Deep Dive: European Elections

The document analyzes disinformation campaigns during the European Parliament elections, highlighting narratives that undermine civic integrity through claims of voter fraud and conspiracy theories. It details targeted attacks on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the framing of the Digital Services Act (DSA) as a tool for censorship. The brief also identifies Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI), particularly from Russian state-owned media, aimed at weakening support for European democratic institutions and policies regarding Ukraine.

• Disinformation narratives during the elections focused on undermining civic integrity through claims of voter fraud and election rigging, which the document argues encourage the destabilization of the democratic order and support for authoritarianism.
• Global conspiracy theories alleged that the World Economic Forum (WEF) controls the EU and its elections, while other narratives described the European and French elections as a "judeo-masonic trap" designed to erase national identities in favor of a single European state.
• Electoral fraud claims were particularly prevalent in German-speaking areas, including allegations that left-wing polling workers promised to spoil votes for the AfD party, though the German Federal Returning Officer reported no such fraud.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was a primary target of disinformation, with narratives categorizing her as a warmonger for supporting Ukraine, corrupt regarding COVID-19 vaccines, or a stooge of globalist elites.
• The Digital Services Act (DSA) has been targeted by narratives framing it as an "Orwellian" tool for censorship and government surveillance, with some claiming it is a step toward a "Fourth Reich".
• Russian state-owned media, such as RT Deutsch and RT France, engaged in Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) by promoting narratives that the EU is inherently undemocratic and that the elections would bring no meaningful change.
• The document concludes that the persistence of disinformation despite the European Commission's DSA electoral guidelines indicates that voluntary recommendations are insufficient to protect democratic processes.

APA

Global Disinformation Index (n.d.). Deep Dive: European Elections. https://www.disinformationindex.org/files/deep-dive_-european-elections-.pdf

Chicago

Global Disinformation Index. Deep Dive: European Elections. n.d. https://www.disinformationindex.org/files/deep-dive_-european-elections-.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Disinformation Index |title=Deep Dive: European Elections |url=https://www.disinformationindex.org/files/deep-dive_-european-elections-.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globaldisinformationindexnddeep, author = {{Global Disinformation Index}}, title = {{Deep Dive: European Elections }}, institution = {Global Disinformation Index}, url = {https://www.disinformationindex.org/files/deep-dive_-european-elections-.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }