Disinformation on EU Migration Pact

Welcome to the 33rd?edition of our regular newsletter with all the disinformation-related updates you should not miss.

In this edition we will look at:?

• the current disinformation?trends emerging online
• TOP 5 disinformation actors and posts?of the Slovak information space for the last two weeks
• brief overview of disinformation-related news from home and abroad

What have been the emerging disinformation trends?related to?Slovakia in the last two weeks??

• Anti-EU actors, primarily far-right parties, spread disinformation about the EU's Migration Pact. False narratives, such as wrongly claiming implementation of national immigration quotas, aim to distort the understanding of the initiative.
• The US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions has faced criticism, with accusations of hypocrisy by pro-Russian actors. Despite Russia's long-standing use of cluster munitions in Ukraine, disinformation attempts deflect attention and falsely portray the US as purposefully endangering civilian lives.
• Disinformation and pro-Russia actors attack Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, using his recent trip to Slovakia as an opportunity to spread false narratives. Claims of Zelenskyy "begging" for resources and portraying Ukrainians as greedy aim to undermine public faith in his leadership and foster hostility towards Ukraine.
• More information is available?here.

Since the visit of the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has been one of the major topics in Slovak information space in the past two weeks, we also looked at it through an optic of a list of disinformation actors in Slovakia. We used the CrowdTangle analysis tool to analyse the most popular posts on Slovak Facebook that include the keywords?“Zelenskyy“. Posts were evaluated based on the total number of interactions (the sum of all reactions, comments, and shares).

Short News

• According to the latest?report?on the state of security of the Slovak Republic, hybrid threats against Slovakia have intensified in the past year.?This includes, most prominently, the dissemination of disinformation, manipulative, polarising content, and pro-Kremlin propaganda.
• Cyber attackers from the Medusa group published data they?stole?from the University of Matej Bel in Banská Bystrica.?Publishing of sensitive data of students and employees, among other files, followed the university's refusal to pay the ransom.
• The murder of a woman in Dubnica on June 29th has been?followed?by disinformation.?According to the post on Facebook, the victim was attacked by a man of "African origin." However, police reported they suspect a 36-year-old Slovak and no "African" is involved in the case.
• In Russia, the?trial?of a Slovak man who illegally crossed the border by swimming across the Narva River has begun.?He attempted to migrate to Russia because of his opposition to the EU, raising prices and alleged LGBT propaganda in the West. He now faces six years in prison in Russia.
• Meta is?launching?a campaign in Slovakia to help identify fake news on Facebook and Instagram.?The educational campaign #FactsInFocus features Slovak artists and creators.