Disinformation threat from Russia, China, Iran exists in European Parliament elections - Metsola

Reuters reports.

"It is something that we have warned about for a long time. In fact, it is not just a threat," Roberta Metsola said.

According to her, disinformation will be very actively used during the June 6-9 vote to elect the next five-year parliament.

Metsola noted that the EU has tools at its disposal, such as a new law requiring social media to remove illegal content and reduce the risks of election manipulation, which could include fake images or voter impersonation.

However, as the MEP noted, the new EU laws alone were not enough.

Metsola named Russia, China, and Iran as potential sources of disinformation, as well as political parties and organizations within the EU that are trying to attract voters' attention with lies.

"We've maybe ignored that for far too long. I think we have to very much counter that narrative. It is much easier to run a black and white campaign than a 1,000 shades of gray in the middle campaign. But we have to be ready to do it," she said.

• On March 12, a Belgian federal prosecutor opened a case against a pro-Russian network accused of bribing MEPs to spread Kremlin propaganda.