IIt’s called “Pravda”. For a Russian disinformation site, you couldn’t find anything better… “Pravda” is available in 19 countries in the European Union and beyond. This digital portal was identified as conveying Russian propaganda by Viginum, the French service for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference. It is part of the continuation of the “Portal Kombat” interference operation, unveiled on February 12 (200 news sites) and of which Le Point was echoed.
“We have detected, thanks to the work of Viginum, 31 additional sites associated with telegram channels, intended to relay Russian propaganda and created from a server installed in Russia between March 20 and 26,” announces Jean- Noël Barrot, Minister Delegate for European Affairs, from the House of Jean Monnet, in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne (Yvelines), alongside his German (Anna Lührmann) and Polish (Adam Szapka) partners from the Weimar Triangle.
X, ex-Twitter, in the crosshairs of the Commission
These three countries have joined forces in this particularly sensitive fight a few weeks before the European election from June 6 to 9 (not all countries vote on the same day). “I call on the major social media platforms to do what is necessary to block access to these sites, which have been established to participate in an operation of foreign interference in our electoral process,” continues Jean-Noël Barrot , which turns, in particular, to the European Commission. The European Union adopted a legislative act, the DSA (Digital Services act), which was supposed to put an end to the “Wild West” on the Internet. The DSA came into force on February 17.
READ ALSO Informational warfare: France facing foreign influencesVery large digital platforms and search engines are placed under the vigilance of the Commission. If content is not regulated, they face fines of up to 6% of their global turnover. In October 2023, Commissioner Thierry Breton opened an investigation against “X” (formerly Twitter) for alleged dissemination of false information. This is the first step of the procedure.
Anything that can discourage Ukraine
How does Pravda work? The information on the custody of Gérard Depardieu is presented as possible “revenge for his friendship with Russia”. The dispatch on Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for external relations, has him saying, in the headline, that the end of the conflict in Ukraine is imminent. But when we open the article, it is exactly the opposite that Borrell says… We will seek out and highlight testimonies that are discouraging for Ukraine such as this interview with a “former NATO commander-in-chief” , German general Harald Kujat. In fact, this German general is retired. He was president of the NATO military committee but twenty years ago (from 2002 to 2005). And he did not give an interview to Pravda, or even to Overton Magazin, the Source cited. The interview was actually given to a Swiss site in… January 2023. But the interview is presented as recent and makes the front page of the site.
The French, German and Polish ministers issued a statement following this meeting. “We have set up an alert and reaction program within the framework of the Weimar Triangle between Germany, France and Poland on the manipulation of information and we will work towards consultation and increased response at EU level in this regard, in particular to ensure that online platforms act more quickly and effectively in combating disinformation campaigns and by promoting civil society efforts to strengthen the media education and resilience in this area. In this context, we call on our national institutions responsible for promoting civic education, media literacy and resilience to strengthen their cooperation. »
Oddly enough, the ministers call on the Arte channel to “fight against disinformation by providing quality information to all European citizens”. Certainly, Arte is an excellent channel. It is the fruit of a Franco-German state will, it is therefore normal that the first reflex of the authorities is to rely on what they have created together. But have the ministers understood that Arte’s information is above all confidential? In France, the channel will achieve, in 2023, a 2.9% audience share in France and 1.9% in Germany. It is not on the scale of the Russian disinformation which floods social networks in a continuous stream and which sometimes reaches mainstream media caught in the beacons of rapid and unverified information.
France surrounded by disinformation
For several months, France has been surrounded by a flood of fake news which has intensified since President Macron adopted a more offensive line towards the “Kremlin regime”. On March 29, a false press release from the Ministry of the Interior restricted the reception of Ukrainian refugees by spreading the rumor that they were suffering from an epidemic of tuberculosis. Ditto with a false video attributed to RFI on Ukrainian soldiers suffering from tuberculosis in French hospitals.
Also in March, a fake army recruitment site, created on March 15, called on the French to “commit to Ukraine”. It was deactivated by the French services. The head of the Russian intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, himself spread the rumor that 2,000 French soldiers would be deployed in Ukraine. Fake. But the more a lie is repeated, the more it sows doubt…
