EU report on disinformation: Zelenskyy and Ukraine most targeted by information manipulation

Ukraine continues to be the country most often targeted by information manipulation, says  the second annual report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), published yesterday by the European External Actions Service (EEAS). 

The report sheds light on the current threat landscape, based on 750 investigated FIMI incidents between 1 December 2022 and 30 November 2023 and presenting countermeasures that can be applied by the community of experts during the multiple elections in 2024.

Presenting the report, the EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron are among the most targeted individuals, and Ukraine is the most targeted country by FIMI.

“Ukrainians are the most battle hardened, and Ukrainian civil society plays a major role in suffering disinformation and fighting against it, and we support them,” said Borrell. 

He cited the information that Ukraine allegedly tried to create a chemical incident in occupied Donetsk. This information was immediately detected by social media users. “They found that these images were created long before the [alleged] incident happened. But Russians immediately put this incident in order to make people believe that yes, Ukrainians in Donetsk were creating a kind of chemical weapon,” said Borrell. 

He added that rapid action is essential to prevent the manipulation of information from spreading, and it has to be debunked before it goes viral. 

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