China and Russia are using a "massive digital arsenal" to interfere with and manipulate Western democracies, the European Union warned on Tuesday.
"Information manipulation and interference are major threats to EU security," said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in a report.
"We must not underestimate the power this has over us or the intentions behind it," she added.
The EU’s latest annual report on the issue revealed that last year it identified disinformation attacks against more than 80 countries and over 200 organisations.
While the war in Ukraine remains a primary target for Russia, other events such as the Paris Olympics, elections in Moldova, and farmer protests in Germany were also targeted.
"The aim is to destabilise our societies, damage our democracies, create rifts between us and our partners, and undermine the EU’s global standing," Kallas asserted.
The report indicates that the EU is becoming more adept at highlighting campaigns by Moscow and Beijing to shape European public opinion.
For instance, it states that Russia uses a complex network of “state and non-state actors,” ranging from social media influencers to state media and official spokespeople, to create and spread its messages.
China, on the other hand, seems to be increasing its use of "private public relations firms and influencers to create, amplify, and legitimise content aligned with China’s global political interests." The report does not go as far as to accuse Russia and China of actively colluding to spread disinformation.
However, it notes that around the 1,000-day mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, "a significant alignment of Sino-Russian narratives emerged, with hostile messages blaming NATO for escalating the conflict."
The EU is also increasingly concerned about Russian interference as part of what it considers a broader hybrid campaign by Moscow, including acts of sabotage aimed at destabilising the West.
