it enjoyed broad and detailed, if heavily disinformation-laden, coverage. Kremlin disinformation pundits balance between praising the relationship with the DPRK and appearing to be too needy of North Korean help, as Kim Jong-Un’s visit provided a welcome distraction from the Ukrainian counteroffensive and economic troubles in Russia. […]