From the US to Germany, security officials have warned about the growing threat to elections from Russian disinformation campaigns — and in the Czech Republic there are fears that this week’s presidential election could become the next target. Miloš Zeman, seen as one of Russia’s most outspoken backers within the EU, is running for re-election. Following revelations about the scale of Russian efforts to influence the US presidential election in 2016, Czech politicians and officials are worried Russia could try similar moves.
The central European country, which as part of Czechoslovakia was a member of the Soviet-era Warsaw pact, has long been a place where Moscow has sought to exert influence. But in the wake of conflict in the Ukraine, Russian operations in the Czech Republic have intensified, the Czech Security Information Service said last year.
“After the US election there is a more serious debate [about interference]. Before this, people saw us as obsessed with the Russians,” says Ivan Gabal, who served on the Czech parliament’s defence and security committees until October.
Full Article: Czechs fear Russian fake news in presidential election.
