Explaining Czech Elves
There is a new hope for internet users: The troops of elves countering the internet trolls have proliferated in yet another country – the regional leader in countering malicious foreign influences: the Czech Republic.
There is a new hope for internet users: The troops of elves countering the internet trolls have proliferated in yet another country – the regional leader in countering malicious foreign influences: the Czech Republic.
During the EP election campaign, Political Capital and its three partners found out that both official Kremlin-backed portals (RT and Sputnik) and local pro-Kremlin media supported the campaigns of Eurosceptic parties by only describing their policy recommendations positively and exaggerating their chances in the EP elections1. Eurosceptic groups failed to achieve any kind of breakthrough on the election day, and will be unable to exert a strong influence on a European level. Still, pro-Kremlin portals do…
The Kremlin has used massive disinformation efforts, among others, to interfere in democratic processes across the West in the past few years. Consequently, the 2019 EP elections were always treated as potential targets for Russia, which was acknowledged by European institutions well in advance.
The following narrative analysis takes into consideration the qualitative analysis of the posts on selected Polish portals that publish content that is Eurosceptic and coherent with Russian propaganda. The monitoring shows that the narratives refer to the current events in Poland and around the world.
Political Capital and its research partners (Jonas Syrovatka, Adam Lelonek, Grigorij Meseznikov) explored the narratives the Kremlin used to influence public opinion in Europe and, in particular, the Visegrád Group since January 1, 2019.
In January–March 2019, pro-Russian media in Slovakia continued to spread their typical narratives concerning the European Union and Slovakia’s membership as well as Russia, Ukraine, and the military conflict between them.
Zuzana Čaputová, the Vice Chairman of Progresivne Slovensko, a Slovak liberal party, is very likely to become the first female president in the history of the country. Her success is one of many signs that liberals in Slovakia are growing stronger again.