Romanian far-rightists vent their rage in the online environment as misinformation on the Ukrainian conflict becomes the new normal in Hungary and Serbia.
Romanian Far-Rightists Storm Digital Environment
Following the rejection of the so-called “Sovereignty Bill” by Romania’s Chamber of Deputies on May 10, the political climate has further deteriorated.
The law initiative, signed by 23 MPs from the Alliance for the Union of Romanians, AUR, two from the Social Democratic Party, PSD, and two unaffiliated MPs, and which was on the list for a vote in the Chamber of Deputies, aimed, among other things, to extend the powers of the Intelligence service, empowering it to oblige civilians or companies, as well as public authorities and institutions, to collaborate with the institution.
On May 10, two AUR MPs live-streamed themselves harassing Alfred-Robert Simonis, leader of the Social Democratic parliamentary group in the hallway of the Chamber of Deputies. One of the two MPs, Dumitru-Viorel Focșa, as he left the plenary hall, threatened Simonis, telling him: “I will walk over your body. You are a bastard!” Following this, Simonis also hurled insults at the two MPs. This angered supporters of the far-right party, who further insulted and harassed Simonis on Facebook. Later that day, AUR politician also admitted threatening to beat Simonis
A second case saw George Nicolae Simion, leader of the AUR, storm his way into a media outlet. On May 18, after Virgil Popescu, the Minister of Energy, accused him of defending Russian interests in Romania, he live-streamed himself breaking into the newsroom of Digi24 news TV station. Two security guards accused him of forcing his way into the TV studio premises and called the police. Simion initially refused to leave but left after the arrival of the police, shouting: “The state authorities are at the disposal of Digi24. This is the headquarters of the SRI [Romanian Intelligence Service].”
Misinformation about Ukraine spreads in Hungary, Serbia
Since the Ukrainian war started in February, the digital environments in Hungary and Serbia have experienced increasing amounts of disinformation about what is happening there. Online violations involving propaganda and fake news have become endemic and routine. Hungary remains at the top of the list of countries with the largest number of such digital breaches.
On May 15, news was published on several Hungarian-language news portals that McDonald’s had introduced a “neo-Nazi menu in Norway”. This referred to the so-called “Bandera burger” that the news portals said was named after the World War II Ukrainian ultra-nationalist Stepan Bandera. In fact, the name “Bandera” referred to the sauce in the hamburger, which recalled the colours of the Mexican flag and was inspired by a particular ingredient of Mexican cuisine.
A further episode of disinformation in Hungary occurred on May 30. After Ukrainian soldiers defending the Azovsztal plant in the port of Mariupol surrendered in May, a photo of an American admiral Eric Olson, shown among the prisoners-of-war, began to spread in the Hungarian social media. Fact-checking websites revealed that the photo was taken a month before Mariupol surrendered and was published on April 14 by the Russian state news agency Sputnik.
Hungary is not the only country where false news about the Ukraine conflict is spreading. On May 27, several news portals in Serbia also reported on an alleged statement by the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko comparing the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Kosovo.
Klitschko has since denied saying this. The news, which went viral in the Serbian digital space, reported an interview given by Klitschko to a Swiss portal in which he supposedly stated: “The Ukrainians will get rid of the Russians like the Albanians got rid of Serbs.” Klitschko also allegedly said: “I am very glad to have met an Albanian journalist for the first time, which is a good opportunity to convey a message to the Albanian people in the Balkans. We have heard and read that you Albanians, like us Ukrainians, are people of peace and freedom-loving. Today we are fighting the Russian regime that is trying to occupy our country, as you were once occupied by Serbia.”
Later that day, on his Facebook profile, the Mayor denied making the quote. “I did not comment on that. Even before they transmit such information and quote anything, journalists should look for audio or video evidence for such an exclusive,” Klitschko wrote.
Political tensions and discrediting strategies in Bosnia, North Macedonia
Ahead of the general elections on October 2, Bosnia has experienced an increasing number of party clashes and internal tensions.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina remain a country traumatized by war,” said Christian Schmidt, the international community’s High Representative, in a letter to the President of the UN Security Council on April 29. Outlining the main challenges ahead of the elections, Schmidt also said that the authorities of the mainly Serbian Republika Srpska entity have increasingly embraced rhetoric and actions that could undermine Bosnia’s constitutional framework and render state laws inapplicable.
On May 23, meanwhile, Alma Omerović, president of the Women of the SDA (Democratic Action Party) in Sarajevo, invited all voters to vote for her Bosniak party in the elections. Omerović who is also the president of the municipal assembly in Ilijas, insulted the vice-president of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Denis Bećirović, who will be her opponent in the race for the Bosniak post on the three-member state presidency.
Omerović, who called Bećirović a “traitor” also declared an election “jihad” on social media. “Bosniaks, this is the jihad of our time,” she said on Facebook.
The statement drew numerous reactions, including from the US embassy in Bosnia. “Such a comment is contrary to the sincere commitment to inclusive and collaborative participation in government, for the benefit of all BiH citizens, which is exactly what voters in this country want and deserve,” the embassy said.
In North Macedonia, meanwhile, our monitors also registered a case related to political tensions. On May 25, several Twitter users, in order to discredit the local city government, shared a photo depicting a project that the city of Skopje is carrying out regarding an access ramp in one of its municipalities. The photo, however, turned out to be cropped and the circumstances of the project weren’t stated, which led many Twitter users to accuse the city authorities of not doing a good job on the project.