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Electoral processes in Europe are increasingly turning not only into political competition, but also into large-scale information warfare. Social media algorithms, \u201cdormant\u201d user accounts, artificial intelligence, and the fears accumulated in society allow even a single real incident to turn into a political crisis.<\/span><\/p>\nDuring a seminar held in Yerevan, experts from the Polish organization “praktycy.eu” told Armenian journalists about the types of disinformation encountered in European countries, especially during elections, and their experience in combating them. According to media expert <\/span>Jaros\u0142aw Sli\u017cewski<\/span><\/strong> , “each of us lives in our own Internet,” where falsehood is often more attractive than the truth, as it satisfies people’s emotional needs. Sli\u017cewski, Polish expert <\/span>Pawel Nowacki<\/span><\/strong> , Romanian expert <\/span>Rezvan Petri<\/span><\/strong> and other specialists identify 5 main mechanisms of influence used in European elections.<\/span><\/p>\n Poland:<\/span><\/strong> In September 2025, in the hours after 21 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, dormant accounts and anti-vaccination pages left over from the COVID-19 era activated the hashtag #tonienaszawojna (\u201cthis is not our war\u201d). According to <\/span>Pawe\u0142 Nowacki<\/span><\/strong> , \u201cThe goal was to shift responsibility away from Russia, to undermine trust in the Polish state and its relations with Ukraine.\u201d He emphasizes that Poland is just one testing ground in a broader cognitive campaign being waged against NATO and the EU\u2019s eastern flank.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Moldova:<\/span><\/strong> Absurd rumors were circulating against President Maia Sandu (for example, about \u201ctrading children\u201d or \u201cbanning rose tea\u201d). The goal was not to convince everyone, but to create information chaos.<\/span><\/p>\n Romania:<\/span><\/strong> Expert <\/span>Rezvan Petri<\/span><\/strong> says TikTok algorithms were used to boost the campaign of presidential candidate C\u0103lin Georgescu, in coordination with Telegram channels and hundreds of micro-influencers. Petri notes: \u201cOnline radicalization occurs when the environment is ready: inequality, corruption, and discontent make people more likely to accept radical theses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Journalists’ challenges and countermeasures<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Experts <\/span>Yaroslav Slizhevsky<\/span><\/strong> , <\/span>Pavel Nowatsky<\/span><\/strong> , and <\/span>Rezvan Petri<\/span><\/strong> urge the media not to succumb to algorithmic pressure: \u201cDon\u2019t try to be the first, try to be the most accurate.\u201d To counter disinformation, the experts suggest:<\/span><\/p>\n European experience shows that election security depends not only on state institutions, but also on society’s ability to critically perceive information and journalistic principles.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marine Kharatyan<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The material was prepared within the framework of the Disinformation Flows Monitoring Project<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n
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