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Date Trend snippet:
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- Trend snippet: Increased problems with the spread of disinformation during the COVID-19 crisis
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Increased problems with the spread of disinformation during the COVID-19 crisis
Many Member States have reported problems regarding the spread of disinformation during the current COVID-19 crisis. Hybrid threats are broad and complex attacks on governance. A wide range of measures applied in hybrid campaigns include cyberattacks and disinformation, disruption of critical services, undermining of public trust in governmental institutions and exploiting social vulnerabilities.
- Spread of fake news is a key fixture of the hybrid threat landscape
- Both seasoned cybercriminals and opportunistisc individuals spread disinformation in order to benefit.
Disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 continue to proliferate around the world, with potentially harmful consequences for public health and effective crisis communication. Some state and state-backed actors seek to exploit the public health crisis to advance geopolitical interests, often by directly challenging the credibility of the EU and its partners.
Outlook for the future:
The spread of disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 has potentially harmful consequences for public health and effective crisis communication. On a broader level, coordinated disinformation campaigns can feed distrust in the ability of democratic institutions to deliver effective responses to the current situation. Criminal organisations, state and state-backed actors seek to exploit the public health crisis to advance geopolitical interests.
- Spread of fake news is a key fixture of the hybrid threat landscape
- Both seasoned cybercriminals and opportunistisc individuals spread disinformation in order to benefit.
Disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 continue to proliferate around the world, with potentially harmful consequences for public health and effective crisis communication. Some state and state-backed actors seek to exploit the public health crisis to advance geopolitical interests, often by directly challenging the credibility of the EU and its partners.
Outlook for the future:
The spread of disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 has potentially harmful consequences for public health and effective crisis communication. On a broader level, coordinated disinformation campaigns can feed distrust in the ability of democratic institutions to deliver effective responses to the current situation. Criminal organisations, state and state-backed actors seek to exploit the public health crisis to advance geopolitical interests.
More source info
Hybrid threats: disinformation and intereference campaigns
Many Member States have reported problems with respect to the spread of disinformation during the current crisis. Hybrid threats are broad and complex attacks on governance. A wide range
of measures applied in hybrid campaigns include cyberattacks and disinformation, disruption of critical services, undermining of public trust in governmental institutions and exploiting social vulnerabilities.
Disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 continue to proliferate around the world, with potentially harmful consequences for public health and effective crisis communication. Some state and state-backed actors seek to exploit the public health crisis to advance geopolitical interests, often by directly challenging the credibility of the EU and its partners.
DISINFORMATION
The spread of disinformation or fake news is a key fixture of the hybrid threat landscape. Users
become vulnerable and receptive to disinformation and fake news due to the paradoxical oversaturation with available information combined with a perceived lack of trustworthy sources of news that reinforce some of the users’ preconceived notions and believes.
Several institutions keep track of misinformation and fake news about COVID-19, publishing regular updates debunking such claims. The World Health Organization (WHO) keeps track of false claims about COVID-19 on its website, which is regularly updated. It focuses on claims made about the nature of the virus and potential cure and prevention measures9.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) provides regular updates on the current trends and insights into disinformation activities.
The spread of fake news and disinformation is in many cases not considered a criminal offence.
The spread of disinformation can originate from a variety of actors, including cybercriminals seeking financial gain and state actors.
OUTLOOK
The spread of disinformation and misinformation around COVID-19 has potentially harmful consequences for public health and effective crisis communication. On a broader level, coordinated disinformation campaigns can feed distrust in the ability of democratic institutions to deliver effective responses to the current situation. Criminal organisations, state and state-backed actors seek to exploit the public health crisis to advance geopolitical interests.
CYBERCRIMINALS
Both seasoned cybercriminals and opportunistic individuals spread disinformation in order to
benefit from it in different ways. However – not including individuals who derive satisfaction from misleading people – the ultimate aim is always to obtain profit.
Some individuals simply seek to obtain direct financial gain through digital advertisements, as
engagement with fake news messages about COVID-19 can be very high. The number of new websites related to COVID-19 has soared in recent weeks.
Another strategy to profit financially from the COVID-19 crisis is to spread fake news about potential
cures for the virus or effective prevention measures. In some cases, these messages are relatively harmless, although they may give individuals a false sense of security. However, such messages can also help criminals seeking to sell items that they claim will help prevent or cure COVID-19.
According to the EEAS, state actors also spread disinformation, seeking to sow distrust and destabilise governments. Violent extremists and terrorists are also using the pandemic to spread their message.
Source:
Report
Catching the Virus Cybercrime, Disinformation and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Date published
03 April 2020
