Dominika Hajdu: Pro-Kremlin Content Online has not been Downsized

25.11.2022 0 By NS.Writer

Dominika Hajdu

For decades, Russia has invested in pro-Kremlin propaganda all over the world, primarily in Europe. This did not escape Slovakia either. Newssky has asked Dominika Hajdu, who is a Policy Director, Centre for Democracy & Resilience in Bratislava, Slovakia, to comment.

In October 2022, VoxCheck monitored 94 media from Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary and found 373 cases of disinformation about Ukraine. Most cases of disinformation were found in Polish (105), German (81), and Slovak (75) media.

How do you think the situation in Slovakia has changed in this regard in view of Russia’s war against Ukraine, are many pro-Kremlin media still active, and what should be done to solve this problem? After all, Slovak citizens do not always know the truth and repeat pro-Kremlin narratives.

The level of active pro-Kremlin outlets has been stable and very active in Slovakia in the past years. They are primarily situated online and often mimic large, well-established news portals to look credible. One such outlet is called “Main News” for example. These have been operating in the country for years and have had a considerable effect on public opinion, which indeed tends to repeat verbatim many of the narratives spread on these outlets. These outlets are using social media algorithms that fuel the spread of disinformation and hateful content and are a) either directly supported/ founded by Russia – e.g., NewsFront – b) or are taking over the narratives from Russian sources, directly citing these Russian sources – or c) they are creating these narratives on their own with clear and strong inspiration from those shared by the Kremlin.

During the first weeks of the war, these outlets were mostly silent, as the invasion clearly caught many unprepared. Also, an extraordinary measure was passed in the parliament giving the National Security Authority a right to block outlets spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. Four outlets were blocked for 3 to 4 months – between February to June. All these outlets are operating again and are fully endorsing pro-Kremlin rhetoric trying to undermine the sanctions against Russia and the support for Ukraine as such, blaming NATO, the West, or the EU for the conflict, or, recently, for the inflation and a rise of energy costs. Even though the EU blocked RT and Sputnik, the amount of pro-Kremlin content online has not been downsized, as Slovakia already had a strong network of home-grown pro-Kremlin outlets built prior to the war.

To see the susceptibility of Slovaks to pro-Kremlin narratives, I recommend our report from June, pp. 52 – 69.