Welcome to the 36th?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 posts?of the disinformation actors resonating in 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??
- Recent arrests of intelligence officials in Slovakia have sparked allegations of a "police coup" orchestrated by the government. ?
- Multiple parties are also tying the situation to the upcoming election and are spreading unfounded claims of election manipulation. ?
- Slovak disinformers exploit the anniversary of the Soviet invasion to draw inappropriate parallels with military cooperation, fueling anti-Western sentiments and distorting perceptions of sovereignity.
- More information is available here.
Since posts about the supposed “coup” have been prevalent in Slovak information space in the past two weeks, we also looked at them 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, including the keyword?“coup“. Posts were evaluated based on the total number of interactions (the sum of all reactions, comments, and shares).
- Around a third of the Slovak population believes in long-debunked conspiracy theories, according to a survey by the agency Median SK for public broadcaster RTVS. The study found that 36% think the 9/11 attack was a U.S. plot, 34% believe in hidden UFO existence, and others believe in chemtrails, global control by Jews, the U.S. never landing on the Moon, and vaccination microchipping theories.
- The far-right Republika political party has been fined €15,000 for spreading hate on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic and ordered to issue public apologies. This case revolves around infectious diseases specialist Peter Sabaka, who, along with other colleagues, was targeted by the party's posts, leading to significant professional and public consequences. The verdict is now subject to an appeal.?
- The messaging platform Telegram has shut down a leading source of Russian propaganda in Slovakia, the channel of the Crimean portal Newsfront. This decision followed international investigations, including those by Slovakia's Investigative Center of Ján Kuciak, which raised concerns about Newsfront's operations on Telegram, especially given that its leaders were under EU sanctions. Daniel Milo, the Director of the Center for Combating Hybrid Threats at the Ministry of Interior, affirmed that Newsfront was clearly part of an information operation funded and organized by Russia.
- Hackers targeted the website of the political party Progresívne Slovensko, potentially complicating the nomination of individuals to electoral commissions. The cyberattack, a large-scale DDoS, occurred on the final day parties could nominate representatives for district electoral commissions, with Progresívne Slovensko recording 129 million page access attempts from around the world in 24 hours. Despite the attack, the party confirmed most of the nominations were successfully processed.
- The Slovak police debunked a viral online claim suggesting that poisoned groats from Ukraine were available in local stores. Investigations revealed that although the semolina contained higher-than-allowed levels of deoxynivalenol mycotoxin, it was not released to the public and was destroyed. The State Veterinary and Food Administration emphasized the strict checks in place, ensuring the safety of imported food items.
