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

🇪🇺 📈 EU-related disinformation surged to its highest level in May since EDMO began dedicated monitoring. According to preliminary findings of the new EDMO Brief, which will be published on June 6, disinformation on EU policies or targeting its institutions amounted to around 15% of the total detected disinformation in May, the month before the EU elections. After the peak measured in April, the amount of EU-related disinformation has further increased, resulting in the highest value since our dedicated monitoring began in May 2023 and the highest percentage among the topics constantly monitored by EDMO for the second month in a row.





🚶🏽 🗳️ Preelection Disinformation: Politicians spreading false narratives about Migration and Asylum Pact. A recent analysis by EURACTIV Slovakia shows that several politicians are spreading false narratives about the new EU Migration Pact in their pre-election campaigns. Analyzing the most impactful posts on social media, EURACTIV found that certain politicians falsely claimed, for example, that Slovakia will have to manage millions of migrants or misrepresented the pact’s provisions. Other popular claims on social media incorrectly state that Slovakia will have to forcibly accept migrants without any choice. According to EURACTIV, which will publish further reports on disinformation promoted by politicians in the country, such misleading statements are designed to incite fear and mistrust among voters ahead of the vote. Read the full analysis on EURACTIV Slovakia here: Predvolebné dezinformácie: Anna Belousovová straší miliónmi migrantov .

This kind of disinformation about the new EU legislation on migration and the issue in general has also been circulating in Poland and other Central European and Baltic countries in recent weeks. In addition, these days, false stories in the path of well-known disinformation narratives (e.g. claiming that migrants are violent or privileged) are being tracked in various EU countries and sometimes exploited on the political side.


🪆 Operation Matrioska: how a Russian campaign targets fact-checkers worldwide. A recent article by EFE Verifica – a Spanish fact-checking organization part of the EDMO network – reports that a pro-Russian operation, called Operation Matrioska, has been attempting to manipulate fact-checkers globally, including those at EFE Verifica. The campaign consisted of creating numerous social media accounts and sending fake emails to distract media and fact-checkers from real disinformation. The fake requests included verifying unfounded claims about Ukraine, NATO, and other sensitive topics, sometimes impersonating accredited media outlets. The primary goal appears to be to waste the time and resources of journalists and fact-checkers, distorting their attention and undermining their ability to effectively combat disinformation. Read the full text here: Matrioska: la operación prorrusa contra los verificadores (in Spanish).

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

What is a “disinformation narrative”? Please find here a short methodological note about the definition used by the EDMO fact-checking network.

The Disinfo Bulletin 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.