In Scrooge’s boots: Lessons learned on disinformation from the 2019 European elections

Jonáš Syrovátka

doi:10.1177/1781685819879863

Abstract

There has been much heated discussion on the possible influence of disinformation campaigns on the 2019 European elections—including those campaigns launched by outside actors (namely the Russian Federation). This is not surprising considering previous election experiences not only in Western states, but globally. As far as we know, the 2019 European elections were fortunately not targeted by a large and coordinated disinformation campaign. Given the significant attention paid to the 2019 European elections by the public, researchers and policymakers, they present an interesting case study that might help us to learn not only how to tackle the issue of disinformation, but also how to understand and analyse it in the future.

Highlights

In A Christmas Carol, the famous tale by Charles Dickens, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, encounters three ghosts on Christmas Eve who provide him with an opportunity to reflect on his past and present life and the prospects for his future
This article argues that at the present moment we—like Scrooge—have an opportunity to reflect on the role of disinformation prior to the 2019 European elections
The last section suggests several recommendations for further debate based on the presentation of four studies on disinformation in the 2019 European elections conducted by the cybersecurity company Safe Guard, the civic movement Avaaz, the Oxford Internet Institute and the think tank Globsec

Summary

Introduction

In A Christmas Carol, the famous tale by Charles Dickens, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, encounters three ghosts on Christmas Eve who provide him with an opportunity to reflect on his past and present life and the prospects for his future. It discusses the situation in the run up to the 2019 European elections and demonstrates that the responsible authorities paid attention to the possible influence of disinformation.

Results

Conclusion