Disinformation diffused by multiplicity of different actors – report
The increase in anti-immigration disinformation originating from far-right parties suggests a convergence on this issue between CHEGA in Portugal and VOX in Spain, the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) has concluded.
“In EU member states, evidence shows that far-right and populist parties are often sources of disinformation,” says the report, adding that examples of this can be found with both CHEGA and VOX.
In the last European elections, Portugal’s increase in anti-immigration disinformation discourse by CHEGA already suggested coordination with VOX.
In addition, “the disinformation is diffused by a multiplicity of different actors […] in several countries, politicians are considered sources of widely shared false statements. In certain cases, even the government or the state may spread or amplify the disinformation”.
Foreign actors also play a role in undermining the integrity of information, highlighting disinformation campaigns that mimic credible media websites to convey a particular message with greater credibility.
According to data from two years ago, “foreign disinformation is being spread in 16 EU languages”, including Portuguese.
“Even though the interference of foreign agents is not significant in Portugal, the legislative elections of March 2024 revealed a disinformation campaign disseminated through YouTube ads, with foreign origin concealed and linked to South American and Brazilian actors”, the report reads.
According to the document, in the week of March 20–26, 2024, Pravda network (Russia’s disinformation network) was active in 19 EU countries, including Portugal, and the country “recorded a propagation of disinformation in the Portuguese language with origin in the Brazilian discourse,” EDMO adds.
The European observatory’s report was compiled in order to map the different types of actors causing disinformation in the EU and identify the different authors of disinformation in the 27 Member States.
Source: Lusa
