In recent months, there has been an increase in disinformation campaigns related to European Union policies.

Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing the outcome of the European parliamentary elections are being closely monitored by politicians, specialists and journalists, according to European Newsroom.

Political analysts believe that Moscow might try to exploit political tensions in Europe, where far-right parties are on the rise ahead of the European elections scheduled for June 6-9.

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has described disinformation and foreign interference as "one of the most significant threats of our times".

"2024 is a crucial year in the fight against foreign interference and external information manipulation because we have a lot of elections", Borrell said in a speech in Brussels on January 23. He noted that this year, nearly half of the world's population will vote in about 60 elections, whether parliamentary, presidential or local.

According to the head of EU diplomacy, "manipulation and interference have become an industrial activity", and Russia and other countries have "built an extensive infrastructure to lie, manipulate and destabilize".

Three weeks later, on February 13, the French government warned that disinformation activities from countries like Russia are "likely to intensify" ahead of the European elections in June.

On February 23, the European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency, Vera Jourova, told the Czech news agency CTK that the countries most at risk from Russian disinformation are those in Central and Eastern Europe.

"Regarding Russian influence, since it is dominant, we are in an information war with Russia that we did not start, but to which we unfortunately have to respond to", emphasized the European Commission representative.

The widespread use of pro-Russian disinformation has impacted elections held in various European countries.

"There will be disinformation operations against Ukraine and numerous current European issues to promote a conservative and nationalist agenda", stated Valentin Chatelet, an associate researcher for security at the think tank Atlantic Council.

Since December last year, a large "Russian disinformation campaign" in Germany has created over 50,000 fake accounts on the platform X (formerly Twitter) to encourage opposition to Berlin's support for Ukraine, according to the German weekly Der Spiegel.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have "eliminated" around 60 fighters, primarily "French mercenaries", during an attack in January on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

On February 12, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland announced their intention to collaborate to combat disinformation activities, given that the three states were targeted by Russia's disinformation strategy.

"The three countries have agreed on a joint warning mechanism against Russian troll attacks. Russia is trying to destroy European unity. I call for maximum vigilance", said French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne after a meeting with his German and Polish counterparts, Annalena Baerbock and Radoslaw Sikorski.

He added that Viginum, the French government agency tasked with defending against foreign online threats, had discovered a network of Russian websites aimed at spreading Kremlin propaganda in the West.

Viginum mentioned that the "coordinated and structured" network targeted Europe and the United States. Named Portal Kombat, the network included 193 websites, according to the French government agency after an investigation conducted from September to December of the previous year.

"The objective of the websites, most of which are dormant, is to spread false news and opinions that serve Russia's interests. They spread false information about Ukraine, divide public opinion and promote hatred", Sejourne added.

The Russian government has intensified efforts to promote Kremlin rhetoric since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Another example of online disinformation was reported in Portugal, where experts from the MediaLab Institute at the University of Lisbon (ISCTE) detected, for the first time, "signs of external interference in Portuguese elections" through online ads. One of these accused the Portuguese Socialist Party of corruption.

A report by ISCTE indicated that "'sponsored posts' reached over 2 million Portuguese, representing 22% of the voting population" in Portugal. The report referred to disinformation processes in the pre-election phase for the legislative elections held in Portugal on March 10.

Disinformation campaigns occur in all forms and at all levels. Over the past two years, pro-Russian online disinformation has mainly targeted Western support for Kyiv.

AFP identified false content meant to support or encourage the idea of public fatigue in Europe and the US regarding the war in Ukraine, and DPA revealed the existence of a study suggesting that this conflict is more harmful to the climate than Germany's carbon dioxide emissions.

Pro-Russian disinformation in Europe is most effective when it builds on existing issues, such as immigration or purchasing power, explain several experts.

"The most effective rhetoric is the one that accesses something that is already a problem; it is much more difficult to build from scratch", said Elina Treyger, an expert at RAND Corporation, a nonprofit institution that helps improve decision-making through research and analysis.

"By multiplying the content so much, you will inevitably hit your target", argued Jakub Kalenský, deputy director of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.

For example, when the war in Ukraine began, the Middle East and Africa were targeted by rhetoric based on anti-American, anti-Western and anti-colonial sentiments, explained Christine Dugoin-Clement, an associate professor at the Sorbonne University.