The Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova advocates a code of good conduct to reduce the dissemination of false information.
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Vera Jourova, Czech Vice President of the European Commission, leads the work carried out by the institution concerning the fight against external interference, the protection of freedom of the media and the defense of the rule of law.
What are the means available to the European Union to counter hybrid attacks (cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns …) led by Russia in the current crisis with Ukraine?
The Kremlin uses these permanent attacks for a long time. The first thing we need to do is stop being naive and underestimated them. Disinformation campaigns are designed to target weak points in each society. Sometimes it is about reinterpreting history, elsewhere, to convince people that life under the Soviet regime was more right, safer. This narrative floods the social networks of many countries, including mine, the Czech Republic.
In the context of climbing tensions with Ukraine, messages insist that Ukraine and NATO) are the aggressors, that Kiev leads a genocide from Russian-speaking populations in the Donbass region … 2,700 examples of this type were spotted in 2021. This shows a coordinated plan. It is difficult to know the impact of this misinformation on public opinions, but in Slovakia for example, a recent survey shows that 44% of the inhabitants think that NATO is at the origin of the crisis between the Russia and Ukraine. Confronted with such a brainwashing, imagine the difficulties of democratic governments to convince their citizens if they had to act in this crisis …
In Europe, we want almost at all costs to preserve freedom of expression. Prohibit content or media is a last resort solution. It is therefore necessary that the propagation of false information becomes more expensive and less easy. This is why the Commission is currently working on the drafting of a code of good practice, encouraging companies that purchase advertising on networks to adopt rules to reduce the dissemination of these messages. We also want platforms to hire more people, journalists or fact-checkers, for a better distinction between the facts, the opinions and false information. It would be like this code to be signed and comes into force by March.
Why do the countries of Western Europe appear more disposed of dialogue with the Kremlin than the countries East?
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