Russians relied on false news for the European elections

0
322

Lies, conspiracy and hate-filled #Hashtags: In the European elections, everything was used. The Source? Often Russia, believes the EU Commission. But the traces suggest not only the direction of the Kremlin. Bernd Riegert, Brussels.

What have observed the authorities, political parties and activists are already in national elections in the USA, Brazil or Germany, also continued in the elections to the European Parliament at the end of may. Extreme groups, political parties and opinion-makers have tried to influence with false information about the Social Media channels, voters – often with support from Russia. To a first preliminary investigation report “Disinfo campaigns”, the EU Commission, three weeks after the European elections has been presented.

Russian Influence

“The number of campaigns, which can be attributed to Russian sources, has doubled in comparison to last year,” said Internet safety Commissioner Julian King. The EU goes out of 1000 cases of disinformation with the participation of Russian sources alone since January. “It’s not the ‘Big Bang’, so large Hacker attacks, but rather for the audience to tailor smaller campaigns,” said EU justice Commissioner Vera Jourová in Brussels. In Poland, for instance, the Russian website Sputnik have widespread reports that Poland is in the EU’s economically worse than in Communist times. In addition, it was claimed that the French President Emmanuel Macron wool throw EU States from the Union, says the report of the EU Commission. “The EU is observed, however, that there are campaigns that are close to the Kremlin in terms of content. We are not a secret service, and have no direct knowledge,” said Commissioner King. Whether there is a direct connection to the Russian state, could deny the Commissioner nor confirm. “You may be frustrating, but we are very careful to draw such conclusions.”

Julian King: Not much of a Hacker attack on the European elections

Disguised Advertising

Also striking is the high number of websites and Social Media accounts, which made against migrants and the Islam of the mood, whether it is in the investigation report for the European elections. In Spain, it was revealed, for example, a well-organized network of fake Twitter accounts, the automated negative Hashtags to Islam. The whole thing was happening in the environment of the right-wing populist party, Vox, said EU Commissioner Julian King. In Germany, the choice was not advertising in the right-wing populist AfD before the European election in the social media, often as such, complained to the EU Commission. The German television (ARD) had already reported before the elections, that automatic Bots sending thousands AfD-advertising to users, without you labelled.

Corporations regulate?

The big Internet companies Facebook, Google and Twitter have tried to adhere to the voluntarily agreed-upon “code of conduct for the practical work”. However, this had not always succeeded, criticized EU Commissioner Vera Jourová. “Millions of false, computer-generated user accounts, called Bots, have been closed. But it still needs to be done to find false news (fake news).” Facebook had set up a situation centre, in order to find the misleading campaigns. Around 500 Facebook pages would fall into this category, it is called by the activists of the platform of Avaaz, which led to the choice of their own investigations.

The EU Commission criticizes that the Social Media groups published their own data on Bots and Fake Accounts so far in Europe. Many experts and researchers have criticised the fact that Facebook’s actions were a top button kind of. At the end of the year, the EU member States and the EU want to decide-Commission, whether the voluntary agreements with the Internet and communications are sufficient platforms, or whether a statutory scheme is necessary.

Avaaz activists: Protest against the misuse of data by Facebook, in Brussels, 2018

Lying is not a punishable offence

“The makers of the disinformation campaigns are constantly changing their tactics, we need to do,” said Commissioner Julian King. The constant vigilance and the continuous fight against ‘Fake News’ be the new normal and no longer the exception, as the British Commissioner. The steady radicalization of the debate and the dissemination of discord and ill-will would have to be revealed. The aim is not to curtail freedom of expression on the Internet, said the EU justice Commissioner Jourová. You could only enlighten. Criminally relevant content are Talking about, the hate, terrorism, sexual violence, child pornography, to propagate. “Lying in itself is not illegal,” said Vera Jourová.

The EU Commission shall publish every month on its website a freely accessible report revealed the disinformation campaign.

Watch Video 01:41 Share

Pre-programmed: you recognize a Fake News

Facebook Twitter google+ send Tumblr VZ Xing Newsvine Digg

Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2xfU1

Pre-programmed: you recognize a Fake News