Defamation of European leaders, with a preference for exploiting themes related to sexual life, promoting the theory of the “imminent collapse of the EU”, flooding social networks with lies about Ukraine are some of the techniques used by Russian propaganda to influence the European Parliament elections.
Russian propaganda focused on defaming European leaders. PHOTO: EU vs Disinfo collage
The European Parliament elections, which run from June 6 to June 9, will bring millions of voters to the polls and represent Europe's biggest democratic exercise whose external stakes are perhaps higher than ever.
The European Commission's anti-disinformation portal – EU vs Disinfo – has analyzed the key techniques and procedures used by pro-Kremlin propaganda targeting the European Parliament elections.
The first technique analyzed was that of defaming prominent political leaders by inventing scandals, twisting or taking things out of context. There is a preference for the exploitation of elements related to sexual life.
One of the favorite targets was French President Emmanuel Macron. A sharp increase in smear attacks against him and his wife came after Macron's statements in March that Russia could not be allowed to win the war against Ukraine and the possible presence of Western troops in the conflict zone.
“Many wild stories have emerged suggesting his wife Brigitte Macron is a 'trans pervert'he was born a man, he falsifies his identity, etc.,” the cited analysis states.
Other propaganda outlets have claimed that Macron wants to start a third world war just to stay in power.
On March 19, an image from another article on the Pravda-xx.com network showed French soldiers, led by Macron, as drag queens and possibly transsexuals parading in a pink tank.
“Like previous regimes built on the identity of a strong man, the Russian leadership idolizes virulent masculinity while imposing a subordinate status on women whose main purpose is to bear children. The flip side of that coin is slandering opponents as somehow unmanly and sexually perverted.”, the analysis shows. In this context, Gabriel Attal, France's first openly gay prime minister, was the perfect victim of propaganda.
TV producer Dmitri Kiselyov absurdly claimed that two gay men in positions of power meant that any reference to heterosexual relationships would soon be banned in Europe.
A fake photo shows Macron in pink pajamas and is captioned: “ready for war”.
EU a “rotten site”
A second technique is closely related to the first: promoting discontent, doubt and division among European citizens.
“Russian state bodies are trying to make us believe that the EU system is amoral and shows great hypocrisy, or that the EU is 'dysfunctional', 'operating in a parallel reality' and on the verge of collapse. If the system survives, then it is a puppet of Washington. Why vote for such a rotten system?”, it is shown in the Eu vs Disinfo analysis.
The Kremlin has advanced the “imminent collapse” narrative since the 2008 global financial crisis, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the winter of 2022-2023 over energy issues and again over EU sanctions against Russia. Moscow is trying to portray the EU system as in danger of collapse where a disaffected and disenfranchised public will overthrow the governments and institutions of member states.
There are some topics that are particularly popular for Moscow: Western support for Ukraine (financial, military, humanitarian), the cost of living for Europeans, or the irresponsible “Russophobic” policies of “selfish European elites” that disregard the needs of ordinary people.
Another technique being examined is flooding the media with lies to turn the public against Ukraine. Anti-Ukrainian narratives are still by far the dominant topic for Kremlin manipulators. On a typical day, half of the content on key Russian state-controlled and pro-Kremlin platforms is directed against Ukraine in one way or another.
Russian propaganda tries to validate the idea that even in the EU there are no democratic elections PHOTO: EPA EFE
“Throw them all in the mud”
“Throw them all in the mud” is another favorite technique of pro-Kremlin propaganda. This involves a special variant of “whataboutism”, the ploy of deflecting criticism from the main topic with a counterattack such as “I may not be perfect, but neither are you”.
“It is safe to assume that Russian citizens understand that the election won by Putin with 87.28% was carefully controlled and that there are no real democratic alternatives. Given the political apathy of large parts of Russian society, the 87% “victory” indicates new levels of electoral manipulation, as election watchdog Golos has documented“, the analysis shows.
Instead of going to great lengths to legitimize these elections, Russian propaganda portrays EU societies as no better or even worse and claims they are just as corrupt, selfish and cynical. The narrative of imminent European and wider Western collapse is a Kremlin classic: “We may be in the mud, but so are they”.
“This fuels domestic political acceptance and apathy in Russia, which supports Putin's grip on power”concludes the cited analysis.
