CUTalonia

How Russian news networks are using Catalonia to destabilize Europe

Media stories in English, Russian and German equating crisis in Spain with conflicts in Crimea and Kurdistan

In a bid to sow division within the European Union, Russia’s online disruption machinery is working at full speed to equate the Catalan crisis to the Crimean or Kurdish conflicts in the eyes of public opinion.

A detailed analysis of pro-Russian media shows that these have multiplied their coverage of Catalonia in Spanish, English, German and Russian, and that all of this output systematically portrays the Spanish government and justice system as guilty of violent repression in the northeastern region. These news organizations claim that Madrid has sent paramilitary troops to Barcelona, and warns that a civil war is imminent as the EU passively stands by. The Russian media compared these events to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and the Kurdish referendum vote.

One pro-Kremlin news organization, the daily Vzglyad, on Wednesday wrote: “Spain forcibly suppresses the Catalan spring,” followed by the assertion that “the Crimean spring has moved to the Pyrenees.”

The basic premise of the pro-Russian disruption machinery is to create information that is sometimes real, sometimes fake.

“We’re not talking about Soviet propaganda or anything like that. It’s not all fake news,” says Brett Schaffer, an analyst at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a project of the German Marshall Fund created in the wake of Russian meddling in the US elections, and whose goal is to “publicly document and expose Vladimir Putin’s ongoing efforts to subvert democracy in the United States and Europe.”

“This does not mean that Russia wants Catalonia to be independent at any cost. What it fundamentally seeks is to create division, in order to slowly undermine Europe’s democracy and institutions,” he adds.

Source:

https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/09/25/inenglish/1506323273_063367.html

THE PRIME MINISTER OF HUNGARY USES THE LAW OF EDUCATION TO WIN IN THE ELECTIONS

In April 2018, in Hungary there will be held the elections for the General Assembly. The opportunity to vote also will be given to those who do not permanently reside in Hungary, but have Hungarian passports. To do this, they must register on a special site.

Mr Orban said they will take part "in solving the fate and future of the Carpathian Basin countries."

Therefore, the game on feelings of Hungarians in Ukraine, taking into consideration the upcoming election campaign, is quite predictable.

"Of course, the statements are consistent with Victor Orban's party politics, but the problem is much wider. I believe that accelerated cultural and linguistic expansion would allow both Hungary and Romania to have the ground for further putting forward other claims to Ukraine. "

These claims may concern both the greater autonomy of the territories where the Hungarians and Romanians live together, and territorial claims as well, the expert says.

"The wrong policy of Ukraine has led to the Hungarian state being a big benefactor for them, rather than Ukraine. This is a wild situation, but that`s how the things are, these people are more oriented towards Hungary. And this should be corrected as soon as possible ".

Experts believe that Kiev should not change its position, although it does not exclude that in the course of consultations and negotiations, as well as after the expertise of the law by European structures, it is possible to agree on minor concessions.

Sources:

http://zakarpatpost.net/2017/10/03/zakarpattsi-ne-vynni-orban-vykorystovuje-zakon-pro-osvitu-zadlya-peremohy-na-vyborah/

http://knyazeva.blog.hu/2017/10/28/az_ukran_oktatasi_reform_mint_a_gyozelem_lepese_a_magyarorszagi_valasztasokon

How to “swing” Europe

Putin sees in the Catalonian referendum an opportunity to convince the European Union, NATO, and the UN that it is time to recognize that Crimea belongs to Russia and to let bygones be bygones. After all, business and political interests in Europe are getting restive. They contend that, after almost four years, it is time to return to “business as usual” with Russia.

“What is so troubling is that the Russians used the same playbook and nobody seems to care,” information warfare expert Molly K. McKew told The Washington Times. “It’s the constant drumbeat: ‘Minorities are disadvantaged, the West has nothing to offer, democracy doesn’t work.’”

Experts say Moscow fights a subtle war of subversion rather than domination. The Kremlin has perfected the technique of finding divisive social issues including race, gun control, religion or gay rights to highlight rather than trying to promote an individual candidate or position. 

How does it work?

Eastern European and Russian “troll farms” and robotic accounts then use algorithms to make polarizing hot-button topics trend across a country’s internet space. “The Kremlin can’t create these societal divisions,” she said, speaking by telep

hone from Estonia. “But they can find them and turn the volume way up. They did it in the U.S. — find a bitter partisan divide and exploited Brexit” — the U.K. vote to leave the European Union — “was similar.”

The Madrid-based El Pais provided coverage of a report warning of Russian interference, especially from what has been called the government-funded broadcaster Russia Today, or RT. The station was accused of pushing fake referendum news from its Spanish-language portal.

“The sad part is,” she said, “people know they have no credibility, but when a local issue comes from their mouth, people don’t care about the source, they just react.”

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2017/10/16/how-russia-is-playing-catalonia-to-get-a-reprieve-on-crimea/#537e848e603c

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/2/catalonia-independence-vote-likely-influenced-by-r/