Observation period: May 13-25
Two Moldovan brothers appear to be helping Russia conduct cyber warfare in Europe.
An investigation by Correctiv, a German investigative and fact-checking organization within the EDMO network, reported that two brothers from Moldova provide IT infrastructure to support Russian cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns across Europe. Despite EU sanctions, their company PQ Hosting allows Russian hackers and propagandists to operate through servers in the EU, hiding their activities via complex corporate structures and shell companies, according to Correctiv. The full investigation can be read here: Hacks und Propaganda: Zwei Brüder aus Moldau tragen Russlands digitalen Krieg nach Europa (in German).
The assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15 has already spawned a flurry of dangerous and false stories.
One of the first was the spread of a fake image of the shooter, depicted interacting with Martin Simecka, a journalist and father of the co-founder of Slovakia’s main opposition party. This was quickly debunked as misinformation and flagged by Meta as such. However, another debunked false story has emerged in the country, claiming that the main opposition party supports the violent act rather than condemns it. These are not the only unfounded claims circulating about the tragic event.
In other EU countries – in addition to the false story about his death – fact-checking organizations report a surge of anti-vaccine, anti-Ukrainian, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about the assassination attempt. Some unproven claims assert that Ukrainian secret services are behind the shooting, while others suggest motives related to the WHO pandemic treaty or George Soros. Alex Jones, a well-known conspiracy theorist, shared a post on X shortly after the shooting, suggesting that NATO wants Fico dead – another false story circulating on social media.
Accounts dedicated to debunking disinformation warn of the potential impact of spreading such misinformation on Slovakia’s already deeply divided political landscape.
Number of mentions and views of posts in Belarusian Telegram channels about the assassination attempt on Robert Fico:
Thus, on May 15, there were 618 mentions with 8,673,515 views. The number of mentions and views decreases, as in traditional news reporting.
Sources that mentioned this incident the most:
Interestingly, the Russian Sputnik Belarus and several pro-government channels lead.
Of course, there was a significant amount of disinformation and conspiracy theories among these publications.
For example:
The assassination in Slovakia was linked to a plane crash in Iran and events in Georgia.
Conspiracies about the helicopter crash that led to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
A few hours after the news of Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash, unverified information began spreading across various European countries. False claims used images purportedly showing the helicopter on which the Iranian president was flying. In Poland, there was a significant false claim linking what most media described as an accident to alleged US actions, part of a conspiracy also alleging US responsibility for the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico – claiming it was a coordinated effort by the US to eliminate leaders opposing their hegemony. Such claims are unfounded, and official sources have not reported any evidence of sabotage.
Number of posts and views in Belarusian Telegram channels and chats:
The peak was on June 20 when the news of the Iranian president’s death was confirmed.
Main sources of mentions:
This news item turned out to be important for state-owned media Telegram channels in both Belarus and the Russian Federation.
False stories about international reactions to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. In addition to the conspiracy theories circulating about this issue, including one suggesting that Raisi is actually alive, false stories about the Iranian president’s death also concern supposed grief or celebration expressed by international figures following his helicopter crash. In Spain, a false story is spreading that Putin personally traveled to Iran to attend Raisi’s funeral, and a fake video allegedly showing the Israeli ambassador to the UN celebrating Raisi’s death is circulating in the country.
