DISINFORMATION

Disinformers revive narratives of Ukrainian fascism. Scaring the audience with European totalitarianism and World War III

Infosecurity.sk presents an overview of disinformation trends that have been on the rise in the last two weeks:

• Part of the disinformation scene has once again returned to tried and tested narratives that aim to discredit the European Union (EU). The rhetoric about so-called European totalitarian practices, the destruction of nation states or the incitement of war in Ukraine has resurfaced.
• It was the efforts to legitimize Russian aggression that dominated the Slovak information space. The avalanche of manipulative reactions was triggered in particular by the resolution of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who called for the lifting of restrictions preventing Ukraine from using Western weapons systems against military targets in Russia. Some disinformers have exploited the situation to spread fear of a looming world conflict or nuclear war.
• Representatives of the ruling coalition focused on covering up the issue of consolidation of public finances with attacks on the opposition. This was primarily translated into accusing the previous government of subverting the state and public finances, which coalition politicians also addressed to the Progressive Slovakia party, despite the fact that it was not in power at the time. These narratives were accompanied by attacks on opposition MP Lucia Plaváková, who faced vulgar speeches in parliament by MP Rudolf Huliak.

European dictate and war-mongering in Ukraine?

After weeks of disinformation and attacks on the opposition, the old-familiar narratives targeting the EU or trying to explain the global development of international relations in their own, often disinformative or conspiratorial way, are beginning to be revitalized in the Slovak information space. Naturally, Ukraine, which is being demonized, and Russia, which is being glorified, have once again come under the disinformation magnifying glass.

As far as the EU is concerned, there have traditionally been posts attacking European policy proposals and strategies, or directly describing them as a means of the so-called Brussels dictatorship. Naturally, it is the current MEPs who have been most active in this respect, running in the EP elections quite paradoxically with the intention of opposing the Union.

In the context of the floods that have plagued the states of Central Europe in particular in recent weeks, Milan Uhrík (Republika) decided to attack the Green Deal again, which he equated with alarmism without understanding climate change. In particular, he ridiculed electric mobility (specifically heavy-duty vehicles) and called for solidarity aid for the affected states. The latter came a few days after his speech in which he criticized the EU leadership, perhaps prematurely, for its lack of concern for ordinary Europeans. However, it is not just bad timing – the leader of the far-right Republika has long been known for his often unjustified criticism and attacks on the EU.

Uhrík's party colleague Milan Mazurek also joined the attacks on the EU. The far-right MEP responded to fears of monkeypox in his speech in the EP. He used the situation to return to narratives that accuse the EU of deliberately spreading fear of a pandemic or adopting restrictive measures. Mazurek belongs to the part of the disinformation scene that has long questioned and disputed the seriousness of the Covid-19 disease.

Mazurek, so to speak, rode his reputation to its very height on the waves of infodemic, when he referred to Covid-19 as a light flu and the measures as totalitarian practices. He owes nothing to his reputation, even four years after the outbreak of the pandemic, when he accuses the EU of "totalitarian population control" and the "liquidation of sovereign nation states".

In another post, Mazurek accuses the EU of not wanting peace in Ukraine and of seeking to profit from the purchase of Ukrainian land after the war. The MEP offers no broader context or tangible evidence for his claims. Even after corrections from the moderator of the published debate, which refuted part of the claims about the potential for corruption in Ukraine, Mazurek continued to use manipulative rhetoric designed to discourage the audience from supporting the victim of Russian aggression.

Milan Uhrík also appeared in the state-controlled media RT with a similar statement about the need to seek peace with Russia. Among other things, he suggested that it is not members of his party who should be labelled extremists, but representatives of the European Commission. Uhrík probably did not realize that by making this statement, he was at least also serving Russian domestic propaganda, which is also looking for legitimizers and partners in the EU in this way.

Ľuboš Blaha (SMER-SSD) also chose similar rhetoric in an interview with the InfoVojna disinformation portal, describing the EP as an "extremist cell" , where the atmosphere is "reminiscent of Hitler's Germany in 1941". With similar rhetoric, the MEP has long sought to create an image in which Russia is unjustly hated. The fact that Moscow started the war has been steadily ignored.

On 19 September, MEPs called for the lifting of restrictions preventing Ukraine from using Western weapons systems against military targets in Russia. The resolution was particularly disliked by György Gyimesi (Alliance-Szövetség), who used it to scare his audience. He presented the resolution as a call for NATO to go to war. A member of the Hungarian minority party, the Alliance-Szövetség, outright lied when he wrote that there was not a word about peace in the resolution. He continued with similar rhetoric in another post.

He used both posts to attack MEPs from the Progressive Slovakia party – accusing them of serving American geopolitical interests and wanting to send Slovaks to war. Gyimesi had already been using narratives about World War III several weeks ago. The same was the case with Ľuboš Blaha, who spoke directly about the threat of a nuclear conflict. He ends another post by saying, "This will not end well. There will be war."

Both Gyimesi and Blaha constantly return to narratives that not only scare about dragging Slovakia into war, but also paint a picture in which the West is presented as some kind of bloodthirsty monster. Marián Kéry has taken a similar approach to the issue of the use of Western weapons systems. The SMER-SSD MEP, in a post also shared on Facebook by his party, accuses Ukrainian President V. Zelensky of attempting to drag the West, NATO states and troops into the conflict.

As posts containing narratives about the Russian-Ukrainian war and the EU have been gaining prominence in the Slovak information space again in the last two weeks, we also looked at them using the analytical tool Gerulata Juno. We used it to analyze the most popular posts on Slovak Facebook that contained the keyword "Ukraine", "Russia" or "EU". We excluded from the list those posts that did not contain problematic narratives. We then evaluated the posts based on the total number of interactions (the sum of all reactions, comments and shares).

The post with the most interactions belongs to the chairman of the national party DOMOV ("Home"). Pavol Slota, who ran as a candidate for the far-right Republika in the EP elections, glorifies Russia in his post and puts it on the pedestal of world powers. Slota presents the fact that the EU countries are trying to cut themselves off from unreliable imports from Russia as a plot by the USA, which is said to be trying to enslave Europe. It is Washington that is to be held responsible for inflation and rising product prices. The party chairman, with clear intent and in a manipulative manner, ignores the Russian aggression in Ukraine as a reason. He even tries to legitimize it through the familiar narratives of the so-called Kiev Bandera regime or Ukrainian fascism. Like other disinformation actors, he likens the actions of the EU (specifically the Commission) to the Nazi practices of the Third Reich. According to Slota, this includes, for example, support for a defending Ukraine.

The second post was published by Milan Uhrík. In his speech at the EP, the chairman of the far-right Republika movement criticized European military aid to Ukraine. He returned once again to the narratives that portray any support as a sure path to the start of the World War III. By talking about the EU's unnecessary escalation of the conflict, he is trying to create a false reality in which the responsibility for the lives lost in the war lies not with Moscow (as the aggressor), but with Brussels or Ukraine's other allies, who are trying to help it to repel Russia's attack. Without needing any deeper reflection, the ordinary reader comes to see that Uhrík's idea of the ideal solution to the war in Ukraine is actually its capitulation. Together with narratives that, without evidence and quite conspiratorially, accuse the Democratic Party of assassinating Donald Trump, Uhrík's piece is a good example of how dangerously manipulative and disinformation techniques can be combined.

With the third post, Uhrík's party colleague Milan Mazurek tried to defend the Hungarian steps that led to the simplification of EU entry conditions for Russian and Belarusian citizens at the end of July. In his speech in the EP, Mazurek completely ignored the fears that naturally arise from the absence of security checks and free movement. This probably has something to do with the fact that Mazurek, who has been found guilty of racist speech in the past, has long not seen Belarus, and Russia in particular, as a threat. On the contrary, he is involved in the glorification of these authoritarian regimes, including the dissemination of pro-Kremlin propaganda. In his post, he refers to the possible punishment of Budapest as "totalitarian practices "' and manipulatively analogizes the situation to the migrant crisis. Once again, he returns to his favorite narratives, which lump all migrants together as rapists or terrorists.

The next post in the list belongs to the Facebook page BRAT za BRATA (Brother for Brother). It is not only known for its love of motorbikes, but also for its extraordinary relations with the Russian Federation. This includes the frequent dissemination of pro-Russian narratives, which was also evident in the case of the analyzed content. In the article, the leader of the bikers, Matúš Alexa, expresses his disagreement with the so-called EU dictate, accusing the Union of trying to destroy the culture, traditions and history of Slovakia. Alexa responds to the criticism, which points to the close relations between the bikers and the Kremlin, in a very stern and aggressive way – he accuses the critics of being paid by the USA. Again, without evidence, but with the conviction of a long-time conspirator. The leader of the bikers further joins the plethora of disinformation actors who are calling for a halt to all military aid to Ukraine.

The last place belongs to a post on the official Facebook page of the SMER-SSD party. This is content that was originally published by MEP Ľuboš Blaha on the Telegram. In the post, Blaha returns to the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump. According to the MEP, "lately, assassinations have been committed in the US and the EU only in the name of progressivism and Russophobia." Blaha tries to create a very simplistic, black-and-white reality in which he considers any criticism of Russia to be hate. In doing so, he also limits the space for condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The fact that the attacker, Ryan W. Routh, supported Ukraine is used by Blaha to portray a conspiracy theory in which he links the situation to the assassination attempt on Robert Fico. The culprits are (of course) once again liberalism or progressivism, which the Slovak government coalition has been attacking virtually continuously since its election.

Blaha's post was a continuation of the conspiracy narratives he has been spreading for a long time. For example, in his post published on 10 September, he also talked about the connection between the assassination attempts on Trump and Fico - at that time, however, he linked them to the so-called Nazi-ridden Ukraine. Why such accusations are wrong and based on the historical revisionism of Soviet propaganda was also addressed in a comprehensive study of Infosecurity.sk.

The opposition as the enemy within: finding the culprit for economic problems

After the successful dismissal of Michal Šimečka (Progressive Slovakia) from the post of deputy speaker of the Slovak Parliament, the coalition's attacks on the opposition are no longer so coordinated. This is also true for other actors in the disinformation ecosystem. However, in weeks dominated by the topic of belt-tightening and consolidation of public finances, disinformation and manipulation techniques continue to be an effective tool for distraction.

In this respect, direct accusations of the opposition and specific politicians of the current state of public finances prevailed. Prime Minister Robert Fico – despite several successive governments with the SMER-SSD party at the helm – claimed that the responsibility for the poor state of public finances "lies with today's opposition led by Matovič, Heger and Šimečka's Odor" (all former prime ministers between 2020-2023). Minister of the Interior Matúš Šutaj Eštok (HLAS-SD) has also actively tried to establish this narrative. In his post he stated that public finances have never been in such a bad state as after the government of the parties OĽaNO, SaS, SME RODINA and Za ľudí (governing coalition between 2020-2023), and added: "...we have not forgotten where you have squandered the money that is now missing in the budget. We have not forgotten the phantasmagoria of OĽaNO and the managerial failures of the progressives and SaS."

In reality, in 2019, before Matovič's government, Slovakia had the seventh worst result among EU countries in terms of the long-term sustainability of public finances. Currently, Slovakia's sustainability of public finances is already the worst among all EU countries. However, attributing the entire responsibility to the opposition parties, including Progressive Slovakia (PS), which was not in power in the previous election period, is purposeful and misleading.

In another video, Fico said that the PS was supposed to have fully assisted Igor Matovič in the subversion of the state in the past. Speaking in the parliament, Fico also resorted to vulgar language when he said that consolidation was necessary because of opposition politicians because they had "squandered billions of euros". Fico's party colleague and MEP Ľuboš Blaha made similar comments on the Telegram. In one of his posts he wrote: "First they dismantled the state here, they put us in debt for several generations and broke public finances – and now they are booing." Like Fico, Blaha puts the entire responsibility for the consolidation measures on the opposition. The latter is allegedly guilty of "squeezing the state budget" by Šimečka's "family mafia " and of destroying public finances by Ódor, Matovič and Sulík (SaS – former Minister of Economic Affairs in Matovič´s government).

Fico also attacked the opposition through an older disinformation narrative that in 2020 to 2022 the government composed of today's opposition parties intended to liquidate the opposition represented by the SMER-SSD party through criminal law. The PS allegedly enjoyed the suppression of the opposition and the party leader Michal Šimečka himself lived at the expense of the state [note: this is a reference to the allegations of unfair use of public funds by members of the Šimečka family, which we reported on in a previous report]. The mix of accusations was voiced in another of Blaha's Telegram posts, according to which after the last government there remained a "fiscal Armageddon". Blaha added that "the people are rightly demanding that these thugs headed by Šimečka be held accountable - they have plucked the nation and now have the audacity to call protests".

All the above posts add to the government's rhetoric about the opposition supposedly driving the various failures and negative developments in the state. Government officials and members of SMER-SSD blame the opposition, or specific members of the PS, not only for the poor economic situation, but also for the polarization of society, the growth of discontent and violence across the population. This has long been an attempt to divert attention from the real problems and to deliberately replace them with the bogeymen of liberalism and progressivism.

During the reporting period, the case of MP Lucia Plaváková (PS), who was verbally attacked by coalition MP Rudolf Huliak (SNS), also resonated in the disinformation spectrum. He addressed vulgar words to her after the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Andrej Danko, expelled her from the chamber because of stickers on her laptop, arguing that they were in violation of the Rules of Procedure. None of the stickers represented a particular company or brand. However, they included rainbow symbols expressing solidarity with the LGBTI+ community, which, according to Plaváková, should have been the reason for her harassment in Parliament. This was confirmed by Huliak himself, who later said at a briefing that it was to spread 'the demagogic ideology of progressive liberalism, which is the ideology of LGBT and the 72 nonsense they call genders'. Plaváková is herself a member of the queer community, a fact she openly communicates.

After she was expelled from the chamber, Huliak said that he did not consider Plaváková a woman and called her a "bitch". This was in response to her speech on the right to abortion, where she cited Constitutional Court’s interpretation stating that the fetal right to life is not enacted in the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Huliak refused to apologise for his vulgar attack, only addressing an official apology to "the women who were affected by this statement" on the STVR show. Plaváková later said that she and her six-year-old daughter had faced attacks and threats, and as a result had security guards at their disposal. She decided to file a personality protection lawsuit against Huliak. She will also defend herself against discriminatory bullying in the plenary session of the Slovak parliament by filing a complaint with the Constitutional Court and will file a criminal complaint against Huliak. In addition, his statements will be dealt with by the Mandate and Immunity Committee of the Slovak parliament.

The incident was also reflected in disinformation circles, which responded by amplifying the toxic rhetoric, attacks on Plaváková and hateful statements about the LGBTI+ community. Traditionally, the actor who goes by Hrica Luboš on Facebook has played a prominent role in the misogynistic and homophobic statements. He has claimed about Plaváková that she expresses herself "like a drug addict from some garage in Petržalka". This was in response to the aforementioned statement about the fetus not having the right to life. According to Hrica, this should also apply to cases where a pregnant woman wants to carry her child to term. In the video, Hrica was highly misleading and deliberately dramatic when he claimed that Plaváková was referring to women who were assaulted and who would miscarry as a result of their injuries, that it was perfectly okay "because it was just an ordinary fetus that had no right to life". Nothing of the sort was implied by her statements, but Hrica went on to denigrate her, stating that Plaváková was "a sociopath who should be dealt with from complexes, because only a disturbed and unbalanced monster can say such a sentence".

Other disinformation actors, such as Marek Géci, a former representative of the political entity Život – Narodná strana (Life – National Party) and now a member of the far-right Republika movement, have also fed on the issue. In a Facebook video, Géci downplayed Huliak's behavior and turned his attention to Plaváková, who was supposed to have insulted all women and mothers.

Project Infosecurity.sk organized by Adapt Institute, which is supported by the Prague office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, continuously monitors the activities of both Slovak and foreign disinformation actors, but focuses mainly on the former. The project activities are built upon daily monitoring of emerging disinformation, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories in the online information space. This approach allows the analysts to identify disinformation posts and narratives that resonated with the public the most, as well as to find out where they originated, and how they spread and evolved on social media. The report takes the form of a bi-weekly summary of arising trends in the spread of malicious information content online. Based on that, Infosecurity.sk can inform the public about emerging and current trends in the field of disinformation, manipulation, and propaganda.