Infoguerre

AI will have all kinds of effects on our societies in the years to come. We are already feeling some of these effects – for example, the use of AI text or image generators in the creative field and elsewhere – but we can only guess at many more. EUvsDisinfo focuses on the interaction between AI and the manipulation of information. Interview with AI ethicist Dr Benjamin Lange on the threats posed by AI to disinformation and the possible solutions it offers to mitigate these risks. Will we or won’t we tomorrow be overwhelmed by a flood of disinformation generated by AI? That’s the question! […]

Like a magician trying to trick spectators, the Kremlin has engaged many manipulation techniques to explain its bombardments of Ukraine, belittle international talks in Jeddah, and try to confuse the public with a spree of smear campaigns and plain lies. It may be hard to keep pumping out alternative versions of reality but the Kremlin machine keeps trying, as demonstrated during last week. It has come up with stories to explain why the Russian military choses continued attacks on Ukrainian grain storage facilities, harbours, carefully selected medical facilities and civilian residential areas to maximise casualties. […]

Manipulate the Infosphere, repress the People, and build a cult to Lukashenka! It is now three years since Belarusian authorities manipulated, rigged and falsified the 9 August 2020 presidential elections in that country. This rampant electoral chicanery led to arguably the largest protests in Belarus in living memory and gathered people together from all backgrounds. Footage and pictures of Belarusians in the hundreds of thousands protesting spread on social media. A shaken Lukashenka received backing from Moscow to crack down with unspoken brutality and force on ordinary people of Belarus. And repression is not slowing down! […]

Despite the summer being in full swing, pro-Kremlin information manipulation operators do not seem to be getting any time off this year. As Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine is not really going to the Kremlin’s plan at all, Russia’s government is on a charm offensive to convince the world that war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. Last week, the Kremlin hosted the 2nd Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg with just 17 heads of African states present, down from 43 last time. The recent summit was a follow-up to the first one held in Sochi, Russia back in 2019. […]

Russian disinformation shifts from denial of climate change to deceit about the EU’s efforts to adapt and reduce the effects of climate change. It mixes misleading claims about Western efforts with conspiratorial insinuations of colonialism to target African countries and falsely portrays Russian gas as the only viable solution. Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets and commentators have a long history of denying the reality of climate change. They have alleged that the West invented the climate ‘hoax’ to stop Russia’s economic development. They have claimed that Western countries use environmental regulations to harm their economic competitors. Old lies die hard… […]

Russian state-affiliated disinformation outlets try to ‘borrow’ credibility by impersonating legitimate media and government institutions. It is a deceitful information manipulation tactic to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives. The EU took action and now they are exposed. On 13 June, the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, issued a statement revealing a digital information manipulation campaign against France involving Russian actors, including Russian government entities spreading disinformation. This revelation was based on a thorough investigation and report by the French agency to fight foreign disinformation (VIGINUM) that sits within the General Secretariat for Defence and National Security (SGDSN) of France. […]

Last week we covered in detail the new uptick in the Kremlin’s disinformation and manipulation concerning Moscow’s decision to effectively terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative – BSGI. Claims included that Western countries were blackmailing Russia by exploiting the deal for commercial gain while diverting the grain away from poor countries, that the Ukraine and its Western partners were using civilian ships to smuggle arms into Ukraine, and similar nonsense. Since last week, things have gone from bad to worse, and not only on the ground and at sea. We have also seen the Kremlin stoop to new lows for lying when trying to deflect responsibility for its actions. […]

The Srebrenica Memorial Center published the report “Denial of the Srebrenica genocide in the Russian media”. It shows how prominent Russian mass media outlets, as well as bloggers, commentators, and political figures denied the historical facts about the genocide in Srebrenica to strengthen their denial narratives about Russia’s crimes. The main example analysed by the report is related Bucha. “The impact of such denial narratives can be significant, as they shape public opinion and foster scepticism towards well-established historical truths. It is crucial to recognize and critically assess the sources of information, particularly in cases where denialism is employed to distort historical events“. […]

On 24 July, in preperation of the Russia-Africa Summit, the Kremlin published an article, allegedly penned by none other than the liar-in-chief Vladimir Putin himself, pondering joining Russian and African ‘efforts for peace, progress and a successful future’. Besides the usual anti-Western rhetoric, this article was also a prime example on an information manipulation tactic we like to call ‘Kremlin Newspeak’. In fact, we have already published several volumes on EuvsDisinfo, translating the Kremlin and its master’s newspeak for the world to see. […]