Thread by @IneBackIversen

1/20 The far-right tilting in EU-elections is concerning, but shouldn’t be surprising! Several int.agencies have sounded the alarms about russian interference, influence & misinformation! It’s consequences of saying “putins war” & ignoring a whole system of bad actors
Deep dive🧵

2/20 The russian aggression never was just one man, just like the devastation & bloodshed of Word War 2 never was just Hitler. There’s a massive system around the one loud voice, and beyond that, a growing crowd of people supporting it, pushing it & even willing to die for it.

3/20 The russian aggression is a cancer that is rapidly spreading. They do it easily by doing what they do best: spreading fear, lies, propaganda and cause division. Targeting specific groups and issues, both through digital & physical platforms, in social and political arenas.

4/20 We are seeing it largely play out in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Hungry & Poland, where mass misinformation have since the beginning of russias full scale invasion been grinding the provocation of immigration influx and economic concerns.

apnews.com/article/europe…

5/20 The cycle of russian influence; russia pushes misinformation about catastrophic immigration issues in Europe -starts a war - War creates immigration influx - peoples fear feels validated, blaming government & immigrants, rather than the one driving both fear & influx; russia

6/20 Across Europe, far-right, nationalist & populist parties are making gains. Many openly supporting the russian aggression. Why? Could be greed & power, corruption, lack of morals & values. Either way, we’re at a crossroad that will shape the future of Europe forever.

7/20 The European Parliament have for some time already been urgently calling to protect the 2024 elections from the escalating of foreign interference. Specifically, experts warn that AI could supercharge the spread of fake news, especially from Russia and China.

8/20 Throughout the 2019-2024 term, EU-Parliament have raised concerns about systematic attempts by foreign actors to interfere in elections, a concern grown bigger since russias full scale invasion seeing that russia is the main origin of interference & disinformation in the EU

9/20 In 2024 alone serval MEPs have called for immediate action regarding reports of russia providing narratives to far-right parties in order to subvert support for Ukraine, and that some MEPs in Germany, Bulgaria & Slovakia were paid to disseminate russian propaganda.

10/20 German AfD have been flagged to publicly declare financial relations especially with Kremlin, after MEP Maximilian Krah were questioned by FBI in suspicion of $ bribes by Kremlin agents & his assistant being arrested on charges of being a Chinese spy apnews.com/article/german…

11/20 A comprehensive report, backed by 469 Members of the European parliament, underscores the need for a coordinated EU strategy to safeguard democracy.
With 360 million voters set to elect 720 MEPs, the stakes are incredibly high. google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.…

12/20 Key recommendations include banning TikTok for national governments and EU institutions, and enforcing stricter measures to trace and block foreign donations to political parties.

13/20 Several international agencies have warned about russian influence & attacks on election infrastructure. EU responded by sanctions of russian propaganda outlets. But is it enough, when the majority of russian misinformation is consumed through SoMe and grows like bacteria?

14/20 Disinformation-for-hire services are alarmingly growing with AI making it even easier to create misleading content. We’ve seen fake bomb threats in Poland, AI-generated recordings in Slovakia, deep fake videos, all being spread by massive bot farms. cbsnews.com/amp/news/russi…

15/20 European parliament President Roberta Metsola and other leaders highlight the threat from Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at disrupting democracy. AI tools now enable the creation of deepfake images, videos, and audio that are nearly indistinguishable from reality.

16/20 The EU-Parliament have called for a permanent body to monitor & counteract foreign interference, emphasizing the need for adequate funding & resources. Never in the history of EU has it been more important than now to dismantle russian misinformation & influence.

17/20 EU enacted the Digital Services- & Market acts & added transparency rules for political ads to counter disinformation. Cooperation with NATO & improving disinformation teams are crucial to gain an upper hand on the information market currently heavily influenced by russia

18/20 As elections are taking shape in Europe, public vigilance is vital. Stay informed, by being critical & stick to official, trusted sources. There’s also many initiatives for teachers & citizens to learn about disinformation. Flag things that seem to push russian narratives.

19/20 Disinformation can prevent citizens from making informed choices. Protecting the democratic integrity of the Union is paramount in the face of increased interference. As Josep Borrell warned, russia's manipulation efforts are a significant threat to our democratic debates.

20/20 Let’s not underestimate the arenas & dirty tricks russia use in this war, misinformation, corruption & election interference is all part of it, we must all be aware of that. It’s not 1 man’s war, it’s russias war against democracy & the free world. We must make sure we win!