EU: Germany is the main target of Russian disinformation campaign
Germany has become the target of Russian disinformation campaigns more often than other EU countries, said the European External Action Service (EEAS) in a report.
The report was prepared by the working group on strategic communications "East StratCom" created to counter disinformation from Russia.
"No other EU Member State is attacked more fiercely through disinformation than Germany," the report says. According to EEAS, this is a campaign both at the political level and in the pro-Kremlin media.
Since the end of 2015, the EUvsDisinfo has recorded more than 700 cases of targeted disinformation. At the same time, about 300 such cases were recorded against France, 170 against Italy and more than 40 against Spain. This analysis is based on public publications and statements by politicians.
"The Kremlin is creating a mental image of Germany, where a few sane voices are heard among a chorus of irrational “Russophobia”, the authors of the report note. As an example, they cite coverage of the situation with Russians living in Berlin, from whom social services took away three children.
According to the dpa news agency, the children were taken away from their parents, to protect the well-being of the minors themselves. Meanwhile, according to the EEAS report, pro-Kremlin media and politicians used the case to accuse the German authorities of systematically pressuring Russian nationals in Germany.
Earlier, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell said that Russia is trying to denigrate the democracy of the European Union using this disinformation campaign. As an example, Borrell cited reports by pro-Kremlin media about the coronavirus vaccine. According to him, Russia is trying to discredit Western vaccines and their manufacturers and at the same time praises its own vaccine.