Over 1330 Facebook groups, pages spread disinformation in the Balkans
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Researchers identified 1330 groups spreading misleading and false content in the Balkans.
Radovan Ognjenović and Daniela Vukčević, Debunk.org analysts in Montenegro, identified 1,339 groups and pages on Facebook that spread misleading or false content in the Balkans.
Content could be roughly grouped under four different topics: Russia, NATO, LGBTQIA+, and COVID-19.
- Almost all groups showcased a pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian position, anti-LGBT, and anti-NATO attitudes. Groups and pages often shared vaccine disinformation and anti-vaccine propaganda related to COVID.
- 710 of the entities identified that spread misleading content were pages, and the remaining 629 groups had 2, 442 administrators.
- The lack of regulation on social media has created an ideal environment for producing and very swiftly spreading misleading content directly to a target audience.
Russia and its allies are using the war in Ukraine to increase its influence in the region
Russia's influence in the Balkan states has benefitted from its invasion of Ukraine, where it is reaching new audiences.
- Posts coming from Serbia and other Christian Orthodox nations invoke historical ties and play into the idea of a slavic brotherhood while amplifying pro-Kremlin messages. These posts often copy Russian content and promote disinformation about the war in Ukraine. Content also stokes tensions regarding Kosovo.
- The Russian government continues to misrepresent a 1999 NATO campaign to end a years-long genocidal conflict in the Balkans and encourages animosity between the Serbs and Ukrainians.
- These pages and groups generally support Russian stances and call anyone who fights for the Ukrainian side a 'Nazi' or 'fascist'.
- Conspiracy theories about Ukraine are often mixed with other conspiracy theories, possibly to help the false claims spread, and they find a particularly receptive audience among Croatians.