Russian coronavirus disinformation campaign is hitting Europe, E.U. says. (NYT)

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/world/coronavirus-news.html

Russian coronavirus disinformation campaign is hitting Europe, E.U. says.

Russia and media outlets affiliated with the Kremlin have begun a “significant disinformation campaign against the West,” spreading misinformation about the coronavirus outbreak that has already had real-life consequences in Europe, according to an internal European Union document examined by The New York Times.

The report, dated March 18, said that Russia-backed misinformation has sparked rioting in Ukraine and has driven people to buy potentially dangerous bogus remedies. It said Russia was pushing a false narrative that the virus was being brought to Europe by migrants.

“The overarching aim of Kremlin disinformation is to aggravate the public health crisis in Western countries, specifically by undermining public trust in national health care systems — thus preventing an effective response to the outbreak,” the document said.

The Kremlin denied the allegations on Wednesday. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. Peskov told reporters that they were “groundless accusations,” according to Tass, the Russian state news agency.

The E.U. report presents findings from strategic communications experts and researchers who have scoured the internet, social media and traditional news platforms for evidence of this type of coordinated action and for evidence that Russia is behind it.

Western intelligence officials have said for years that President Vladimir Putin of Russia uses propaganda and disinformation as a way to sow suspicion and undermine confidence in democratic institutions. Russia’s campaign has targeted American and European elections and alliances like NATO and the European Union.