France, Germany and Poland targeted by “permanent attacks” of Russian disinformation

A new alert two days before the start of the EU-wide vote. Ahead of the European elections, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Vera Jourova, reported on Tuesday June 4 that France, Germany and Poland had become targets of permanent Russian disinformation attacks. “According to the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO), before the elections, there are three major countries constantly attacked by Russia: France, Germany and Poland”declared the manager during a press briefing.

“Larger-scale disinformation attacks have been noted on specific topics”, she continued: in France, they concern the Olympic Games and New Caledonia; in Germany, “immigration and security issues”. Poland has recently been targeted by the propagation of a narrative “according to which Ukrainian refugees become an unbearable burden on society”. The commissioner also cited a recent cyberattack against the Polish news agency PAP, which gave rise to a false report announcing the mobilization of 200,000 Poles to fight in Ukraine.

As the Europeans approach, which are held from Thursday to Sunday in the 27 EU countries, Vera Jourova estimated that there was still a risk for “than a ‘shrapnel’ [obus rempli de balles] last minute be sent to the information space”. “It may be a ‘deepfake’ [une vidéo falsifiée] of a politician announcing something likely to frighten society, to shake it”, she warned. This represents a “increased danger because there will not be enough time to react” before the vote.