Pssi presentation information warfare in the internet_czech republic

1. INFORMATION WARFARE IN THE INTERNET
PREPARED BY:
IVANA SMOLENOVA, FELLOW, HEAD OFTHE INITIATIVETO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT DISINFORMATION IN CEE

2. DISINFORMATION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
 Big number of disinformation websites
 No typical representative, they differ (in format, content, financial model)
 One website owned by the Russian government – Sputnik News
 One website owned by a Russian citizen living in Prague (Eurodenik.cz)
 Informal connections
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

3. CONSPIRACY WEBSITES
VS.
ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

4. CONSPIRACY WEBSITES
 Commentaries (OpEds) rather then News
 Mixing truth and lies
 Highly manipulative
 Lower readership (in thousands)
 Examples: EU Portal, ProtiProud, Zvedavec
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

5. ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
 Aim: to be an alternative to mainstream media
 Less aggressive
 Components seen in standard journalistic media: citation, reference, they distinguish between news &
commentaries
 Higher readership (in ten thousands)
 Sputnik News, Prvni Zpravy, Parlamentni Listy
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

6. COMMON CHARACTERISTICS
 Foreign News prevail over domestic news
 Often repetitive (they recycle news, conspiracies)
 Very opaque ownership structures and non-transparent background
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

7. CONTENT
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

8. MAIN TRENDS
 ADJUSTING CURRENT AFFAIRS TOYOUR OVERALL GOAL
 Prove USA is the enemy n. 1
 EU is subordinate to USA
 Ukraine is full of fascists, neo-nazi groups
 You are in danger, future is bleak
 You cannot trust media, politicians, police
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

9. IMMIGRANTS & THE THREAT OF TERRORISM
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

10. SPECIFIC CASE STUDIES
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

11. THE MORALITY OF VACLAV HAVEL AND HIS FAMILY
 Zvedavec
 The article tells a life story of Vaclav Havel – emphasis on features that raised controversy
 Accuses him of collaboration with Nazi Germany
 Uses reference from mainstream literature
 Uses quotation -> manipulative setting, leads to negative assesment
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

12. CULTURAL ENRICHEMENT: ANOTHER EPISODE. LOOK WHAT MIGRANTS
LEFT IN THE DINING ROOM IN ONE OF THE REFUGEE CENTERS
 Europortal
 Present short videos from refugee center that shows dirty rooms full of rubbish
 The video is presented without any verification.
 It portrayed refugees as sloppy people
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

13. USA AND SAUDI ARABIA PROVIDE FREE PASSAGE FOR 9,000 ISIS
FITHTERS FROM MOSUL IN IRAQ TO SYRIA
 Based on the news published by the RIA Novosti in August
 Based on anonymous source from Russian administration (cannot be proved).
 It suggest US collaborates with terrorist organizations
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

14. MEDIA REMAIN SILENT. THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS AND
ISRAELI WOMEN HOLD JOINT 2-WEEK PEACE MARCH
 Point is not to inform about the event but initiate a discussion why this story was not mentioned in any
mainstream media -> very manipulative, leave room for speculations in comments
 Does not meet basic standards of journalism
 Biased from its very beginning, criticism of mainstream media
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

15. CITIZENS ARE ALREADY PREPARING FOR ATTACKS BY MUSLIMS
 EU Portal
 The article is presented as written by a disgruntled citizen who lost any hope and has taken security into his own
hands
 People are prepare to defend a village, stock piling food, water resources and ammunition
 Discuss high possibility of an imminent attack by Muslims
 The aim is to tap into the feelings of uncertainty and fear in light of the refugee crises
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

16. OTHER MANIPULATIVE TECHNIQUES
 Based on a photo that appeared in one FB group
 Uses emotions in order to arouse frustration and fear
 False explanation to a real event
 Labeling certain actors without further explanation or proofs (Dalai Lama is a CIA agent
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE

17. INFORMATION WARFARE IN THE INTERNET
PRAGUE SECURITY STUDIES INSTITUTE
The project is co-financed by the InternationalVisegrad Fund