May sees just 61 sponsored posts on Meta’s social media platforms reaching 1.4 million users
By: Marta Ottaviani – Avvenire
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The European Union heads to the polls in a vote that holds significant symbolic value for the future of the Brussels club. This time, in addition to the party of abstention, it must also contend with a new “political formation” certainly not dedicated to what is known in the Anglo-Saxon world as fair competition: Russian disinformation.
Alarms were ringing throughout the entire election campaign. Major international think tanks, including Brookings and the German Marshall Fund, warned of the risk of a massive attack by the Kremlin’s infowar during the European election, especially in certain countries. Italy boasts the rather unfortunate primacy of confirming itself, even on this occasion, as a paradise for Russian disinformation. This was revealed by the independent research group AI Forensic, which published a study capable of shaking up the European Union and the legal mechanisms against disinformation it has tried to implement in recent years. The most important of these is the DSA, the Digital Service Act, a regulation that, in essence, holds social platforms accountable, sanctioning them economically if they are found to spread fake news.
A revolutionary law, unique of its kind. Unfortunately, platforms themselves have yet to understand (or do not want to understand) how to prevent false content from circulating on the web. AI Forensic discovered that between May 1st and May 27th, Meta, the platform that owns Facebook and Instagram, approved at least 275 paid advertisements containing false information. Often, these are posts that use the Doppelgänger strategy, meaning articles that visually resemble those of major national newspapers to be considered reliable by readers but unfortunately contain false information, in this case aimed at decreasing voter trust in European institutions.
The bad news is that Italy is the country where this pre-election attack has had the most impact. According to data analyzed by AI Forensic, 61 paid posts on Meta reached over 1.4 million Italian users. In France, where 101 posts were purchased, the audience reached was 854 thousand people. In Germany, with 75 posts, 429 thousand people were reached, while in Poland, 38 posts reached an audience of 350 thousand people. Italy, therefore, is the country where the maximum result is achieved with the minimum investment. Almost a goal with an open net, and the awareness that in the Bel Paese, Russian disinformation penetrates like a knife through butter.
Even the timing is not left to chance. Examining the AI Forensic report, it appears that the disinformation campaign peaked starting from May 22nd. The themes of the false posts are always the same. Many focus on the situation in Ukraine, with all that it entails. An attempt is made to portray Brussels as only interested in sending weapons to Kiev.
The disinformation then takes on specific characteristics depending on the countries it impacts. Regarding Italy, a single post reached over 400 thousand accounts. The post showed a long line of unemployed young people. The text falsified both the percentage of youth unemployment and the average salary of a young person just entering the workforce, painting a much more negative picture than reality.
The text appealed to politics to improve the situation by investing efforts in Italy. A subtle way of saying “more Italy, less Europe.” Another post disseminated in Italy reaching almost 250 thousand accounts talked about skyrocketing electricity and gas prices, even though they were normal at the time, explaining how this negatively impacted the budgets of many families. The not-so-subtle connection is to the interruption of gas from Russia, making it seem like Moscow’s blue gold is irreplaceable. Messages aimed at generating insecurity, impatience towards European institutions, hoping that it will also affect the vote this weekend.
