The European response to Russian disinformation in the context of the war in Ukraine

Abstract

AbstractDisinformation and propaganda directed at foreign countries is an important tool in Russia's geopolitical power ambitions, including its war against Ukraine. The European Union and individual nation states, both inside and outside the Union, have developed complex responses to this multifaceted phenomenon. This article focuses on just one of them: the EU embargo on the RT television channel. It will review media analyses of RT, some of the legal action taken against it, and analyse the background and rationale behind the EU's blocking regulation. It points out that, while international media law literature has examined the issue from the perspective of freedom of expression, the European Union has treated the channel as a political weapon. The article argues that democracies need to take decisive action to defend their structures, and that this may require unconventional measures in times of disruption to the international order.