The brand new Russian affect marketing campaign comes with lower than three months to go earlier than the European Parliament election on June 6-9. It echoes issues of corruption and overseas meddling dropped at the fore by the Qatargate corruption scandal that rocked the European Parliament lower than two years in the past.
“We will not afford to be one step behind Putin and his propaganda military on a chess board … We have now to consistently keep in mind he’ll use the disinformation and overseas interference as a weapon to divide Europe,” Jourová stated.
The affect scandal revolved across the web site Voice of Europe. The Czech overseas ministry sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in addition to Voice of Europe itself and an individual referred to as Artem Pavlovich Marchevskyi presumed to be concerned within the operation.
Medvedchuk was working a “Russian affect operation” from Russia on Czech territory utilizing Voice of Europe, authorities stated in an announcement.
“This choice is within the safety curiosity of the Czech Republic, in addition to contributing to the safety of the democratic nature of the forthcoming elections to the European Parliament,” the Czech overseas ministry stated.
Polish safety companies stated Thursday that they had carried out searches as a part of the cross-border investigation in Warsaw and Tychy in western Poland, Reuters reported. Native media cited the safety companies’ assertion saying authorities had seized €48,500 and $36,000. Poland’s Inner Safety Company’s web site has been down since Thursday night.
