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Disinformation

A Lesson from the Cold War

What does the communist past have in common with today's online world of alternative facts, fake news, hoaxes, conspiracy theories and the like? Today, as in the past, it is about spreading half-truths, lies, fear, apprehension and uncertainty, undermining stability and questioning the value system and bonds on which European democracy stands. The current phenomenon of Russian disinformation in the digital era can also be understood through the lens of the past. We can learn a lot from the Cold War's history, from the Soviet Union and its satellites in Eastern Europe, which spent an enormous amount of time on their disinformation activities against the democratic world.

America's Countering Soviet Disinformation in the 1980s

Mechanisms of Rumour Spreading