Apocalyptic scenarios, the collapse of Europe, the degradation of Ukraine, the coronavirus as the EU’s Chornobyl, and that the USA manufactured the pandemic virus: these are just examples of narratives peddled by pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets that are scrutinized by a unit at the European External Action Service (EEAS), which identifies Russia’s disinformation. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the situation with false information from the Kremlin become even more dangerous. EEAS head Josep Borrell warns that “[d]isinformation is playing with people’s lives. Disinformation can kill.”

The East StratCom Task Force was created in 2015 to deal with Moscow’s disinformation campaigns. The unit has 16 full-time staff members whose task is not to engage in counter-propaganda, but “to explain and promote the European Union’s policies in the Eastern Neighbourhood” and to “identif[y] and expose[] disinformation.” The East StratCom’s budget increased from €1.1 million in 2018 to €3 million in 2019. Specialists of the unit monitor media, analyse disinformation and data, and publish their findings on the EU vs Disinfo website in English, Russian, German, Italian, Spanish, and French.

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