Twenty years ago, on 7 October 2006, the journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered at the instigation of Russian security services. This is an op-ed by documentary filmmaker Eric Bergkraut, who knew her well, recalling her fight for truth and against Kremlin propaganda – a struggle that is more necessary than ever as Vladimir Putin continues to kill.

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In the Moscow newsroom of Novaya Gazeta, she would wait to see whether editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov would approve her latest article, whether she had gone too far for a newspaper that, as early as 2004, lived in constant fear of being shut down by the authorities. That was the situation, and yet it felt as if not everything was lost. Who could have imagined that, 20 years later, Putin would still be in power and waging a war that would cost hundreds of thousands of lives?

...

After Anna's murder, Putin claimed he was not responsible and that her death did him more harm than all the articles she had written against him. The truth is that Putin cares only about staying in power. For that, he needs war. The individual, whether man or woman, counts for nothing.

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The powerful can control everything except human conscience, Anna believed. She lived through and described how dictatorship corrodes a society. Vladimir Putin has been committing war crimes for more than a quarter-century. Films, books and articles on the subject have never been lacking. Yet, in the early 2000s, the leaders of Western European democracies were not interested. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder fraternized with Putin; the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany was launched; President Jacques Chirac awarded Putin the Légion d'honneur. Schröder and Chirac cited supposed national interests; the dismantling of democracy did not concern them, let alone human rights abuses. A grave mistake: There is a direct link between the indulgence shown to the autocrat at that time and today's battlefields.

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Anna Politkovskaya was always allergic to empty rhetoric. Twenty years after her assassination, the best tribute to her would be to help those suffering from this new war, regardless of their nationality. We could also bring the Russian autocrat, who dreams of ruling forever, to realize that his reign is nearing its end. Today's European leaders have a chance to show they are wiser than their predecessors. Seeing Vladimir Putin celebrate a birthday behind bars – now, that would be something.

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Russia is targeting Poland, Germany and France with disinformation aimed at weakening support for Ukraine’s European Union membership bid.

Archived

The report by the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Ukraine’s government Center for Countering Disinformation says Moscow is using official state media, social media accounts, anonymous networks and manipulated content to sow dissent inside the EU and undermine Ukraine’s place in Europe.

The campaign is part of Russia’s wider aggression against Ukraine. Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, after years of trying to keep Kyiv inside its sphere of influence.

Ukraine applied to join the EU four days later. It received official candidate status in June 2022; accession talks opened in 2024, and the first substantive negotiation cluster was opened earlier this month.

The report says Russia’s messaging deliberately exploits sensitive issues in European societies, including corruption, security, national identity, migration and the economic cost of supporting Ukraine.

Poland is described as especially exposed to messages targeting Ukrainian refugees, who are frequently portrayed in Russian propaganda as criminal or dangerous.

'Kremlin fears Ukraine’s success'

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia’s actions were "neither isolated nor accidental."

"They are deliberate, coordinated, and persistent," Kallas said. "They seek to exploit fears related to corruption, security, identity, and economic costs. They target audiences both in Ukraine and across EU member states, aiming to undermine Ukraine’s accession to the EU."

Kallas added that Russia’s campaign points to “an important truth: the Kremlin fears Ukraine’s success.”

[...]

Analysts examined 244,000 social media posts published between January 2025 and May 2026 on platforms including Telegram, X, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.

The content reached more than 1.39 billion views. The report identified 2,680 sources showing signs of inauthentic behavior, meaning coordinated activity that did not appear to come from ordinary, independent users.

[...]

Meanwhile, a Russian disinformation campaign aims to fuel tensions between Ukraine and Poland.

A video circulating on social media and anonymous Telegram channels is being passed off by Russian propagandists as a Euronews news report. It falsely claims that Poland is preparing to deport 50,000 Ukrainians amid diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

This claim is false.

No such reports have appeared on Euronews' official website or its social media accounts. The video bears clear signs of manipulation and was compiled using third-party photos and video footage that are publicly available online. Moreover, it depicts isolated incidents rather than providing evidence of any mass deportations.

[...]

Similar fabrications are part of the broader Russian disinformation campaign known as "Matryoshka," which disguises fake content as reports from reputable media outlets, government institutions, or fact-checking organizations. The objective of these operations is to create the illusion of credibility by imitating trusted sources, using fabricated front pages, screenshots, videos, and documents.

[...]

A new investigation reveals how a sophisticated Russian information manipulation set (IMS), dubbed “Roska Bridge”, uses alternative and decentralised social media platforms as a weapon to flood Western and domestic Russian audiences with aggressive, anti-Western, and anti-Ukrainian propaganda.

Here is the full report: Roska Bridge - How a pro-Russian IMS exploits vulnerabilities of decentralised platforms to spread propaganda (pdf)

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Active since at least September 2025, this IMS has disseminated several coordinated campaigns by strategically exploiting architectural flaws in the decentralised Fediverse (Mastodon) and uses the Brid.gy service to cross-post simultaneously on Bluesky and on Mastodon. Targeting countries such as Ukraine, France, Germany and the United States, the content related to this IMS also promotes Max, a Russian state-backed messenger requiring a Russian phone number to operate, suggesting it targets domestic Russian audiences as well as Western ones.

By laundering content from EU-sanctioned Russian media outlets (such as the Pravda network, Russia Today, and Sputnik) and using automated accounts with seemingly AI-generated features, this IMS has managed to establish a highly organized and coordinated infrastructure to circumvent content moderation and legal regulations.

During the investigation, researchers found hundreds of Mastodon accounts during our research, “bridging” all their publications to Bluesky in coordinated waves, with new batches of accounts activated each month, remaining active for short, intense bursts, before disappearing and being replaced. Those accounts are still running on ten Mastodon instances, including the original instance mastodon.social, which gathers over 870,000 users, and bridged to hundreds of accounts on Bluesky.

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Web Archive link

The Kremlin is using allegations of Ukrainian strikes on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to justify a potential escalation of hostilities and intensified long-range attacks against Ukraine, according to a new assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on May 31.

ISW noted that the Russian-installed administration at the ZNPP reported two Ukrainian attacks on the facility on May 30 and 31. According to Russian claims, the first strike damaged the turbine hall of the plant’s sixth power unit, while the second targeted a transport workshop.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53891813

Archived

[The article links to several social media accounts as examples for Chinese propaganda.]

Behind seemingly harmless videos of young Chinese women speaking fluent Greek, sharing everyday moments, cultural stories and cheerful messages about China, a more complex influence operation appears to be taking shape.

A network of Greek-language social media accounts, some officially labelled by Meta as China state-controlled media, has built a significant audience in Greece and Cyprus through polished lifestyle content, paid promotion and a carefully cultivated image of authenticity — while maintaining links to Chinese state media and amplifying narratives favourable to Beijing.

[...]

In the case of China, propaganda on social media platforms such as Facebook often does not appear as political or state-driven communication. Instead, it is channelled through female influencers who show entirely everyday and seemingly authentic moments. One key element is what is known as “role concealment.” Many of these content creators present themselves as travel vloggers, food bloggers, or people simply showing their life in China.

However, in several cases, it has been revealed that they are linked to, or cooperate with Chinese state media. Their content is mainly lifestyle-oriented, but it follows a consistent direction: presenting China in a positive light while avoiding or countering criticism on issues such as human rights.

[...]

The fact that these are often female influencers is not accidental. This particular style of communication is “softer,” more personal, and aims to build trust. Through everyday moments, an emotional tone, and direct contact with the audience, a sense of familiarity is created. Within this framework, even political messages can be easily conveyed and with less resistance.

[...]

This is a more modern form of propaganda, in which state narratives are not conveyed directly by official outlets, but are “dressed up” as personal stories and experiences from people who appear independent and authentic. In reality, they are often employees of state media outlets such as CGTN, Xinhua, and China Radio International.

As an example, two Facebook pages targeting a Greek-speaking audience carry Meta’s official label for “China state-controlled media”. This means that “Meta has labelled this publisher as state-controlled media because it believes that it may be partially or wholly under the editorial control of the state. The assessment is based on various factors, such as funding, organisational structure, and journalistic standards”.

[...]

China has created an extensive network of “influencers” on social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where journalists and employees of state media outlets such as CGTN, Xinhua, and China Radio International present themselves as independent travel bloggers, lifestyle vloggers, and “life bloggers.” The AP identified, in 2022, dozens of such accounts operating in 38 languages and collectively having more than 10 million followers.

[...]

These influencers build trust as “friends” with excellent knowledge of the local language. They avoid discussion with critics and interact only with positive comments. Microsoft Threat Analysis Center stresses that this tactic is more effective than traditional propaganda because it reaches the audience first, uses “authentic” voices, makes rebuttal harder because it spreads propaganda indirectly, and exploits platforms that often struggle to detect this kind of “grey” content. The two specific reports can be found on the Miburo website, here and here.

Sometimes, these individuals adopt a more serious way of interacting with their audience, for example when they want to comment on geopolitical issues such as American positions on the port of Piraeus in Greece and the control exercised on it by COSCO, the biggest Chinese state-owned shipowner.

[...]

[Social media profiles also advertise] content portraying a highly positive image of life in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. However, there are many reports of serious human rights violations by China in this region, something the profile ignores, as well as reports of attempts to whitewash life and culture in the region.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53814042

Op-ed by Laura Harth, China in the World Director at Safeguard Defenders (SD), a human rights NGO. She is a Belgian citizen and long-time resident of Italy.

Warning: The linked post contains fake explicit sexual imagery.

Archived

In recent weeks, AI-generated sexualized images of me have circulated on social media. I am sharing some of them in this piece. I have nothing to be ashamed of. The pervert in this story is not me.

Democratic governments have decided this kind of imagery is serious. In the United States, First Lady Melania Trump championed the Take It Down Act, signed into federal law in May 2025; the first conviction came down last month. Australia’s Criminal Code Amendment (Deepfake Sexual Material) Act 2024 criminalized the creation and non-consensual sharing of sexual deepfakes, with penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment; the first guilty plea came down in April this year. France amended its Penal Code in 2024; the UK criminalized both the sharing (2023) and the creation (2026) of sexually explicit deepfakes; South Korea criminalized even the viewing of non-consensual deepfakes. Canada and Spain are in the process of criminalizing the same conduct.

Italy criminalized harmful deepfakes after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was herself targeted. She could defend herself, she said. Many others cannot.

[...]

[Social media platforms] did remove most of the images against me within days.

But time and again, the perpetrator who is creating them is allowed to walk away scot-free, ready to produce the next batch of smears and fabricated accusations.

[...]

It is no secret who is behind these images.

In February 2026, OpenAI named Safeguard Defenders as a target of what it called “industrialized transnational repression from China using AI”, run through an account tied to Chinese law enforcement. The same operators ran a campaign to discredit Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, traced by OpenAI to AI-generated content circulating on X, YouTube and Japanese platforms. Meta has identified the same network - Spamouflage - as the largest covert influence operation in the world and traced it to Chinese law enforcement. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted forty officers of China’s Ministry of Public Security in connection with it.

The European External Action Service classifies China’s conduct as “clearly illegitimate”, aimed at “suppressing information outside its borders”.

[...]

In September 2022, we published the first of two reports exposing over 100 clandestine Chinese “overseas police stations” operating in more than 50 countries - instruments of transnational repression in blatant violation of other nations’ sovereignty. The campaign against us began the same month. It has not stopped.

Over four years, the same regime that demands to be taken seriously as a great power has accused me and my colleagues - men and women alike - of an inventive range of crimes. Affairs with politicians on three continents. Corruption. Working for foreign intelligence. Terrorism. And, in one memorable episode, illegal wildlife hunting.

Sexualized fabrications are also not new: Chinese dissidents have long suffered such abuse. Such campaigns reach our partners, parents, friends. This is what a “global superpower” spends its public security resources on.

[...]

Some may say I am only amplifying Beijing’s smears by republishing some of the graphic images they produced. I sure do not relish these images being out there. But I refuse to give the perverted minds in Beijing the satisfaction of my silence - and yes, these are the same perverted “public security” minds that the country leading last year’s G7 efforts on countering transnational repression signed a Memorandum of Understanding with in January.

[...]

Western governments know all of this. Their own institutions wrote the reports. The response has been not nothing, but not nearly enough. Bravery should not be met with silence when the perpetrator is China.

We have the attributions. We have had them for years. What we need now is concrete action and accountability. None of this requires more evidence. All it requires is political will.

France has neglected to carry forward the G7 momentum on countering transnational repression during its presidency this year. Italy - where I live - is the only G7 country that has not even begun debating response measures.

Prime Minister Meloni, you said deepfakes are a dangerous tool. You said you could defend yourself, and that many others cannot.

Deepfakes are but one of the many tools employed by the communist regime in Beijing - as your government knows all too well, in light of the expulsion of eight Chinese nationals on national security grounds earlier this year.

Prime Minister, transnational repression is as real as these images are fake. Put the issue where it belongs: not in the footnotes, but at the top of the agenda.

Defend us.

[...]

Archived

Posts and headlines circulating online have accused EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas of calling China a “cancer” and making warmongering remarks about Russia and Beijing.

One widely shared post claimed that Kallas “just described China as a ‘disease’, specifically ‘cancer’”, whilst a headline from Brussels Signal read, “EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas calls China a ‘cancer'.”

Separate posts on X, one with millions of views, also attributed the quote “If Europe cannot defeat Russia, how then are we supposed to defeat China?” to the EU’s top diplomat.

But a closer examination of Kallas’ remarks shows that, while the comments could be considered controversial, some online users presented them sensationalised and out of context.

[...]

The first comment was made by Kallas on 17 May during the Lennart Meri Conference held in Estonia. The wide-ranging conversation looked at Europe’s response to China’s growing economic influence, industrial competition and trade practices.

During the exchange, the moderator argued that China was increasingly dominating industries, ranging from batteries and electric vehicles to industrial goods. He added he had not yet seen a "coherent European response to the China challenge."

Kallas replied that countries around the world were increasingly concerned about what she described as China's "coercive economic practices", before turning to a medical metaphor to refer to Europe's response.

“We have a very clear understanding of the diagnosis of the disease, but we don’t have agreement on the cure,” Kallas said.

She continued: “If you have a very, very difficult disease, like you have cancer, then you have two choices — either you increase the morphine or you start chemotherapy.”

Kallas later explained that “morphine” referred to subsidies helping European companies compete against Chinese imports, while “chemotherapy” referred to tougher EU measures that could trigger retaliation from Beijing.

So while critics interpreted the remarks as Kallas portraying China itself as the disease, the bloc’s foreign policy chief did not literally call China a “cancer”, with her comments forming part of a wider discussion about how Europe should respond to Chinese trade pressure and economic competition.

[...]

In separate viral posts, social media users also accused Kallas of “warmongering” by attributing the quote: “If Europe cannot defeat Russia, how then are we supposed to defeat China?” to her.

But a closer inspection of what Kallas said shows she did not use these words.

The comments are actually from a discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute on 27 February 2025, where Kallas discussed transatlantic relationships and the need for Europe to meet current geopolitical challenges with the institute's senior fellow, Peter Rough.

The full clip of the discussion shows Kallas argued that failing to effectively pressure Russia over its war in Ukraine could weaken Western credibility when signalling support to "Asian counterparts" in the event of a conflict involving China.

“China is so much bigger economy than Russia is with so much bigger military than Russia is. So if you’re saying that we collectively are not able to really pressure Russia so much that it would have an effect, then how do you say that you’re able to take on China risk?" Kallas said in the outdated clip presented as new footage.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53763707

Archived

Chongqing, a futuristic Chinese city, has caught the eye of influencers and bloggers. Beijing, meanwhile, welcomes new visitors, often unaware of the geopolitical and ideological currents running beneath their social media posts.

[...]

Chongqing has recently become a social media sensation. Its online popularity has spread like wildfire [and] is helping to shape the country's image among Generation Z, a demographic that gets its information via TikTok and Instagram rather than through traditional media.

TikTok, in particular, has succeeded at making short, looping videos and endless scroll the norm – a format that competing platforms later tried to adopt. Influencers know they have to grab viewers' attention in just a fraction of a second, and the skylines of Dubai and Manhattan were already familiar.

"You need a shock effect on the viewer for the influencer to be promoted by the algorithm," noted Jackson Lu, a local influencer. "New York doesn't surprise anyone anymore, whereas Chongqing offers a new and visually striking backdrop with its verticality and its lights at night." Every week, Lu receives at least one or two requests from influencers planning to come to the city from abroad, eager to find the most unusual places to shoot their photos and videos.

[...]

In the hearts and minds of digital natives, the stunning images of major Chinese achievements – massive bridges, train stations and airports – have begun to replace prior negative perceptions of the country: Wuhan's central market at the start of the Covid-19 years, Uyghurs kneeling in handcuffs during transfers to indoctrination camps and crackdowns against protesters in Hong Kong. "There is a sense of disillusionment; young people tell themselves that Western governments have condemned the human rights situation in China in the past, but that they have not, however, prevented what is happening in Gaza. This is helping people forget the criticism aimed at China, in favor of a narrative focused on its development," observed Paulina Oveckova, a China specialist at the Pragu

[...]

In this context, President Xi Jinping and the entire Chinese diplomatic corps have been hammering home a message aimed at presenting China as a force for stability, in contrast to the US, which they accuse of having upended global energy supplies by attacking Iran with little regard for the consequences. The parade of foreign leaders through the Chinese capital, all of them eager to secure a smooth relationship with Beijing while grappling with the "Donald Trump problem," has further contributed to this image-building effort.

[...]

During his official visit in January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the warming of relations with China "put [Canada] in a good position for the new world order." Even Annalena Baerbock, a critical voice regarding China when she served as Germany's foreign minister from 2021 to 2025, has changed her tone since becoming president of the United Nations General Assembly. During her visit to Beijing on April 29, she praised China's "unwavering commitment to the multilateral system," seemingly forgetting the economic and diplomatic support that Beijing has offered Moscow despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

[...]

Even though relations between China and Europe remain weighed down by two major issues – the Chinese trade surplus and close ties between China and Russia – Beijing believes in its capacity to win over Europe's digitally connected youth through social media, regardless of the reticence of their governments.

[...]

The turning point for international interest came in the spring of 2025, when an American from Cincinnati, Ohio, Darren Watkins, arrived in China. This 20-year-old, known to his followers as "IShowSpeed," embarked on a two-week livestreamed tour across China, broadcasting for hours each day. He has 54 million followers on Youtube, 51 million on TikTok and 47.9 million on Instagram. Internet users from around the world watched him marvel at Shenzhen's robots in the south, learn lessons from Kung Fu masters at the Shaolin Monastery in the east, and, of course, take in the spectacle of Chongqing.

[...]

The Italian-Senegalese influencer Khaby Lame, who has 161 million followers on TikTok, traveled there in September 2025. YouTuber Drew Binsky, known for having visited every country in the world and followed by 6.9 million people for his videos on unusual places, also visited.

[...]

The Chinese themselves often have a much more nuanced view of their own country. Though they admire the development of infrastructure, street safety and technological progress, they worry about the lack of economic opportunities for younger generations and the lack of sufficient social reforms to address low birth rates.

[...]

By virtue of sheer clicks and views, these influencers serve as a convenient vessel for hiding the topics Beijing doesn't want to be seen.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has welcomed anyone who avoids complicated issues and sticks solely to cultural subjects – kung fu, spicy cuisine, etc. – or who focus only on the positive side of Chinese modernity. "Depoliticizing is in itself a very political act," said Emma Belmonte, host of the China Observers podcast and analyst at the Association for International Affairs, a French foreign policy think tank. "The effort to depoliticize the debate and the representation of China is a strategy. The flood of footage is meant to drown out the narrative that Beijing dislikes."

In other words, images of achievements alone are often enough to convince people of the merits of the Chinese political system that made them possible.

[...]

The effort is particularly visible with Taiwanese youth, whom Beijing has sought to win over by bypassing the much-disliked government in Taipei. Two Taiwanese students told Le Monde that they were invited, with all expenses paid, to visit Hangzhou, an ultramodern city that has boomed thanks to artificial intelligence, and travel through northeastern regions of China where, for the first time, they saw snow-capped mountains. "In some ways, they are more modern than we are," said one of them, Mei, age 21. "In hotels, when you order dinner online, robots take the elevator and deliver the meals left at reception by delivery drivers to the rooms." They were encouraged, but not required, to share what they had done and their impressions of the trip on social media. At no point were they bothered with pressing political questions; instead, the organizers simply allowed the magic of modernity to do its work.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53726783

Archived

The new service, which strengthens the international footprint of France Médias Monde, will produce exclusively in Eastern Armenian, the official language of the Republic of Armenia.

[...]

"Armenian youth, like most young people in the world today, are ultra-connected. Traditional media have been abandoned. So if we want to reach that audience, we have to go through social media," said Astrig Agopian, the desk's editor-in-chief.

The team's primary aim is to inform, narrate the news and verify facts through innovative formats, drawing on correspondents based in-country. Reporter Lilit Shahverdyan, originally from Nagorno-Karabakh, will be deployed to Armenia from the end of May to cover the country's upcoming legislative elections in real time, a posting she described as "a gift from heaven."

[...]

Those elections represent the desk's first major test. Armenia has been at the centre of regional tensions in recent years following the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the vote is already being targeted by a Russian disinformation campaign.

As in Hungary last month, the prospect of closer ties with the European Union is one of the campaign's defining themes, and one Moscow has firmly opposed.

[...]

The launch comes against a backdrop of declining press freedom. Armenia had steadily improved its ranking under former journalist turned prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, climbing from 80th place in the Reporters Without Borders index in 2018 to 34th in 2025, nine places ahead of France. This year, however, the country has dropped back to 50th.

The choice to produce exclusively in Eastern Armenian is deliberate. Of an estimated 12 million Armenians worldwide, only around 3 million live in the Republic of Armenia, a legacy of the mass displacement that followed the Armenian genocide of the early twentieth century.

Diaspora communities have over generations developed their own dialectal variations, meaning Eastern Armenian is not universally spoken across the global community.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53580702

Archived

A large-scale pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign is targeting Armenia ahead of its parliamentary elections on 7 June, researchers say.

In total, 343 fake videos were published by early May, prompting analysts to describe the operation as one of the most extensive in recent years — second only to the campaign observed during Moldova's 2025 election.

According to researchers, the campaign began in early March and was part of "Matryoshka" — a pro-Kremlin disinformation operation that has increasingly used artificial intelligence.

Among the fabricated videos, a central narrative claims that a victory for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose campaign focuses on a pro-European direction, could trigger a war between Armenia and Russia.

The collective Antibot4Navalny, which studies bot networks, said it had identified more than a dozen fake videos featuring Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron, which repeatedly promote the false claim that the two leaders struck a "secret deal": French backing in the election in exchange for Armenia launching a war against Russia after a victory.

[...]The election campaign has unfolded against a backdrop of growing cooperation between the EU and Armenia, highlighted by the first EU–Armenia summit held in the country in early May.

The election campaign has unfolded against a backdrop of growing cooperation between the EU and Armenia, highlighted by the first EU–Armenia summit held in the country in early May.

[...]

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) has condemned Russia's disinformation campaigns against the Baltic countries.

Russia’s unfounded accusations against Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia form part of a broader disinformation campaign, Valtonen wrote in a post on X.

In recent days, Moscow has accused the Baltic states of allowing their airspace to be used for drone strikes against Russia.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry has flatly denied such allegations.

"We reiterate that — contrary to Russian propaganda claims — neither Estonia, nor Latvia, Lithuania, or Finland have ever allowed to use their airspace for strikes against Russia. Furthermore, Ukraine has never requested such a use," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi [said]. ...

Valtonen said that Finland stands in solidarity with all countries subjected to Russian intimidation and disinformation.

...

Edit:

In a related report, The presidents of the three Baltic states issued a joint statement strongly condemning border violations by aircraft arriving from Russia and Belarus, as well as Russia's disinformation campaign.

Alar Karis, Edgars Rinkēvičs and Gitanas Nausėda discussed recent violations of Baltic airspace in which unmanned aerial vehicles arriving from the direction of Russia and Belarus crossed into the Baltic states, also violating NATO's eastern flank and the European Union's external border.

"We strongly condemn such violations and categorically reject the ongoing disinformation campaign by the Russian Federation against our countries. As responsible NATO Allies, the Baltic States have never allowed their territories and airspace to be used for drone attacks against targets in Russia."

"We also reject and utterly condemn the threats expressed by Russia against Latvia during the UN Security Council meeting on May 19," the three presidents said in the joint statement.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53541017

Russia’s Presidential Administration has ordered intelligence agencies, the Foreign Ministry, and state media to launch a coordinated disinformation campaign against Ukraine, according to documents obtained by Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service.

Ukrainian intelligence disclosed the findings in a statement on its official website on May 20. It framed the directive as a demand by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, prompted by the failure of Russia's spring offensive and crucial economic problems.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/53527592

Archived

[...]

In terms of media presence, one of the main instruments is China Radio International, which broadcasts news in Albanian. A lot of its content focuses on day-to-day developments in Albania, often drawing on sources like the Albanian Telegraphic Agency [Agjencia Telegrafike Shqiptare, known as ATA], the public broadcaster, or other local outlets.

Alongside that, it produces a significant amount of content about developments in China, as well as Chinese perspectives on global affairs. There is also the Xinhua News Agency, although it publishes in English and only occasionally in Albanian. In addition, there are a few local online media portals whose editorial line tends to align with Chinese narratives. It’s usually quite subtle; their day-to-day coverage focuses on Albania, but when it comes to international issues, the framing often reflects a more pro-Chinese stance.

[...]

A few years ago, a formal cooperation agreement was established with Albania’s public broadcaster to air documentaries on Chinese-Albanian relations, covering historical, economic and cultural ties. This drew some criticism at the time, as it was seen by some as using the public broadcaster as a platform for Chinese propaganda. As far as I’m aware, that agreement is still in place, with these documentaries continuing to be aired periodically.

[...]

Another important dimension is academic and cultural diplomacy. The Confucius Institute at the University of Tirana is a well-known example. It primarily functions as an educational and cultural centre, but it is also a soft power instrument. Beyond the Institute itself, there have been more recent efforts at the institutional level. For instance, the University of Tirana organised an official study visit to China aimed at strengthening academic cooperation. Private universities are also building cooperations in this regard.

[...]

[Albania] is not part of the Belt and Road Initiative, so the relationship is mostly based on trade – and it is quite imbalanced. That said, there have been some recent implicit political signals. Recent statements and public gestures by Prime Minister Edi Rama suggest a more visible openness toward engagement with China. This may also function as a subtle reminder to Western partners that Albania has other diplomatic and economic options, even while its formal strategic orientation remains EU accession and transatlantic cooperation. For example, quite recently, the Prime Minister invited a representative of the Chinese embassy, along with three Chinese students, onto his personal podcast to promote the Albanian translation of The New China Playbook. It received significant media attention, particularly because it was the Prime Minister himself promoting it.

[...]

Over time, this kind of exposure can contribute to a gradual normalisation of the Chinese political model as a legitimate alternative. And this is happening in a broader context where many citizens feel increasingly dissatisfied with the post-transition process. Expectations around democratic consolidation have not been fully met – or at least not as quickly as people had hoped. So for some, there is a sense that the transition has not delivered, whether economically, politically, or socially.

That tends to generate frustration and distrust toward public institutions, elections, and even the media itself. In that kind of environment, long-term exposure to these more subtle narratives about an alternative model can slowly start to shift perceptions. It is not direct or confrontational; it works gradually, by presenting the Chinese system as effective, stable, and successful. Over time, that can feed into the idea that a party-state model is a viable option.

[...]

There is also an impact on how democratic standards and values are understood. The EU accession process, for example, is not just about adopting laws but about embedding core values like human rights, rule of law, freedom of expression, and accountability. These are not framed in the same way within the Chinese model. And then, there is the technological dimension. We are increasingly seeing different models of digital governance, including when it comes to artificial intelligence. The EU tends to emphasise ethics, rights, and safeguards, while the Chinese model operates quite differently. Over time, exposure to these alternative narratives can subtly reshape how these values are perceived or prioritised.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/52309984

Disinformation is spreading on social media about alleged new front pages of several international media outlets featuring quotes from an interview given by Zelensky’s former press secretary Yuliia Mendel to American pro-Russian blogger Tucker Carlson.

In particular, Russian bloggers on Telegram, as well as accounts on X and Facebook, have circulated screenshots of supposed front pages from Germany’s Bild, Britain’s Liverpool Echo, Portugal’s Público, France’s Ouest-France, and Israel’s The Jerusalem Post. These fake covers contain headlines with unflattering quotes allegedly attributed to Mendel about Volodymyr Zelensky, including claims about his supposed “drug addiction.” This is one of the recurring fake narratives used by Russian propaganda as part of its disinformation campaign against the Ukrainian President.

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It should be noted that Yuliia Mendel served as press secretary to President Volodymyr Zelensky from 2019 to 2021. In her interview with Tucker Carlson, she claimed, among other things, that during negotiations in Istanbul in 2022, Ukraine had allegedly been prepared to give up Donbas.

Later, Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to President Zelensky denied this claim. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk also stressed that President Zelensky had never considered surrendering Ukrainian people or territory as a path to peace.

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Mendel made her statements on the platform of far-right American blogger Tucker Carlson, known for his consistently anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, justification of Russian aggression, and sharp criticism of military aid to Ukraine. Carlson has repeatedly visited Russia, where he recorded a lengthy favorable interview with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and “Russian world” ideologue Alexander Dugin.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/52308556

Ukraine has officially dismissed Russian claims alleging that Ukrainian forces are preparing attacks on Russia from Latvian territory, calling them part of a disinformation campaign aimed at destabilizing the Baltic region.

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“There is no truth in Moscow’s latest set of falsehoods accusing Ukraine of preparing attacks against Russia from the territory of Latvia. We officially refute them. Ukraine does not use the territory or airspace of Latvia in its operations against Russia and does not intend to do so,” Tykhyi stressed.

He added that Russia’s statements are part of a broader propaganda effort aimed at undermining public trust in Latvia and the wider Baltic region.

“We thank our Latvian friends for seeing right through them,” he said.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/52275292

‘We didn’t kidnap anyone’, Russia’s then-ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, insisted in 2023. ‘We saved these children’. The ambassador was not simply denying the systematic deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children by Russian occupation forces in Ukraine, a crime for which there is a growing body of evidence from international organisations, researchers, and human rights groups. He was using a well-known playbook – an information campaign seeking to paint the crime as humanitarian rescue.

The story of Ukraine’s abducted children is not only about the crime itself. It is also about the parallel campaign to obscure that crime – a sustained effort by the Russian state to manipulate narratives, deny responsibility, and recast deportation as humanitarian action. In Russia’s war against Ukraine, childhoods have been stolen – but so, too, has the truth.

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The documented forcible transfers of Ukrainian children began with Russia’s occupation of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Since the full-scale invasion of 2022, the scale of the problem has expanded dramatically. Estimates say that over 20,000(opens in a new tab) children have been forcibly deported or transferred from Ukraine to this date.

Under the framework of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, more than 2,100 children(opens in a new tab) have been successfully returned, but many thousands remain separated from their families. More than one million Ukrainian children continue to live in territories under Russian control, where they face constant assimilation pressure, coercion and violations of their rights.

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Russia has responded with a barrage of false narratives aiming to manipulate public opinion and escape responsibility. For example, the Kremlin dismissed(opens in a new tab) the ICC warrants as politically motivated, with Russian state outlets framing the ICC as a tool of Western pressure.

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These narratives do not appear in isolation: they follow a recognisable pattern of information manipulation. Claims by Russian officials are first delivered through official channels or press briefings, then amplified by state outlets such as TASS, RIA Novosti, and Russia-1.

From there, the narratives spread through pro-Kremlin online networks, Telegram channels, and proxy accounts that tailor the messaging to international audiences.

‘Evacuation, not deportation’

One of Russia’s most persistent claims is that Ukrainian children were merely evacuated for their own safety. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov(opens in a new tab) and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova(opens in a new tab) have repeatedly framed the transfers as humanitarian evacuations. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov(opens in a new tab) argued Russia ‘saved’ Ukrainian children from the dangers of war. This framing is frequently amplified by state outlets such as TASS, RIA Novosti, and Russia-1 which regularly describe the children as having been ‘rescued’ from dangerous areas ...

‘These children are really Russian’

Another recurring narrative seeks to question the very identity of the children involved. Russian officials have claimed(opens in a new tab) that many children taken from occupied territories are ethnically Russian or naturally belong within Russia’s cultural sphere. Such claims are often echoed(opens in a new tab) in commentary on Russian state television and pro-Kremlin outlets ...

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Against this backdrop of denial and manipulation, the international response is steadily consolidating. On 11 May, the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children will convene at ministerial level in Brussels(opens in a new tab) to take stock of progress and agree on practical next steps. The meeting will send a clear signal: political solidarity on this issue is translating into coordinated action. It builds on a Civil Society and Expert Day held in Kyiv on 30 April, which brought together practitioners, researchers, and civil society voices, contributing directly to the Brussels meeting agenda.

Web Archive link

Russia allocated a record $1.85 billion for foreign propaganda operations in its 2026 federal budget, a 54% increase from the previous year, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service in a response to Liga.net on May 9.

Ukraine's intelligence agency disclosed the figure in response to a Liga.net query, attributing the spending to Moscow's information sector. The agency stated that the funds bankroll the systemic promotion of Russian narratives in European capitals such as Brussels, Vienna, and Luxembourg.

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According to the intelligence service, the budget sustains Russian state offices abroad, finances networks of "Russian Houses,"

supports loyal foreign organizations, and launches new information platforms.

Investigators noted that after the European Union adopted its 20th sanctions package, which targeted pro-Russian media, Kremlin operators began rolling out mirror sites stripped of overtly pro-Russian sloganeering. The reworked outlets often feature interviews with European academics who claim they are being pushed out of their posts for calling for peace with Russia.

The "peace" messaging is meant to "create a suffering image" of Russia and frame Ukraine as the party blocking an end to the war, according to the intelligence service. Investigators also cited recycled Kremlin lines portraying Europe as weary of the war and arguing that Moscow cannot be isolated.

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cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/51940381

This in an opinion piece by Yuliia Bond, a refugee from Ukraine who has been living in Caerphilly, Wales, since 2022.

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After more than a century of Labour dominance, the political landscape of Wales has fundamentally changed [the Labour Party lost heavily in the recent elections to the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament , while the right-wing Reform Party party surged].

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This was not only a normal democratic swing.

It was also the result of a much deeper emotional and informational transformation that has been building quietly across society for years and social media played a massive role in accelerating it.

And maybe some people will think I’m exaggerating this. I genuinely hope I am. But coming from Ukraine probably makes me much more sensitive to changes in public language, disinformation and emotional radicalisation than the average person here.

People from my part of the world do not really assume democratic stability is permanent anymore.

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In the 2024 general election, Reform UK won 20.3% in Caerphilly. One year later, in the 2025 Caerphilly Senedd by-election, Reform jumped to 36%. That is a 15.7 percentage point increase in barely over a year.

Then during the 2026 Senedd election campaign, final constituency models for Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni projected Reform around 31-35% of the vote, directly competing with Plaid while Labour collapsed dramatically in former Valleys strongholds.

That is not “just a protest vote” anymore. That is a structural political realignment. And it did not happen in a vacuum.

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Modern political conflict increasingly operates through information warfare

People in the UK often still imagine “disinformation” as something abstract. Something foreign. Something extreme. Something only relevant during wars.

But one thing Ukraine understood very quickly is that modern conflicts are fought not only on physical battlefields, but also inside digital information spaces.

Russia weaponised disinformation for years before tanks crossed borders. Emotional narratives spread faster than factual corrections. Algorithms rewarded outrage. False stories repeated until they emotionally felt true. Trust slowly eroded. Society polarised.

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Ukraine realised very quickly that defending democracy was not only the responsibility of soldiers. So society mobilised. Not only the military. Ordinary people. Researchers. Teachers. Journalists. Volunteers. Students. Community organisers. Online investigators. Digital activists.

Ukraine created a Digital Army, but beyond cyber operations there was also something much deeper: a society-wide understanding that information itself had become strategically important.

People tracked propaganda. Reported manipulation.Countered false narratives. Protected vulnerable communities. Strengthened digital literacy.Built civic resilience.

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Because many people here still underestimate the danger.

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Modern propaganda looks far more ordinary ... Facebook comments ... TikTok clips ... Emotionally manipulative headlines ... Rage-bait videos ... Out-of-context crime stories ... “Someone I know said…”

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And over time, those narratives emotionally reshape political reality itself.

Can’t get housing? Migrants.

Public services struggling? Migrants.

Crime? Migrants.

Economic insecurity? Migrants.

National decline? Migrants.

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And this is why social media matters so much. Because algorithms are not designed to reward truth. They reward emotional engagement. Fear spreads faster than nuance. Anger spreads faster than statistics.Outrage spreads faster than context.

A person can now live in an area with relatively little migration, yet consume hours of emotionally charged immigration content every single week online.

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Social media no longer only shapes opinions – it increasingly shapes identity

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This is not only about Reform voters

And this is important to say clearly. I do not think every Reform voter is racist. That explanation is intellectually lazy and emotionally convenient.

Many people are genuinely struggling. Communities genuinely feel abandoned. Public services are under pressure.

People are exhausted financially and emotionally. Many towns across Wales genuinely do feel forgotten.

The anger itself is often real. But modern populism is extremely effective at redirecting that anger toward emotionally convenient targets. That is the real danger.

Because instead of discussing housing policy, austerity, economic inequality, underinvestment, collapse of local journalism, long-term industrial decline, or failures of governance, society becomes emotionally organised around permanent blame.

And once politics becomes psychologically based on outrage and identity rather than problem-solving, democratic culture itself starts weakening.

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Wales still has a choice

But this situation is not hopeless. And the answer is not censorship. Nor is it dismissing everyone who voted Reform as evil. That usually makes polarisation worse.

What Wales urgently needs now is democratic resilience.

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What should actually happen now?

𝟭. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 ... 𝟮. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ... 𝟯. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 ... 𝟰. 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 ... 𝟱. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 ... 𝟲. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 – 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 “𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲” ...

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Because societies do not suddenly become divided overnight.

Usually they become divided by one emotionally manipulative headline, one algorithm, one rumour and one dehumanising narrative at a time, until eventually people stop seeing each other as neighbours at all.

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Web Archive link

an admin of lemmy.dbzer0.com has been seen wishing genocide on russian people:

(which translates to “death to all russians”)

when I pmed fxomt, he claimed that the russians made his balls itch.

this is satire/a troll, don’t take this seriously

reported

reported

Of course not. They have removed the ability to report antivax, medical scams, Covid19. Now what?