Diasporas as Targets of Putin's Media: Categorizing the EU's Response to Kremlin-led Disinformation

Details

Supervisors

Spetschinsky, Laetitia

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en études européennes, à finalité spécialisée: gouvernance et sociétés européennes

Abstract

In the context of hybrid warfare between the EU and Russia, disinformation poses an imminent threat. This master’s thesis focuses on one specific type of disinformation, namely DATM disinformation, which is spread by Kremlin-owned media towards Russian diasporas in Europe. More specifically, the thesis tackles the EU’s response to such disinformation via three case studies: Latvia, Ukraine and Germany. The thesis hypothesized that the EU’s reaction in the first two States would feel less substantial than it would in the third. Official EU documentation and scholarly literature were assessed to provide context, for each of the studied countries, on the nature of their Russian diaspora, on the narratives targeting such diaspora, on national anti-disinformation efforts, etc. The final result of the study disproved the initial hypothesis, with the EU’s responses in Eastern European countries felt more strongly. Lastly, the specificities of the EU’s response in each case study were outlined in a categorization table.