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

🗳️ 🇪🇸 Disinformation tried to exploit problems with polling stations in Spain on election day. In the country, claims exploited minor technical problems in some cities to suggest an attempt to prevent people from voting or to undermine confidence in the electoral process. In Torrelodones, false claims spread that polling stations were closing late due to a lack of ballot papers, suggesting deliberate manipulation. The government delegation clarified that the delays were due to a shortage of ballots for the Feminist Party in Congress (PFAC) and extended voting hours accordingly. In Murcia, allegations circulated that booths were out of ballots, suggesting that citizens were prevented from voting. The city council admitted that some booths couldn’t accommodate ballots due to their design, but the ballots were provided near the booths, as required by law.


💻 🇸🇪 A top Swedish candidate’s campaign was likely boosted by coordinated behaviors by X accounts. According to Källkritikbyrån, a Swedish fact-checking organization part of the EDMO network, Charlie Weimers, a top candidate for the Sweden Democrats (SD) in the EU elections, has been supported by numerous Persian-speaking accounts in a coordinated campaign on X. Analysts have flagged this activity as potentially inauthentic, but it is unclear if it is run by real people or bots. The hashtag #vote4charlie has been used around 2,200 times in the past week, with many accounts also expressing support for Reza Pahlavi, the former Crown Prince of Iran. The coordinated behavior includes rapid, repetitive posting and link sharing, raising concerns about the authenticity of this support. Read the reporting here: Koordinerat beteende i kampanj för Charlie Weimers (SD) (in Swedish).


🏅 Disinformation targeting the Paris 2024 Olympics. AFP Factuel – the French fact-checking unit of the news agency, also part of the EDMO network – reports that the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics have become a primary target for disinformation campaigns, especially by Russia and Azerbaijan, aimed at undermining France’s credibility. False stories, vehiculated by graffiti in Paris and fake news articles, are being spread to discredit the event and claim security threats and organizational failures, using manipulative tactics, including fake social media campaigns and falsified visuals. This strategy seeks to fracture societal trust and exploit public concerns for geopolitical gains. Read the article here: Les JO de Paris, cible de choix de la désinformation  (in French).

Moreover, a recent research by Microsoft revealed that Russian internet trolls, using AI-generated content, launched a campaign to discredit the Olympics and incite terrorism fears. This included a documentary with an AI-generated voiceover impersonating Tom Cruise, aimed at undermining the International Olympic Committee after Russia’s ban from the Games due to its invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, false stories circulating in EU countries are attempting to magnify protests against the organization of the event or the risks associated with participation.

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.

Photo source: European Parliament