Welcome to Disinfo Bulletin, your daily update from the EDMO network. Today's most relevant stories: 

🇪🇸 Disinformation and attacks on Spanish PM Sánchez’s refusal to resign. Following allegations against his wife, Begona Gomez, for alleged ties to private companies receiving public contracts and funds, on April 24th Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez decided to suspend his public duties, a decision shared through a public letter. Soon after this decision several conspiracy theories about Sánchez’s position began to circulate in Spain, claiming, for example, that the pause was due to a possible blackmailing by Israel.

However, after five days of consideration, Sánchez announced he would continue as prime minister and a new wave of false stories about this decision is now circulating in the country. He is being falsely accused of having gone on vacation after deciding to continue leading the government, or of having prepared beforehand the questions for the interviews that he conceded. Other false allegations try to portray him as authoritarian and his government as satanist, or exaggerate the popular support for the extreme right opposition against Sánchez. At the same time, false stories have accused his wife of being corrupt and linked to the Moroccan authorities, amid other disinformation stories.


👨🏼‍💼 👩🏻‍💼 Other unfounded stories targeting politicians. Although the previous Spanish disinformation case so far appears to be confined to the country, false stories targeting politicians are common and may grow as the elections approach. Recent false claims alleged that Britta Ernst, the wife of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, is a transgender woman, a story echoing a similar false narrative recently used against Brigitte Macron. In Germany, several politicians have been linked to Nazism, while other false stories try to discredit representatives by suggesting alleged citizen actions against them.

As highlighted in a previous issue, homophobic sentiments are often exploited to target politicians and, more recently, also European values, allegedly favoring “new” family models. At the same time, Russian propaganda tries to leverage public figures to spread fear and confusion among its citizens. In Croatia, for example, Russian channels pushed the false story that the Croatian prime minister had been killed by the country’s armed forces.


🔎 Shifting geopolitical attitudes in CEE countries. The GLOBSEC Trends 2024 report highlights evolving geopolitical perspectives in Central and Eastern European (CEE) nations, particularly in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The study reveals that 78% of the surveyed backed EU membership and 81% supported NATO in CEE countries. Additionally, there is a growing push for an EU army to reduce reliance on the US, with a 63% average agreement. The report also highlights fears of a present war: although 74% of respondents are in favor of continued military support for Ukraine, nearly half believe that providing military assistance provokes Russia and brings them closer to war. Read the full report here: GLOBSEC Trends 2024: CEE – A Brave New Region?


🎯 Check out the latest issue of the EDMO Weekly Insights and Early Warnings ahead of the June elections. This week’s edition looks at the persistent circulation of conspiracy theories about the pandemic and at the growing disinformation narrative about direct EU intervention in the war in Ukraine, which may continue to grow following further recent statements by French president Macron. It also includes early warnings on what kind of disinformation to expect ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest and in light of newly approved European laws. Read the full text here: WEEKLY INSIGHTS and EARLY WARNINGS, n. 4

If you have suggestions, comments or requests about this newsletter, you can write to edmo.tfeu2024@eui.eu

This tool gathers material from the inputs of the EDMO fact-checking network, as well as a recently launched public database from the EFCSN network (Elections 24 Check), and the various national EDMO hubs, including community initiatives and insights from individual fact-checking organizations.