Radio Liberty; U.S., Finland Agree To Cooperate On Combating Foreign Disinformation

"The United States and Finland have agreed to cooperate in “countering foreign state information manipulation,” the U.S. State Department announced on April 4. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen signed the memorandum in Brussels at a summit of NATO foreign ministers. The two countries pledged to “expand information sharing about foreign disinformation, share best practices for countering it,” and align policies with the U.S. Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation. At a joint press briefing, Valtonen said “information manipulation is a growing challenge to democratic countries and open societies.”"

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Effort to Expose Russia’s ‘Troll Army’ Draws Vicious Retaliation; New York Times, 5/30/16

Andrew Higgins, New York Time; Effort to Expose Russia’s ‘Troll Army’ Draws Vicious Retaliation:

"This “information war,” said Rastislav Kacer, a veteran diplomat who served as Slovakia’s ambassador to Washington and at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, “is just part of a bigger struggle.” While not involving bloodshed, he added, it “is equally as dangerous as more conventional hostile action.”
For Ms. Aro, the abuse increased sharply last year when, following up on reports in the opposition Russian news media, she visited St. Petersburg to investigate the workings of a Russian “troll factory.” The big office churns out fake news and comment, particularly on Ukraine, and floods websites and social media with denunciations of Russia’s critics.
In response to her reporting, pro-Russian activists in Helsinki organized a protest outside the headquarters of Yle, accusing it of being a troll factory itself. Only a handful of people showed up.
At the same time, Ms. Aro has been peppered with abusive emails, vilified as a drug dealer on social media sites and mocked as a delusional bimbo in a music video posted on YouTube."