Ukraineand the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyremains his main “target” interference and manipulation attempts defined in Second report on foreign interference (FIMI) was released this Tuesday. European CommissionAlthough it is a very common phenomenon that affects many countries and international organizations. The document was prepared by experts. EU external action service After analyzing 750 events Data determined between December 1, 2022 and November 30, 2023 are valid for at least 2024. 83 election events worldwide It will be a “critical” year for democracy, including the European Parliament elections.
The head of European diplomacy said: “This is a matter of security, and security is not just about weapons, it is also about information and how citizens are fed with ideas that will determine their ability as citizens to choose governments and influence world history.” Josep Borrell, During a conference to present the contents of the report on “one of the most significant threats of our time.”
According to the Spanish politician, the basis of any democracy is “reliable information and trust in democratic processes”, and this means facing interference and misinformation; This is the second biggest risk, according to the Spanish politician. World Economic Forum— as if security threat. Malicious content also spreads “like cancer” and cases of misinformation need to be tackled as quickly as possible by detecting, containing, minimizing or even ignoring them because “sometimes the best strategy is not to pay attention,” says Borrell. warned about its role artificial intelligence.
Countries, organizations and individuals
Targets of attacks vary from countries to organizations, groups and individuals. With 480 attacks, 49% of cases targeted countries or their official representations. The main goal was Ukraine (160), ahead United States of America (58), Poland (33), Germany (31), France (25), Serbia (23) and Spain (Less than 15 and referring to the 2023 elections). A total of 53 countries were attacked.
International organizations have also been the target of disinformation and manipulation attacks. The EU suffered the most with 19 percent. NATO (15%), Ukrainian armed forces (14%) and media organizations such as the United Nations (3%), Euronews (3%), Reuters (2%), Deutsche Welle and the New York Times (2%). ). Moreover, in 18% of the cases, the targets were people with a very specific goal in mind: the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Involved in 40 percent of incidents Josep Borrell (20%), President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (9%) and the French president, Emmanuel Macron (4%). Politicians are not the only ones on the list. Celebrities and actors such as Elijah Wood and Nicolas Cage were also targeted, according to the FIMI report.