EU gears up for propaganda war with Russia
By Francesco GuarascioBRUSSELS Thu Mar 19, 2015 Reuters
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to launch a first
operation in a new propaganda war with Russia within days of EU leaders giving
formal approval to the campaign at a summit on Thursday.Officials told Reuters
that a dozen public relations and communications experts would start work by
the end of March in Brussels with a brief to counter what the EU says is
deliberate misinformation coordinated by the Kremlin over Moscow's role and
aims in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe.It is the first stage of a plan that
leaders want EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to finalize by June,
which may include efforts to produce and share Russian-language broadcast
programming, notably for ethnic Russians in ex-Soviet states.Those communities
currently tune in heavily to Russian state broadcasters, which have bigger
production budgets than local stations for their entertainment output, as well
as news.EU leaders, most especially in the Baltic states, have been alarmed at
how Moscow has used its media to gain support for its views and policies - with
budgets that are still likely to dwarf the few million euros a year that
officials said the EU may provide.EU leaders agreed on Thursday to extend
economic sanctions to push Russia to respect a Ukraine peace deal. And a summit
statement also said they "stressed the need to challenge Russia's ongoing
disinformation campaigns", tasking Mogherini with delivering a fully fledged
plan by June.The new Brussels unit's immediate task is the "correction and
fact-checking of misinformation" and to "develop an EU narrative through key
messages, articles, op-eds, factsheets, infographics, including material in
Russian language", according to a description circulating among EU officials
seen by Reuters.Staff will be drawn from civil servants already employed by EU
institutions or seconded from some of the 28 member states.RETURN ON
INVESTMENTThe EU already provides some support for media within the bloc and
beyond, including grants and technical assistance to support diverse cultural
programming and coverage of EU affairs. It could now look at linking some of
that aid to countering Russian influence. "We may ask for a higher return for
our investment," said one official involved in preparing the plan, who declined
to be named.The EU-funded European Endowment for Democracy (EED), which
promotes democratic development in neighboring regions, will present proposals
on media issues to a summit in Latvia on May 21-22, where EU leaders will meet
those from Ukraine and a handful of Russia's other ex-Soviet neighbors.EED
director Jerzy Pomianowski said one option being studied was "greater
integration and cooperation" among existing Russian-language media in states
bordering Russia, to share content that can compete for audiences with
Moscow-funded programming. The EU official said experts could be brought in to
help produce programs to attract Russian-speakers who do not tune in to
existing Western-funded Russian-language media such as the BBC, RFI, Deutsche
Welle or Radio Free Europe. "We need to spread the word beyond the usual
suspects," he said.Still, EU officials involved in the project said they could
not hope to compete head-on with the expensive news and entertainment channels
that Russia beams far beyond its borders, or the teams that promote Kremlin
ideas on social media.The bloc is also constrained by a reluctance to be seen
to as manipulating news content or to engage in overt "propaganda"."Countering
Russia's hard propaganda with its same weapons would not be effective and is
not feasible," a second EU official said. (Editing by Alastair Macdonald and
Kevin Liffey)
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