Die Präsidentin. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die Erklärungen des Rates und der Kommission zur Bekämpfung von Desinformation zu COVID-19 und zu den Auswirkungen auf das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung (2020/2635(RSP)).
Ich darf Sie kurz darauf hinweisen, dass in dieser Aussprache keine spontanen Wortmeldungen und keine blauen Karten akzeptiert werden.
Nikolina Brnjac,President-in-Office of the Council. – Madam President, the exceptional world health crisis we’re still facing has been aggravated by an unprecedented ‘infodemic’. Our citizens have been flooded by often false or inaccurate information, which not only creates confusion but is also putting health and lives at risk.
To address these risks the Council has strongly emphasised the need to intensify joint efforts in the fight against disinformation through close cooperation between EU institutions, Member States and social platforms. There is consensus in the Council about the need for more effective methods to address disinformation without hindering the protection of fundamental rights. Indeed, our strong and coordinated action against disinformation must be in line with our democratic values, including freedom of expression and free and plural media.
All institutions, Member States and civil society are called to act against the plague of the infodemic. Much has been done in the EU institutions, in cooperation with Member States. The External Action Service’s StratCom Task Force and the rapid alert system, which was set up in the run-up to the European elections last year, track disinformation. We support and welcome these efforts.
A comprehensive approach at all levels is needed to address the challenges of disinformation. This must include monitoring and analysis of disinformation and manipulative interfaces, enforcement of European data protection rules, efforts to enhance pluralistic media, professional journalism and media literacy, as well as awareness among citizens.
EU institutions and Member States should continue working with social media platforms to achieve higher standards of responsibility, transparency and accountability on addressing disinformation. The whole society approach is also stressed by the recent Joint Communication ‘Tackling COVID—19 disinformation – Getting the facts right’, which takes stock of the measures taken in response to disinformation around the coronavirus pandemic and proposes further action.
The Presidency takes COVID-19 disinformation very seriously and we have taken steps to ensure close cooperation with Member State authorities, with EU institutions, bodies and agencies, and with international organisations such as the WHO. As early as 28 January, we activated the European Union’s integrated political crisis response arrangements regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing together relevant experts from the Member States and the EU institutions in the fields of health, consular affairs and civil protection.
In this framework, disinformation has been one of the topics we addressed. We believe that disinformation campaigns could also be highly disruptive in the respect of easing restrictive measures and of searching for a vaccine and a cure. We have also addressed the issue in other parliaments, such as in our Horizontal Working Party on Enhancing Resilience and Countering Hybrid Threats, in the Political and Security Committee and in the EU–US Justice and Home Affairs ministerial videoconference.
We are conscious that disinformation is here to stay and we all need to work together to maintain our vigilance, strengthen our toolbox and resilience, and continue our efforts to address this issue internally and beyond our EU borders. COVID—related disinformation is aggravating existing divisions in the eastern and southern neighbourhood and in the Western Balkans. At the Zaghreb EU—Western Balkans summit on 6 May, the leaders of the EU and Western Balkans partners agreed to reinforce their cooperation in addressing disinformation and other hybrid activities.
As I said at the beginning, when fighting disinformation we must not forget the balance between the right of citizens to be properly informed and safeguarding the freedom of speech and the media. In the wake of the COVID—19 pandemic, unprecedented circumstances led many Member States to adopt far—reaching measures which were key to acting rapidly and effectively protecting the health of the citizens.
Many of these measures had a significant impact on fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law. It is therefore essential to make sure that they remain proportionate to the objective, limited in time and subject to regular scrutiny. The emergency measures taken to tackle the pandemic must not be used as a pretext to censor news and informal information coverage or to violate fundamental rights. It is critical that governments support the work of the independent media, which are crucial allies in the fight against COVID—19. The democratic debate, media freedom and the role of civil society deserves special attention. Upholding these values is a priority for the Council.
Josep Borrell Fontelles,Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. – Madam President, it’s really evident that the virus pandemic has been accompanied by an ‘infodemic’, a pandemic of information. We have witnessed a wave of false and misleading information, and an exponential increase in targeted influence operations by foreign actors.
We have seen again that this information can do real damage. In the case of a pandemic, which affects the health of the people, it’s even more dangerous. We have seen disinformation saying that drinking bleach can cure the coronavirus. I’m not making any specific reference to anyone, but this has been said – drink bleach and you will be safe – or that washing hands doesn’t help. It can also spark crime. Take, for example, the vandalism against 5G infrastructure in some Member States, mainly in the Netherlands.
In March 2020, European leaders called on the Commission and the High Representative, through the External Action Service, to take action. Last week, we followed up with a joint communication on disinformation related to the pandemic. Together with my colleague and friend, the Vice—President in charge of Values, I will also comment on this communication. This communication summarises what the European Union has done to tackle disinformation in the crisis and how to step up action.
Disinformation knows no borders. Democracies and the West as such have been the target of disinformation, which underlines the importance of international cooperation.
Let me turn first to the external dimension. The infodemic has clearly been exploited by foreign state and non-state actors. Disinformation from Russian actors has spread conspiracy theories and orchestrated disinformation campaigns, targeting the EU and its Member States and neighbours by alleging a lack of solidarity and an internal crisis within the European Union, and sowing confusion.
China has also participated in that. Russian sources are old news, but China has been more active. China’s sources have been promoting this image, presenting theirs as the better system, the best equipped to tackle the pandemic, and blaming democracy for its handling of the virus. One can imagine that doing self—praising propaganda is something that everybody does, but I think there are limits. It is one thing to explain that you believe yourself to be the best and another to deflect blame on the handling of the virus by others.
At the same time, there is a clear risk of governments using the infodemic as an excuse to limit fundamental rights and freedom of expression. Some Members referred to that in the previous debate. I think that the European Union needs to take a stand against this.
What has been done to address these worrying trends? We have been working to promote strategic communication and public diplomacy in our neighbourhood, especially in the Western Balkans. The External Action Service has stepped up its efforts to address foreign influence operations, publishing regular reports, analysing the trends in disinformation and sharing findings with Member States, our international partners, civil society and the media. The people working at the External Action Service are doing extraordinary and difficult work in this field.
We have made good use of the instruments we have at hand to tackle disinformation overall in the current crisis. We have mobilised the Rapid Alert System, which connects all relevant EU institutions and all EU Member States. This has been proving to be a valuable network. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a dedicated space has been set up to exchange information on disinformation related to the virus. We have further increased our cooperation with our international partners – NATO and the G7 and its Rapid Response Mechanism – and we are also happy to be working with valuable partners such as the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.
Looking ahead, we will step up our actions by enhancing concrete preparation on strategic communication and public diplomacy, increasing the sharing of best practice in fighting disinformation, and activating more quickly the Rapid Alert System, intensifying the joint work with relevant partners from civil society and the private sector, stepping up the monitoring of violations of press freedom and supporting advocacy for a safer media environment. On this, we now have a specific programme, under the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace, to support regional governments in tackling the crisis and to debunk disinformation that can further fuel tensions in conflict areas.
I could go into more detail, but I think it’s now time to leave it to the Vice—President for Values and Transparency, Ms Věra Jourová, to continue on the important work with social media platforms and other aspects of this joint communication.
Věra Jourová,Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, we have just heard from Josep Borrell about the basic parameters and the information on what we call the ‘infodemic’ that is going on in parallel with the pandemic we are going through.
This is why we decided to prepare the communication and adopt the communication, which has the title ‘Getting the Facts Right’. It was necessary because we needed to inform about what have been the steps taken up to now against disinformation because, in the COVID—19 context we didn’t start from scratch fighting against disinformation. We already had the Code of Practice and we had the Action Plan, and its second purpose was to come up with a to—do list for all involved, especially the platforms, to step up their work.
In the communication we comprehensively address three things: the sources of disinformation, its channels and amplifiers, and also the targets.
Josep talked about the foreign sources of disinformation and I am glad about this because I believe that a geopolitical EU can only materialise if we are assertive, but we also have to put our own house in order. We need to beef up our strategy on communication. We have to get our story out about Europe and EU support during the coronavirus crisis, and it is high time we step up on this and do not allow others to occupy that space.
Now to the channels of communication and disinformation – especially the online platforms. I welcome the measures taken by them in this crisis; their strong commitment is heavily needed. I believe that the fact that we worked with the platforms, and we designed with them the code of practice on disinformation, helped to roll out new policies more quickly. We agreed with the platforms that they would promote links to the World Health Organization and health authorities and remove ads that offered fake medicines or inflate prices for normal products or give very dangerous advice, which we already heard from Joseph.
These actions brought results. For example, Google blocked or removed globally over 80 million coronavirus—related ads. But there is room for improvement and our code was just a first step. We need to ensure transparency and accountability. Citizens need to know how information is reaching them and where it comes from.
Our joint communication calls on the platforms to step up their efforts and to report monthly on their policies and actions to address COVID—19—related disinformation – not to report to the Commission, to report to the public, so that people can read about what’s happening online.
The targets – well, it’s about us, it’s about the citizens of Europe. Lying is neither new nor that scary in itself. What scares me is that we believe in those lies too easily. This is why we need to become more resilient and critical as a society. We need to support free and independent media – the fact—checkers and researchers. And we have to step up our education. We will have the Digital Education Action Plan soon, adopted by the Commission, and there will be a very strong chapter on how to become more resilient and increase our critical thinking through education.
We will support fact-checking and research activities through the recently established European Digital Media Observatory. In this context, later this month, we will launch a EUR 9 million call for research hubs in the different Member States.
Also, we have to speak in this context about the freedom of speech, which remains our basic principle. Laws which define criminal penalties for spreading disinformation in too broad terms, and with disproportionate sanctions, can damage accountability mechanisms, which are just as important as ever. It can make the work of journalists more difficult, cause self—censorship and damage freedom of expression. This is not the European way. It is bad for democracies and it is self—defeating. Our best defence against disinformation are free and plural media, informed and active citizens and resilient democratic institutions in which they can trust.
I really want to insist on this because I believe this is a distinctive part of our policies. I do not want to create any Ministry of Truth. I used to live in a system, before 1989, with only one official truth, no pluralism of media, opinion, or even thought.
A competitive market of ideas enabled by free speech is essential in democracies. Just as in traditional competition policy where consumers benefit from fair competition and a level playing field, citizens benefit from fair competition of free speech.
To conclude, the communication is the first building block of this new Commission in response to disinformation. We are working on the Digital Services Act and the European Democracy Action Plan where we will address illegal content and harmful content like disinformation.
In this context, I really appreciate that we can work on this together with the committee which you established in Parliament, because I believe that common work can bring good fruit.
Vladimír Bilčík, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Madam President, the COVID-19 situation has only underscored that disinformation can kill people, just like it can kill democracy. We must therefore confront the spread of lies in our public space much more systematically. While I welcome the plans to step up EU efforts to counter disinformation, we need a tougher European action to fight off disinformation campaigns from Russia and China. We must speak with one, firm European voice against the actions by Russia and China, keen to undermine our European way of life.
But the fight against disinformation is not a narrow matter of foreign policy. We need robust action towards social media platforms that help spread disinformation. I welcome the Commission proposal that platforms report monthly on COVID-19 disinformation, but we need to think beyond the current crisis and take clear and, yes, legislative action that ensures that all social media platforms behave responsibly and report transparently on their fight against disinformation.
For the sake of the safety of our citizens, of all of us in Europe, we must protect facts from lies, science from hoaxes and journalists from facts and crooks, and we can only do this effectively together in the European Union.
Kati Piri, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Madam President, the spread of disinformation and fake news is a direct threat to our societies. It undermines our democracies, it harms our values and it affects our interests. But during a pandemic, as the Minister said, disinformation puts lives at risk. But not even deadly consequences have stopped foreign actors from spreading fake news. The amount of influence, operations and misleading campaigns, mainly from China and Russia, has been massive. Interference and hybrid warfare should never be a strategy, but especially not during a global health crisis.
The Commission’s communication is another important step towards a solid, comprehensive and effective strategy against foreign interference. We need tougher regulations. The EU has been targeted with unprecedented actions. They require a firm and unprecedented response. The S&D Group is at the forefront of this fight. At our initiative, today we will vote on the establishment of a special committee against foreign interference and disinformation. Urgent action is the only way to protect our democracies, and the European Parliament is ready to play that role.
Maite Pagazaurtundúa, en nombre del Grupo Renew. – Señora presidenta, los días en que hubo más desinformación maliciosa coinciden con el momento en que las instituciones europeas o el Parlamento todavía no habían reaccionado de forma eficaz y contundente, o no con la máxima eficacia y contundencia, a la pandemia. Esa vulnerabilidad fue la que aprovecharon. ¿Por qué? Porque hay una estrategia de debilitar el Estado de Derecho democrático, nuestros sistemas democráticos, y los elementos de vulnerabilidad son aquellos por los que se introducen estas estrategias.
Se busca tener personas adictas a las mentiras, fanatizadas contra el que piensa distinto, actuando como nuevos soldados en el nuevo campo de batalla «en Internet». Y esos grupos fanatizados polarizan el espacio público, debilitan el pluralismo ideológico y, por tanto, debilitan nuestras democracias. Ese es el punto.
Por tanto, gritan más y atemorizan y nosotros tenemos que defender la libertad de expresión y un espacio de juego limpio y luchar contra la pandemia de fanatismo que puede llegar a socavar las democracias. Los soldados que hacen la desinformación no lo saben, pero los geoestrategas que quieren terminar con nuestros sistemas democráticos, sí. Y nos vamos a defender y, por supuesto, esto lo vamos a ganar.
Filip De Man, namens de ID-Fractie. – Voorzitter, wij bevinden ons op een gevaarlijk pad. Meer en meer overheden bedreigen een fundament van onze westerse democratie, de vrije meningsuiting. Ook de Europese commissarissen ageren natuurlijk: er kwam een “Action Plan against Disinformation”, een “Strategic Communication Task Force”, een “Rapid Alert System” en zelfs de privésector werd aangemaand om op te treden tegen de desinformatie.
Factcheckers moeten onze informatie bijspijkeren en ook hier geldt natuurlijk het spreekwoord: “wiens brood men eet, diens woord men spreekt” en wie dat niet gelooft, mag altijd de benoemingen van de factcheckers aan mij uitbesteden.
Nu dit alles, omdat de bevolking natuurlijk minder en minder aan het handje loopt van de traditionele partijen en de klassieke media, en het regime dus zijn greep op de geesten verliest. Ik zeg dus luidop: houdt op met die verdoken censuur! Leve de diversiteit van meningen!
Sergey Lagodinsky, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, it should be clear to us there will never be a silver bullet to solve all problems of disinformation. But hey, we are in politics, and we all know there is rarely a one-size-fits-all approach. But we should be clear about our starting point, and the starting point is to defend our democracy, not to damage it.
That’s why our strategy should be threefold and should be holistic. First, fight geopolitical propaganda attacks from outside. Second, educate and inform press and internet consumers. And third, protect personal opinion and free speech.
The past weeks have demonstrated the pitfalls, but also the chances that we saw. There was a strong sense of direction from the European institutions, and I’m grateful to Mr Burrell for framing it right. It’s not about just fake news, it’s about a debate and a battle of narratives.
On the other hand, we saw how we can end up in an anti-democratic trap. This is why criminalisation of alleged misinformation about COVID, like in Hungary, attempted prevention of true press information in Poland, prosecution of pharmaceutical representatives in Bulgaria – just because they wanted to warn about a lack of drugs. This is all unacceptable.
We should not lose sight of our strategic principle. By confronting disinformation, we must defend democracy, not destroy it.
And one more point, because many people represent it here. Anonymity is an important good in the internet. Anonymity protects women, minorities, opposition voices in the internet, and that’s why we should never abolish this there.
One more point on education and then I’m done. We should invest more in education, in justice and value systems and not cut this by 20% as is planned now in the MFF, and we should invest more as part of the recovery in civil society and education and not disregard it as is planned now. This is the way to go. This is the way to protect democracy.
Jorge Buxadé Villalba, en nombre del Grupo ECR. – Señora presidenta, señorías, la Unión Europea está experimentando una crisis de credibilidad sin precedentes. Desde la victoria del Brexit en 2016 algunos Estados miembros y las instituciones de la Unión han imputado su propia falta de credibilidad a campañas de desinformación por agentes externos o internos, pero olvidan que la desinformación no viene solo de ahí ni que, además, es algo nuevo.
La mentira siempre ha existido y, normalmente, ha venido del poder. Les quiero recordar que en las primeras páginas de la Biblia ya se cuenta cómo la serpiente engaña a Adán y Eva para expulsar al hombre del paraíso, desafiando a Dios. Pero, ¿hablamos de desinformación o hablamos de censura y de acabar con la libertad de expresión?
A mí me preocupa mucho que la Comisión convierta a esas empresas de verificación de datos en los sujetos que dicen lo que es verdad y lo que es mentira. Y me preocupa que, encima, reciban ayudas públicas, porque no son sino empresas privadas al servicio de sus propios intereses políticos o económicos.
La crisis del coronavirus nos ha enseñado que nadie es infalible. Y aquí todo el mundo ha desinformado, empezando por China, la Organización Mundial de la Salud, los propios gobiernos y los medios de comunicación. Creer que en este Parlamento se va a fabricar la verdad es un acto de soberbia inaceptable, como el de Adán y Eva.
Eugen Tomac (PPE). – Doamnă președintă, domnule Înalt Reprezentant, doamnă vicepreședintă, este evident că în această perioadă, pe lângă criza generată de coronavirus, am avut parte de acest șoc numit pandemie informațională, șoc care trebuie spus exact așa cum s-a întâmplat pentru că adevărul nu trebuie ocolit în această situație.
Sediul acestor informații false este în Federația Rusă. Noi, cei din România, din țările baltice, din Polonia, știm că Rusia este specializată în a deforma realități, iar acest atac, domnule vicepreședinte Borrell, este un atac extrem de dur la adresa coeziunii europene.
Este bine ceea ce ați spus. Am constatat că există angajamente; este nevoie de acțiune. Federația Rusă trebuie să primească un răspuns pe măsura acestor dezinformări. Sunt mii de știri pe care Comisia le-a prezentat ca făcând parte din acest plan de dezinformare și noi trebuie să acționăm, inclusiv aici, în Parlament, printr-o rezoluție.
Marina Kaljurand (S&D). – Madam President, I would also like to thank the Council and the Commission for their statements, and I will continue in Estonian.
Desinformatsioon ei ole uus nähtus ja ometigi oleme me iga kord üllatunud, kui järjekordne desinformatsioonilaine meid tabab, puudutagu see sekkumist demokraatlikesse valimistesse või rünnakuid üksikute liikmesriikide vastu. Möönan, et koroonakriisi ajal, mis on ülemaailmne kriis, jõudis valeinfo levitamine uuele tasemele, alustades informatsioonist koroonaviiruse päritolu ja leviku kohta ning lõpetades valeravimite ja šarlatanlike ravivõtetega. Ning see laine ei ole veel lõppenud ega lõpegi, kui meie ei lõpeta imestamist ja ei hakka tegutsema. Väidan, et on olemas ideed ja kogemus, aga puudu jääb otsustavusest ja kiirusest. Tänaselgi arutelul kõlasid väga õiged mõtted – desinformatsiooniallikate paljastamine ja faktidel põhineva informatsiooni jagamine, koostöö liikmesriikide, institutsioonide ja meediaplatvormidega, ajakirjanduse vastutus ja inimeste harimine. Ma tunnustan komisjoni ja välisteenistuse algatust, mis on seotud koroonaviirusega seotud desinformatsiooni vastase võitlusega. „Tackling coronavirus desinformation, getting the facts right“ – mul on hea meel, et see kasvas välja idasuunalise strateegilise kommunikatsiooni rakkerühmast, mille algatasid viis aastat tagasi Eesti, Leedu, Taani ja Suurbritannia. Ma kordan üle, et meil on teadmised ja kogemused, kuidas valeinformatsiooniga võidelda. Aeg on otsustada ja tegutseda, see omakorda tähendab vahendeid – inimesi ja rahalisi vahendeid; ning oluline on ju informatsiooni kättesaadavus kõigis Euroopa Liidu ametlikes keeltes, mitte ainult mõnes väljavalitud keeles, nagu see kahjuks praegu on.
Bart Groothuis (Renew). – Madam President, I very much welcome the extra steps that the Commission has taken, but I also think they’re somewhat cautious, preliminary, and I see them as first steps in a larger way that we can walk. I think there’s much more to be done, and I think the Renew fraction is coming with new proposals in the next coming months. I think the proof of the pudding in countering disinformation is in the eating.
Now this week, a European NGO – EU DisinfoLab – actually meticulously disclosed a Russian state-sponsored disinformation operation inside Europe directed against Europe. So now, what do we do?
Just imagine, dear Commissioners, if we would put the centre of gravity of this information operation on the EU sanction list, it would deprive them of hosting providers providing them with websites, it would deprive them of financial services, it would freeze assets of the people behind the information operations, and it would also restrict travel.
So this is imposing costs on our adversaries. So if I look to the future of countering disinformation operations, I see it in this way. So please join us in the future, not just looking at the symptoms, but also at the root cause of it all.
Jean-Lin Lacapelle (ID). – Madame la Présidente, l’Union européenne n’a décidément pas de honte pour oser parler de la désinformation qui aurait existé de la part d’intérêts privés ou étrangers durant la pandémie. Elle a parmi les membres de son Conseil un expert en désinformation et contrevérités, en la personne d’Emmanuel Macron.
C’est lui qui méprisait notre groupe lorsque nous réclamions, sur la base du principe de précaution, la fermeture des frontières dès le 24 janvier. Son gouvernement nous répondait: «le virus n’a pas de passeport». C’est lui qui, afin de cacher la pénurie de masques en France, expliquait que le port des masques était inutile. Quel drame, quand on sait que nos aînés ont été abandonnés par manque de matériel de protection et que la première commande de masse enregistrée par le gouvernement français date seulement du 5 mars. Enfin, c’est par la voix de son ministre de la santé qu'il déclare que tester massivement n’est pas utile non plus, cachant la pénurie de tests.
Cela fait beaucoup de mensonges d’État de la part de ceux qui devraient être exemplaires. Des mensonges qui ont eu des conséquences dramatiques et pour lesquels il faudra rendre des comptes.
Donc, Mesdames et Messieurs les représentants du Conseil et de la Commission, épargnez-nous vos leçons de morale sur la désinformation quand vous-même, vous êtes un triste exemple.
Jadwiga Wiśniewska (ECR). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Szanowni Państwo! Dezinformacja oczywiście nie jest zjawiskiem nowym i nie rozpoczęła się przedwczoraj, przed pandemią. Ona istniała od dawna. Ale teraz, ze względu na zaawansowane technologie i dostępne metody, stała się rzeczywiście bardzo niebezpieczna. Dziś w Parlamencie dyskutujemy o dezinformacji, a to wczoraj Parlament Europejski odrzucił wniosek o uchylenie immunitetu Guy Verhofstadta. Czy to właśnie w ten sposób Parlament Europejski walczy z dezinformacją? Z wczorajszego wystąpienia naprawdę wynika, że można publicznie, nawet w Parlamencie Europejskim, siać kłamstwo i nienawiść. Wymieniony członek Parlamentu obraził tysiące Polaków w nasze święto narodowe, mówiąc że w Polsce tysiące faszystów i zwolenników supremacji białej rasy przemaszerowało trzysta kilometrów od obozu Auschwitz- Birkenau. Proszę Państwa, to jest dowód na to, że Parlament Europejski sam staje się źródłem dezinformacji i fake newsów. Z uwagi na to, że Polska ma bolesną historię, proszę wybaczyć moje emocje, jestem głęboko poruszona....
(Przewodnicząca odebrała mówczyni głos)
Isabella Adinolfi (NI). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, le mascherine sono importanti solo per i malati e il personale sanitario, le mascherine servono a proteggere se stessi e gli altri, non esistono prove certe della trasmissione da persona a persona, rischio moderato, rischio elevato, malattia grave, sconsigliato limitare i viaggi e spostamenti, la trasmissione dai casi asintomatici è rara, sorvegliare gli asintomatici, e potrei continuare.
Quali di queste affermazioni possono essere etichettate come disinformazione? La fonte è sempre la stessa, è l'OMS. Durante questa pandemia gli organismi pubblicamente considerati come attendibili hanno detto tutto e il contrario di tutto. Oggi pensiamo alle fake news soltanto diffuse via web, ma possiamo riflettere anche sulla comunicazione cosiddetta ufficiale. È mancata una gestione centrale della crisi e si è cercato di demonizzare il mio paese che, con scelte coraggiose, ha lottato per primo in Europa contro il virus. Gravissimo!
Ho una proposta, signori Commissari: aiutiamo i cittadini ad avere strumenti per l'analisi critica delle fonti e salvaguardiamo l'accesso alle informazioni e alla libertà di espressione. Rendiamo progetti come Media Literacy for all dei programmi stabili, in modo da promuovere sempre l'alfabetizzazione mediatica e la cultura dell'informazione ..... (la Presidente toglie la parola all'oratrice)
Brando Benifei (S&D). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, abbiamo visto in questi mesi un'azione continua di disinformazione riguardo alla questione dell'epidemia Covid, abbiamo visto circolare fake news di ogni tipo e abbiamo visto uno sforzo per mettere gli europei gli uni contro gli altri, mettere in ridicolo l'impegno dell'Europa.
Noi abbiamo finalmente un'occasione ora, con questo impegno del Parlamento europeo di lanciare una commissione speciale di lotta alla disinformazione e alle fake news. Verrà approvata in questi giorni per combattere chi vuole dividere gli europei, per interessi che sappiamo vengono da lontano. Abbiamo visto in questi mesi, in questi anni, inchieste giornalistiche e inchieste giudiziarie che hanno indagato la circolazione di denaro e il sostegno a un falso diritto, il falso diritto all'amplificazione a pagamento della propria propaganda. Noi abbiamo bisogno di difendere la libertà di espressione, ma difendere anche la libertà di conoscere le fonti e di difendere la nostra democrazia, un bene fragile che deve essere difeso da tutte le istituzioni.
Magdalena Adamowicz (PPE). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Dziękuję za głos. Dziękuję także pani wiceprzewodniczącej Jurovej za informacje o działaniach Komisji Europejskiej w tym zakresie.
Pandemia dezinformacji jest obecnie jednym z największych zagrożeń dla demokracji i istnienia Unii Europejskiej. Pandemia koronawirusa przypomniała, że rzetelna informacja może ocalić życie, a fake newsy i hejt mogą zabić.
Dziś za pomocą dezinformacji zdobywa się i utrzymuje władzę w wielu miejscach na świecie, także w Unii Europejskiej. Jesteśmy bezradnymi świadkami unieważnienia demokracji.
Moc internetu pokazuje siłę rażenia dezinformacji, która rozprzestrzenia się szybciej niż wirus. Musimy wspierać prawdziwą wolność słowa, ale pamiętać, że wolność słowa używana do dezinformacji jest antytezą wolności. Wybory oparte na fałszu nigdy nie będą demokratyczne.
Wolność nie może służyć do zniewolenia. Musimy być odporni na dezinformację. Musimy edukować, jak krytycznie analizować przekaz od najmłodszych lat. Remedium na dezinformację musi być zwiększenie niezależności i pluralizmu mediów, wsparcie dziennikarzy oraz ogólnego dostępu do rzetelnej informacji.
Pascal Durand (Renew). – Madame la Présidente, Monsieur le Haut Représentant, Madame la Vice-présidente, nous le savons tous, mieux vaut un mensonge simple qui rassure qu’une vérité compliquée qui dérange. Et c’est dans ce monde-là que nous vivons maintenant, avec effectivement des réseaux sociaux qui amplifient, qui permettent d’aller beaucoup plus vite sur cette désinformation, sur ces mensonges.
Il nous faut lutter effectivement contre ces pratiques, vous l’avez dit tous les deux et vous l’avez très bien dit. Vous l'avez dit, Madame Jourová, et nous le savons, vous venez d’un monde qui a été totalitaire, vous venez d’un monde où la censure a régenté la vie des gens. Nous ne devons pas tomber dans ce monde-là et c’est le premier écueil.
Mais j’attire votre attention et j’attire l’attention de la Commission sur un deuxième écueil: nous devons également faire attention. Ne soyons pas naïfs, nous savons que des puissances étrangères nous attaquent, nous savons aussi qu’elles ont des relais à l’intérieur de notre démocratie et que des démocraties illibérales sont en train de s’y développer et que des extrêmes portent également ces mensonges.
Donc, faisons attention à faire en sorte de ne pas tomber, d’un côté, dans la censure et de mettre les habits de nos adversaires, mais en même temps, ne faisons pas une confiance aveugle au marché. Nous avons vu, et je terminerai là-dessus, que pour les mêmes faits de désinformation, et vous l’avez visé, Google va interdire, Twitter va laisser mais expliquer et Facebook va totalement laisser la liberté au nom d’une liberté d’expression.
Donc, nous ne pouvons pas faire confiance non plus aux règles simples du marché. Nous régulerons et nous serons à vos côtés. Merci Monsieur le Haut Représentant, merci Madame la Vice-présidente.
Georg Mayer (ID). – Frau Präsidentin! „Ein Mensch sieht ein – und das ist wichtig: Nichts ist ganz falsch und nichts ganz richtig.“ Ein Zitat von Eugen Roth – das möchte ich Ihnen hier mal mitgeben.
Aber ein Zweites, was ich mitgeben möchte, ist ein ganz massiver Fall von Desinformation. Da darf ich bitten – wenn die Kommission und der Rat so engagiert sind –, dem auch nachzugehen. Bemerkenswert ist dieser Fall, weil es hier um eine Regierung eines Mitgliedstaats geht. Ganz konkret geht es um die österreichische Bundesregierung, wo zum Beispiel der Bundeskanzler zu Beginn dieser COVID-Krise in einer Ansprache gesagt hat: „Bald wird jeder von uns jemanden kennen, der an Corona gestorben ist.“ Das ist eine besondere Ansage eines Bundeskanzlers, der damit natürlich Angst verbreitet in der eigenen Bevölkerung.
Der zweite Fall ist der des Gesundheitsministers Anschober – der sich als Gesundheitsminister dadurch qualifiziert, dass er Lehrer ist –, der den Menschen durch einen Erlass – das ist inzwischen der berühmte Oster-Erlass – mitgeteilt hat, sie dürften sich zur Osterzeit nicht in privaten Räumlichkeiten mit ihren Familien treffen.
Auch das ist nicht die Wahrheit. Das stand in diesem Erlass nicht drin, das hat dieser Erlass nicht hergegeben. Ich darf Sie also bitten, diesen beiden massiven Desinformationen in einem Mitgliedstaat nachzugehen und das zu verfolgen.
Beata Kempa (ECR). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Szanowni Państwo! Dezinformacja to jedna z najsilniejszych broni w nowoczesnym arsenale wojny asymetrycznej. To świetny sposób budowania napięcia wewnętrznego, chaosu, strachu w kraju przeciwnika. Fałszywe informacje żywią się niewiedzą, półprawdą, brakiem transparentności, odpowiedniego informowania. Istotny w tym wszystkim jest upadek prasy, prasy pisanej, ale też potęga mediów społecznościowych. Dlatego najlepszym sposobem walki z dezinformacją jest otwartość, sprawdzalność informacji i dobra współpraca – nasza dobra współpraca. Tyle na przykład prawd, półprawd, kłamstw, nieprawdziwych informacji, jakie padły na Polskę, na Węgry – które nigdy nie były sprawdzane, tylko powielane i powtarzane – to jest właśnie dezinformacja. A potem jej skutki są opłakane dla Unii Europejskiej, dla jej wizerunku. Konsultacje, jasne, sprawne informowanie wraz z mechanizmem sprawdzalności – to najważniejsze narzędzia walki z dezinformacją. I nie powinno to przede wszystkim ograniczać internetu.
Javier Zarzalejos (PPE). – Señora presidenta, una de las consecuencias de la revolución digital es que el papel mediador de los medios de comunicación como filtros independientes de la calidad de información se ha reducido extraordinariamente. La desinformación aparece en este vacío y es el vacío que tenemos que llenar, lo cual nos plantea la necesidad de reconsiderar la responsabilidad de las plataformas, la utilización de aquellas herramientas tecnológicas que, con todas las cautelas necesarias, pueden ayudar a la lucha contra las fake news; y, por supuesto, el fact checking en términos de transparencia y el papel que todos los usuarios debemos desempeñar.
Pero es importante también que miremos en nuestra casa porque es preciso un compromiso firme de los gobiernos con una información veraz, transparente y creíble. El alto representante ha mencionado algunas afirmaciones extravagantes y peligrosas sobre el poder desinfectante de la lejía. Inventarse informes de universidades americanas y maquillar las cifras de muertos, con desprecio de la realidad, es también un ejercicio de desinformación.
Alessandra Basso (ID). – Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, la direzione intrapresa non convince. Si sostiene di non voler comprimere la libertà di espressione ma, allo stesso tempo, si vuole dare risalto ai professionisti dell'informazione e bloccare gli account social di chi diffonde fake news.
Sottolineo che i professionisti dell'informazione, spesso, sono poco più che organi di propaganda. Ricordiamo che in Italia hanno sostenuto la posizione del governo e di chi voleva sconfiggere il Covid a colpi di aperitivo, dando invece del razzista a chi chiedeva misure più rigide. Con la scusa della difesa della salute e della lotta alle fake news si vuole mettere il bavaglio a chi dice cose scomode. Chi vuole difendere la libertà di espressione le fake news le combatte con la verità e non con la censura.
Željana Zovko (PPE). – Madam President, for over four months we have been fighting an unprecedented pandemic that has changed our lives dramatically and forced us to adapt to a new normal. The virus has left a massive and devastating impact, but we have managed to stay united in solidarity.
However, the COVID pandemic is not the only battle we are fighting. We are witnessing an enormous wave of disinformation about the coronavirus, aims at portraying us as ineffective and divided in our response. The disinformation campaigns are particularly strong in the Western Balkans, where they aim at destabilising the region and turning public opinion against the European Union. Although the European Union provided an unparalleled support of EUR 3.3 billion to the Western Balkans during the crisis, the polls still show that a majority of citizens think that other regional powers provided more.
The best way to fight disinformation is with transparency, accountability and increased visibility. Therefore, I welcome the efforts of the East StratCom Task Force and the EU Rapid Alert System that fact check and share genuine information. But we, as representatives of European citizens, should also go the extra mile.
(The President cut off the speaker)
Věra Jourová,Vice-President of the Commission. – Madam President, honourable Members, thank you very much for this very interesting and important debate. I am sure this is not the last time we debate about the power of the internet, and for a very good reason, because we see the power of it every day. We see that the internet can serve as a fantastic tool to organise humanitarian aid, but also the internet can be the place where some humanitarian disaster and real fight and violence can be incited.
So I think that this is a very serious topic to discuss. We have only started, as I said before, because ahead of us is the work on the European Democracy Action Plan, where we will speak about a very serious issue: how to protect the elections against disinformation, how to stop something I call privatisation of public debate, because we see the phenomenon of the algorithms, which are used to sell products, but which are also used to sell politicians. We face the new factor of lying in the political debate, which has the potential to win elections. We will have to discuss all these very substantial but at the same time sensitive issues.
So I look very much forward to the discussion. I look very much forward to cooperation with the committee which you have established, and I’m sure that by the end of this year we will not only see how we are fulfilling the tasks from the communication we speak about today, because there is a to-do list, but also that we are able to come to a good common solution on the issues I mentioned before.
Josep Borrell Fontelles,vicepresidente de la Comisión / alto representante de la Unión para Asuntos Exteriores y Política de Seguridad. —Muchas gracias, por este debate, que, ciertamente, no ha agotado el tema.
Ha habido aportaciones muy importantes, interesantes. Alguna muy original, como la de remitir los orígenes de la desinformación a Adán y Eva. No se me había ocurrido pensar que Adán, en el fondo, fue víctima de la desinformación propagada por Eva, que no le advirtió de las consecuencias que tenía comerse la manzana. Bueno, sí, es posible que Eva fuera víctima de la desinformación.
Pero hoy, en nuestro mundo, hemos de reconocer algo que creo está en la base de nuestro debate. La democracia es un sistema que funciona en base a la información que tienen los ciudadanos. Los ciudadanos eligen. Y para elegir necesitan estar informados de las opciones que se les presentan y valorar la acción de los Gobiernos, y eso exige libertad de información, pluralidad de información y veracidad en la información.
Si los ciudadanos reciben información errónea, no pueden hacer buenas elecciones, porque es como un avión que tiene el sistema de navegación mal. Se acabará estrellando. Y, por eso, es tan importante que luchemos para conseguir que la información, entendida como un bien público, esté al alcance de los ciudadanos y estos tengan sistemas de comprobación que les permitan saber si alguien les está contando una milonga —en castizo, castellano castizo—, si alguien les está mintiendo.
Porque yo no creo —diga lo que diga el poeta austriaco en cuestión— que en todo hay una parte de verdad y una parte de mentira. Pues, no. Mire, hay cosas que claramente son ciertas y otras cosas que son claramente falsas. Que 2 y 2 son 4 en el sistema de base 10, eso no tiene nada de falso, es cierto cien por cien. Y hay cosas que son absolutamente falsas, lo diga quien lo diga.
Que haya elementos de opinión en algunas informaciones en los que uno puede estar a favor o en contra por razones de gusto, de opinión, de inclinación ideológica... cierto, claro. Si no, no habría debate político. Pero una cosa es la valoración propia de los hechos y otra cosa son los hechos. Y como ha dicho mi colega, no pretendemos crear el Ministerio de la Verdad. Ella ya tuvo uno en su país; yo también tuve uno, en España, cuando había un Ministerio de la Información.
No, no pretendemos crear el ministerio que controle lo que podemos conocer o no. Pretendemos ayudar a los ciudadanos a que sean capaces de distinguir la verdad de la mentira. Y eso es la base del sistema democrático. Si no somos capaces de hacer eso, nuestra democracia será profundamente imperfecta y acabará no siéndolo.
Y por eso, este trabajo, esta tarea, es algo que necesita el apoyo de las fuerzas democráticas de todo el arco parlamentario para conseguir que la democracia sobreviva.
Nikolina Brnjac,President-in-Office of the Council. – Madam President, honourable Members. This topic is a priority for our Presidency. It is our obligation to protect our citizens from disinformation, in full respect of fundamental rights such as the freedom of speech, the media and association.
Our common values and democratic institutions are keystones to the resilience of our societies to the challenges of the Covid—19 pandemic. We will continue working horizontally across sectors and across borders, learning from each other through the exchange of information and best practices.
We very much look forward to working with you, with the Commission and with the EEAS to fight this pandemic and protect our citizens from harmful disinformation.
Upcoming initiatives like the European Democracy Action Plan and the Digital Services Act will enable us to step up our collective efforts.
Die Präsidentin. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.
Schriftliche Erklärungen (Artikel 171)
Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou (PPE), in writing. – Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová finally ‘named and shamed’ China, along with Russia, this week in the communication on ‘Tackling COVID-19 disinformation’ for engaging in ‘targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns around COVID-19 in the EU, its neighbourhood and globally, seeking to undermine democratic debate and exacerbate social polarisation, and improve their own image in the COVID-19 context’. It is our duty to protect Europe and its citizens. It is our duty to tell the truth and to reveal the sources that intentionally cloud it or twist it to serve their own interests. It is our duty to ensure that the truth shines through on all occasions. I do hope the Commission continues in this direction and exhibits the same determination in other contexts such as Turkey’s shameless disinformation campaign about the situation at the Greek-Turkish border, where refugees and migrants are being used as pawns in Turkey’s geopolitical chess game at Europe’s external borders, as European leaders had the chance to see with their own eyes. After all, an affront to the truth is an affront to European values. It is an affront to democracy itself and it cannot be tolerated.
Sara Cerdas (S&D), por escrito. – Os últimos tempos foram marcados por um tema que não deixa ninguém indiferente: o COVID-19. O COVID-19 abalou o status quo. Além de profundas alterações, assistiu-se a um fenómeno que dificultou a atuação das autoridades de saúde. Uma infodemia, denunciada pelas OMS, definida por um excesso de informações, que tornaram difícil encontrar fontes idôneas e orientações fidedignas. O excesso de informação, muita dela não baseada em evidência científica, dificulta que fontes confiáveis sejam encontradas de forma rápida pela generalidade da população, pelos decisores políticos e por profissionais de saúde quando precisam. Este excesso de informação não científica e muitas vezes contraditória pode fazer com que as pessoas se sintam ansiosas, deprimidas, sobrecarregadas, emocionalmente exaustas e incapazes de intender e assimilar informações importantes. A desinformação, bem com a assimilação de informação não validada pode levar a tomas de decisões errada ou enviesadas pela falta de evidência científica. Urge o desenvolvimento de um mecanismo que controle a qualidade e veracidade do que é publicado, de modo a garantir a maior evidência científica nos processos de tomada de decisão, mas também que a informação credível e validada pelo processo científico chegue a todos cidadãos.
Caterina Chinnici (S&D), per iscritto. – Durante la pandemia di COVID-19 si è registrata una massiccia ondata di informazioni false o fuorvianti, diffuse soprattutto sul web, inclusi alcuni tentativi da parte di soggetti stranieri di influenzare i cittadini e i dibattiti pubblici nell'UE. Le campagne di disinformazione possono rappresentare un serio pericolo per i diritti fondamentali dei cittadini, dal diritto alla salute al diritto ad essere correttamente informati, e per la stessa democrazia e lo Stato di diritto: è quindi necessaria un'azione concreta da parte dell'Unione che la renda più forte e resiliente nell'affrontare la sfida della disinformazione. Numerose sono le complessità che questa sfida comporta: distinguere tra contenuti illegali e contenuti dannosi ma non illegali e calibrare le rispettive risposte; garantire un corretto bilanciamento tra la libertà di manifestazione del pensiero e il diritto ad una corretta informazione. Per affrontarle occorre investire nella comunicazione, per rendere i cittadini consapevoli e dotarli di pensiero critico e competenze digitali; sostenere l'indipendenza e la libertà dei media, necessarie a fornire ai cittadini informazioni verificabili e attendibili e, nel contesto della pandemia, a preservare la loro salute; assicurare trasparenza e responsabilità delle piattaforme digitali, il cui contributo è essenziale nella lotta contro le campagne di disinformazione.
Laura Ferrara (NI), per iscritto. – Una ''infodemia'' che non ha precedenti, caratterizzata da un bombardamento di informazioni, spesso false, imprecise e fuorvianti, ha accompagnato l'evolversi della pandemia da COVID-19. L'eccessivo flusso informativo ha spesso creato un effetto di confusione, paura, e generato a volte comportamenti di massa inconsulti, come abbiamo visto con gli assalti a supermercati e a mezzi di trasporto. In questo contesto non sono mancati fenomeni di istigazione all’odio, frodi ai danni dei consumatori e criminalità informatica. La minaccia della disinformazione è emersa soprattutto attraverso il web, sui social network e sulle piattaforme di messaggistica personale, utilizzate in modo massiccio negli ultimi mesi per la condivisione veloce di notizie per la maggior parte non verificate. Esiste anche un chiaro rischio che l'"infodemia" e le misure adottate in periodi emergenziali possano essere funzionali a limitare i diritti fondamentali e la libertà di espressione. Pertanto bisogna affrontare le sfide della disinformazione su diversi livelli, dal monitoraggio e analisi dei flussi informativi alla stretta cooperazione tra le istituzioni e le piattaforme sociali, dalla protezione dei diritti fondamentali ad una maggiore consapevolezza dei cittadini, da un sistema di media liberi e plurali al rafforzamento di istituzioni democratiche in cui tutti possano riporre piena fiducia.
Elżbieta Kruk (ECR), na piśmie. – Reakcja Unii Europejskiej na kryzys związany z koronawirusem pozostawia wiele do życzenia. Również w przestrzeni informacyjnej wokół pandemii pojawiły się dezinformacje oraz utrudniania dostępu do wiarygodnych informacji. Pokazuje to, jakie znaczenie dla walki z dezinformacją ma budowa odporności społeczeństwa na fałszywe narracje.
W tym kontekście warto nawiązać do polityki historycznej i dezinformacji w tym zakresie. Otóż w maju tego roku rosyjska Partia Rodina przedstawiła w Dumie Państwowej Federacji Rosyjskiej projekt ustawy unieważniającej rezolucję potępiającą Pakt Ribbentrop-Mołotow – „W sprawie politycznej i prawnej oceny sowiecko-niemieckiego traktatu o nieagresji z 1939 roku” – przyjętą 24 grudnia 1989 r. To nie pierwszy przejaw dążności Rosji do zrzucenia z siebie współodpowiedzialności za II wojnę światową. Jednym z elementów tej narracji jest obarczenie winą za wybuch II wojny światowej walczącej z Niemcami na wszystkich frontach Polski, która poniosła procentowo największe straty ludnościowe (na każdy tysiąc mieszkańców straciła 220 osób).
PE powinien pozostać zaangażowany w przeciwstawianie się rosyjskim próbom fałszowania europejskiej historii. Dlatego należy poprzeć inicjatywę litewskiej Europoseł Pani Minister Rasy Juknevičienė mającą na celu utworzenie grupy roboczej ds. europejskiej pamięci historycznej. Celem prac grupy powinno być bronienie prawdy historycznej, kultywowanie pamięci historycznej nt. zbrodni reżimów totalitarnych w Europie, zarówno hitlerowskiego jak i komunistycznego.
Eva Maydell (PPE), in writing. – The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by a global infodemic consisting of misleading health care information, conspiracy theories, consumer fraud, and targeted disinformation campaigns by countries like Russia and China. While disinformation campaigns are not a new phenomenon, this crisis has shown us that they are not only detrimental to democracy, but can be detrimental to people’s health. I commend the Commission for outlining concrete action steps on this matter – we need bolder and tougher action against disinformation.
I would like to focus on the central role that online platforms and digitalisation play in response to disinformation. Online platforms have to do their part: promoting authoritative content from professionals, including tools and initiatives to inform their users of false content and continuing their cooperation with EU institutions and Member States. Digital skills – one of my main priorities – are key to empowering citizens and raising their awareness, information literacy, and critical thinking. When it comes to online platforms, we need to think beyond the current crisis and take legislative action that ensures their responsible behaviour in the future.
It is imperative that we continue to tackle disinformation and propaganda while simultaneously maintaining the utmost respect for freedom of expression and democratic norms.
Dace Melbārde (ECR), rakstiski. – Cīņai ar dezinformāciju ES un dalībvalstu līmenī īstenojama kompleksa pieeja, uz ko norādījusi arī Komisija. Dezinformācijas apkarošanai jābūt arī Eiropas ārpolitikas prioritāram mērķim. Lai pilnveidotu sabiedrības drošumspēju, jāveicina medijpratība un kritiskā domāšana. Medijpratībai jābūt daļai no skolu izglītības standarta. Vienlaicīgi sadarbībā ar medijiem un sabiedriskajām organizācijām būtiski strādāt ar visām sabiedrības grupām, īpašu uzmanību pievēršot senioriem. Uzskatu, ka medijpratībai piešķirama prioritāte topošajā Digitālās izglītības rīcības plānā. Mums jāstiprina redakcionāli neatkarīgi mediji un kvalitatīva žurnālistika. Pandēmija ir veicinājusi izpratni par medijiem kā daļu no kritiskās demokrātijas infrastruktūras, taču vienlaicīgi saasinājusi nozarē gadiem novērojamās tirgus nepilnības, ko īpaši asi izjūt mediji, kas darbojas mazos tirgos, tostarp vietējie un reģionālie. ES jāpalielina mediju nozarei pieejamais finansējums un jāatrisina sistēmiskie tiešsaistes platformu regulēšanas jautājumi. Digitālo pakalpojumu aktā lielajām interneta platformām – “vārtu turētājām”, kas spēlē arvien nozīmīgāku lomu informācijas ieguvē un apritē – jāuzliek par pienākumu informācijas plūsmā piešķirt prioritāti kvalitatīvam mediju un žurnālistikas saturam. Aicinu dubultot programmas “Radošā Eiropa” budžetu un tajā būtiski palielināt ziņu medijiem paredzēto finansējumu. ES arī pēc iespējas ātrāk ir jāievieš digitālais nodoklis un ieņēmumi jānovirza mediju nozares atbalstam. Vienlaicīgi ceru, ka dalībvalstis efektīvi izmantos Atveseļošanas plānā paredzētos instrumentus, ziņu medijos kā vienā no visvairāk cietušajām ekosistēmām ieguldot pienācīgu finansējumu.
Андрей Слабаков (ECR), в писмена форма. – Уважаеми колеги, слушам вашите изказвания и се сещам за едно послание, което Матей приписва на Исус Христос: „И защо гледаш сламката в окото на брат си, а не обръщаш внимание на гредата в своето око?“ Колеги, кампаниите за дезинформация идващи от Русия и Китай, не са ново нещо. От години Европейският съюз обсъжда дали и какви мерки да предприеме, срещу кого, колко сериозни. Коронавирусът не променя нищо, просто е поредната криза, която се използва за политически капитал. Големият проблем обаче е уклонът на някои от вас към тоталитарни мерки в собствените ви държави. Сериозната заплаха не идва отвън, а отвътре, защото някои правителства решиха да манипулират информацията, до която имат достъп техните граждани. Уж демократи, а отменят закони за прозрачност и анулират сесии за парламентарен контрол. И не, не говоря за вашите „любими“ Унгария и Полша, където правителствата действат с пълната подкрепа на гражданите, а за Испания, Италия, Швеция. Колеги, вие защитавате левите правителства в тези държави и прикривате техните кампании за дезинформация, но ще си изпатите. Когато превърнете дезинформацията в държавна политика, собствените ви граждани ще ви сложат на място. Благодаря за вниманието.