Kremlin Watchers Report: Trends in the Czech Disinformation Scene

The Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory marked 500 days in early July. During this time, a number of disinformation narratives flowing from Russia have been circulating in the Czech internet environment, aiming to turn public opinion against Ukraine and undermine trust in the government. Below is an overview of the current disinformation tendencies spreading through the Czech internet in June and July 2023.

Trust in disinformation among the Czechs

To understand the spread of disinformation in the Czech context, it is crucial to look at recent surveys describing the target group of disinformation and which Czech citizens are most susceptible to disinformation. In June, the Syri Institute published a survey showing that only 6 percent of the Czech population are strong supporters of conspiracies and disinformation, and that they themselves spread it. In contrast, 17 percent of Czechs are strong opponents. Crucial to the longevity of disinformation, however, are

people with a high level of distrust in the political system, traditional media and institutions. It is they who, according to the survey, are most likely to view the world through distrust, assuming that “we are automatically lied to” and “nothing can be trusted.” Sources of information in this case are disinformation sites such as Aeronet, Sputnik or AC24. Pro-Kremlin disinformation finds fertile ground with this group, as it targets already broken trust.

Czech President’s speech manipulated by disinformation agents

This is also related to what the Russian propaganda is taking “to task” in its attacks. The most frequent victims of disinformation are those who represent traditional institutions and the political system.

At the end of June, pro-Kremlin disinformation spread a manipulated video of Czech President Petr Pavel. The video, seen by tens of thousands of people, distorted Pavel’s speech from the “Media and Ukraine” conference, where he discussed the West’s manipulation of Ukraine against Russia. The manipulated video takes out of context the part of Pavel’s speech where he talks about the West’s manipulation of Ukraine. The video is also disseminated by the

new Russian propaganda channel in the Czech Republic, website 42Tčen . The disinformation campaign has a wide reach, including TikTok. Before the Czech Radio’s “Media and Ukraine” conference, the radio was hacked. The radio’s website and the news server iROZHLAS.cz were disabled. The attack was probably targeted, with a specific connection to the conference. According to the presidential spokeswoman , the Russian propaganda interest in Pavel is due to the fact that Pavel’s actions do not suit the Kremlin’s interests. Pavel seeks to anchor the Czech Republic firmly in the community of democratic countries and condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hatred towards Ukrainians in Czech Republic

Russian disinformation campaigns in the Czech Republic over the past two months have escalated tensions between Czechs and Ukrainians in Czech society. In Iustitia , a Czech non-profit organization that deals with prejudicial violence, has observed an increase in verbal and physical violence against war refugees from Ukraine.

A well-known case was that of a little Ukrainian girl who was abused by some of the children on a school trip because of her origin, and one even spat in her face. According to In Iustitia , war refugees from Ukraine make up approximately 20 per cent of cases, meaning they are the second most at risk in the Czech Republic after LGBT people. Another disturbing feature of this case is that the children often mirror the behavior they see in their families.

In its quarterly report , In Iustitia also reports on the case of a Belarusian woman who has lived in the Czech Republic for over 25 years. The woman was assaulted by an inspector on a Prague tram after she refused to present her ticket to the inspector, who did not follow procedure. According to the report, the inspector “grabbed the woman by her jacket, pulled her and

called her names: “Go back to Ukraine!” The case was only solved when the police were called.

The wave of unrest was sparked by an incident in Brno in June in which a fight broke out between Roma people and two other foreigners, presumably from Ukraine. A young Roma man died of stab wounds after one of the foreigners allegedly attacked him with a knife during the altercation. This incident provided the disinformation scene with material for weeks to come. According to security expert Miroslav Mareš of Masaryk University in Brno, this is “an unusual intermingling of an ethnic minority with nationalist and extremist currents. Both are trying to stir up anti-Ukrainian sentiment in connection with the death of the young Roma man.” The NGO Manipulátoři website also points out that extremist political parties and groups such as PRO and SPD have also exploited the act.

It is in this case that experts warn of the radicalization that may occur due to the information vulnerability of this group. The association of some Roma with representatives of the disinformation scene against a common enemy - the Ukrainians - is currently a strong risk.

DCA Treaty with the USA

The last of our review is the inflection of the Czech-US Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in the Czech disinformation community. The latter compares it to “August 1968”, calls it a “new occupation” and calls the Czech Minister of Defense a “communist ideologue” writing an “invitation letter”. The absurd accusations were soon refuted by the Czech military: “The DCA treaty itself will not lead to the construction of US military bases on the territory of the Czech Republic or to the permanent presence of US troops. Its purpose is to set general conditions for the possible presence of US troops in the Czech Republic, if both sides agree on it in the

future and if it is approved by the Czech Republic in each individual case.”

Pro-Kremlin disinformation networks have sought to prevent the Czech Chamber of Deputies from approving the treaty, as BiS chief Michal Koudelka confirmed in late May. However, some experts on the spread of disinformation point to a parallel with 2007, when the construction of a US radar in Brdy was discussed, but ultimately did not happen due to opposition. The head of BiS calls the massive disinformation campaign at that time “the first Russian-led disinformation campaign in the Czech Republic.”