Article from EU vs Disinfo
The systematic and cynical instrumentalization of migrants for political purposes by the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is taking place at a time when disinformation and information manipulation campaigns are ongoing. Meanwhile, amid the escalation of Russia’s military presence along Ukraine’s borders, pro-Kremlin media outlets are turning to increasingly bellicose rhetoric directed at NATO and Ukraine.
The continued presence of state-controlled Russian media, reporting near the border between Poland and Belarus, is supporting the Lukashenko regime's cynical attempt to instrumentalize migration.
Together with their Belarusian counterparts, pro-Kremlin media facilitated and exploited opportunities to discredit the EU internationally, smear Poland, and distract attention from the terrible human rights record of the Lukashenko regime (click hereThe trend of misinformation is still continuing:
- Blaming the EU for causing the “migration crisis” and accusing it of “double standards";
- accused the EU of attempting to destabilization of Belarus and Russia;
- claimed that EU sanctions against the Lukashenko regime were “illegitimate";
- accused Poland of provocation and violence against migrants;
- It was assumed that Poland was "unwilling" to resolve the situation jointly with Belarus.
Such disinformation messages are not new; they have been circulating in state-controlled and pro-Kremlin Belarusian media since late summer 2021, after official Minsk set in motion its international migrant smuggling scheme (click here).
However, a good rule of thumb is that the longer a disinformation campaign goes on, the more extreme it tends to be. This became apparent recently when Belarusian state-controlled media, followed by pro-Kremlin media outlets, began accusing Poland of using chemical weapons (click here) and sprayed poisoned water on migrants at the border.
The endless stream of disinformation about the migration situation at the EU's eastern borders illustrates that information manipulation is a key element greasing the wheels of Lukashenko's illegitimate regime and his attempt to hold on to power.
Escalating rhetoric on NATO, Ukraine
The EUvsDisinfo database contains over 1,100 examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation claims about NATO, implying that the Alliance (and the West more broadly) is “provoking” and “encircling” Russia.
Recently, amid growing international concern (click here) over Russia’s military buildup along the Ukrainian border, pro-Kremlin media outlets have escalated such rhetoric, claiming that NATO is Russophobic and a threat to humanity; that it was staging “provocations” near Crimea, using hybrid instruments of warfare in the Black Sea; and that it was violating the principles of the NATO-Russia Founding Act.
Along came messages that the US was pushing Ukraine and Europe into confrontation with Russia and seeking a “small war” by proxy to supposedly distract from its policies in the Middle East and South Asia. At the same time, Ukraine continued to be portrayed as a helpless victim “on the verge of collapse” and a perpetual aggressor, trying to drag Russia into the war.
Such a message is similar to the Kremlin’s rhetoric earlier this year, when Russia also massed large numbers of troops and military equipment near Ukraine. It also illustrates how disinformation is used to support (or obfuscate) Russia’s military posture, not to mention hostile operations on the ground.