EU's Green Deal the target of online disinformation ahead of polls

The EU's Green Deal has been the target of a virulent online disinformation campaign ahead of European parliamentary elections in June, such as fabricated claims that Brussels plans to introduce a "carbon passport" or a ban on repairing cars older than 15 years.

A key project for European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks a second term, the Green Deal is an ambitious commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, making the 27-nation bloc the "first climate-neutral continent".

But it has come under fire from the fossil fuel industry and the agricultural sector, as well as from the political right and far right.

According to Arnaud Mercier, professor in information and communication sciences at Université Pantheon-Assas in Paris, one of the battlefields is social media, where the far right, climate sceptics and conspiracy theorists are using disinformation to try to delegitimise the deal.

Emboldened by the combined clout of such players, social media users already suspicious of Europe or of climate science feel able to share false or misleading claims "in good faith", Mercier says.

State actors such as Russia are also seeking to undermine the EU through its green initiative.

"The Kremlin is actively spreading disinformation narratives relating to the Green Deal," said Martin Vladimirov, director at the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, pointing to propaganda "on dangers of wind turbines".

'Carbon passport'

Gianina Serban, from Romania's far-right AUR party, amplified the disinformation by complaining that the EU "seems to be turning into a kind of Soviet commissariat that imposes restrictions".

Read more on RFI English

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