DISINFORMATION REVIEW ISSUE XXVI

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Issue 26 -  18 May 2016 "The downfall of the West" In recent weeks pro-Kremlin media became particularly concerned about what they see is the grim reality of life in the West. The situation is apparently the worst in Europe, where children nowadays "fall asleep with Hitler dolls", according to a show presented by "Secret TV" (http://bit.ly/1TRG25H). Another problematic issue regards the state of western democracies. According to nation-news.ru's article, the decline of the West is reflected by the degradation of Western legal systems as a result of continuous political pressure (http://bit.ly/1OrgWqh). It was also reported that the EU aims to eliminate protests by establishing a common military police, modelled on the USA's FBI (http://bit.ly/1T9H68f). Pro-Kremlin media did not refrain from controversial messages in order to illustrate the alleged decadence of the West. Gifakt.ru for instance accused European authorities of allowing migrants to commit paedophile crimes in the EU (http://bit.ly/1TRIPMe); while Bulgarian disinformation site "bultimes.com"  commented on the election of London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan in the following way: "Parasites are conquering the West: […] Khan has no education whatsoever and has never worked anything meaningful in his life" (http://bit.ly/1TALRlw) (Khan is in fact a former human rights lawyer and Member of Parliament).

Targeting NATO As the 2016 Warsaw Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is approaching, the Alliance and its member states are becoming increasingly targeted by pro-Kremlin media. The official Kremlin narrative, according to which NATO's actions pose a threat to Russia's national security (http://bit.ly/1YjHH5t), was repeated by several pro-Kremlin outlets. VZ.ru for instance stated that "NATO is creating a confrontational defence and security scheme by sending additional forces to the Baltic States" (http://bit.ly/1NsRhCA), while svpressa.ru reported that the Alliance is establishing a "military district in the Baltic region" (http://bit.ly/1OrkcSz). In the interpretation of pro-Kremlin commentators NATO's objective is clear: it aims "to intimidate Russia" (http://bit.ly/1rJsjFb). Who is in fact identified as responsible for NATO's "aggressive and anti-Russian mentality"? While Russian military expert Viktor Litovkin chose to blame the usual scapegoat, the United States, for using the Alliance as a political and military tool (http://bit.ly/242D2sb), others pointed the finger at Lithuania, "the most aggressive and Russophobic country in Europe", which is "pushing NATO in an anti-Russian direction" (http://bit.ly/1VVvKFj). Meanwhile, it is only Moscow that is said to conduct itself in a responsible manner: despite the fact that NATO declared Russia to be an aggressor without any reason (http://bit.ly/1UVtDjL), Russia "does not want to participate in the arms race imposed by NATO countries" (http://bit.ly/1TkMdAG). Sergey Shoygu, Russia's Minister of Defence did not mention that the country's military expenditure was 5.4% in 2015 (as a percentage of GDP), which is the highest share of its gross national product devoted to military spending since its independence. It is also greater than the US's (3.3% in 2015) or any EU member states' (http://bit.ly/1hjX3Ww). Ukraine: usual target with some signs of innovation Ukraine continued to receive substantial coverage by pro-Kremlin media. Disinformation outlets repeated the well-known Kremlin narratives, e.g. that "Ukraine is part of the Russian world" (http://bit.ly/1X3OJN4) or Nazi ideals are widespread in Ukraine: Sputnik's German version for instance stated that "Swastikas and SS-runes found their way into the everyday life of the Ukrainian public" and "Ukrainians celebrated Easter with Swastikas" (http://bit.ly/1rQBEKY). It was also asserted that the Maidan revolution was in fact a "coup", "Russian thinking people" are being repressed in Ukraine (http://bit.ly/1OpbB2u) and that Ukrainian authorities carry out terror against their own people (http://bit.ly/1T9PbIg). In other cases, however, pro-Kremlin journalists displayed signs of innovation. An article for instance, published by tvzvezda.ru claimed that Ukraine is on the verge of a second nuclear catastrophe as it is increasing its use of American nuclear fuel for powering atomic plants in the country while phasing out previous cooperation with Russia in this area (http://bit.ly/1qbh5Yu). A similarly creative article featured a fictional provision in a government resolution, according to which Ukrainians living in places that are not their officially registered residences will be subject to fines (http://bit.ly/1rPZgPY). READ THE LATEST DISINFORMATION REVIEW: ISSUE TWENTY-FIVE Thank you very much for your reports, we are looking forward to new ones. East StratCom Task Force Follow us on Twitter @EUvsDisinfo For contributions, please e-mail jakub.kalensky@eeas.europa.eu To sign up for this newsletter, please click here: http://eepurl.com/bN1ub5