Propastop: Countering Russian disinformation

LAAS LEIVAT

Swedish foreign relations experts have concluded that after the events of 2014 – annexation of Crimea – the intensity of Russian disinformation aimed at Sweden has dramatically increased. “Sweden has been the target of Russian comprehensive ‘active measures’, in which, part of the coordinated effort is meant for public consumption and influencing decision making through the use of fake news, doctored documents and disinformation,” scholars have stated.

According to Propastop, the Estonian Defence League’s volunteer unit of Russian disinformation analysts, the Kremlin’s narrative exploits the touchy issue of immigration into Sweden. The disinformation deploys blatantly false facts about a pending civil war, about how Swedish children during school prayer are forced to evoke Allah, how Muslim immigrants have desecrated images of Jesus etc.

In addition to promoting division and conflict in Swedish society, Moscow also has attempted to spur anti-NATO sentiment and belittle the capability of Sweden’s military, who have been obsessed with exposing ‘non-existent submarines’.

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