On social media, the European Union (EU) is regularly portrayed as a dictatorship that wants to interfere in every aspect of our lives. Criticism is fine, but there are also many fake stories to influence us, mainly spread by pro-Russian sources. Our editorial team has selected 60 of these fake stories. How can you recognise them?
Russia is attempting to discredit the EU by disseminating fake news on a massive scale: VRT NEWS has mapped dozens of stories and explains how to recognise them!
Colin Clapson
Published:
In short
What?
False reports are circulating online that portray the EU as a dictatorial bloc that is removing all power from the member states. Reports have claimed that the EU is forcing farms in Bulgaria to employ a certain number of LGBTI+ people, that Christmas is to be abolished, and that gel nails are to be banned.
But
Legitimate criticism of the EU and its functioning this is not. These are false claims. There is no evidence whatsoever for dozens of claims that VRT News's editorial team discovered through fact-checking. This fake news is usually widely disseminated by pro-Russian accounts with the aim of undermining the EU's image and influencing elections. You can recognise these false claims by using a number of tips.
‘The EU is forcing Slovakia only to use straw-based toilet paper’ or ‘new EU legislation allows the EU to arrest critical journalists’. It is not difficult to find messages on social media that portray the EU as a dictatorship that controls the lives of its citizens with oppressive legislation.
We see these kinds of messages popping up in almost all EU member states. Even in non-EU countries where the discussion about membership is alive, such as Georgia and Moldova, a lot of fake news about the EU is circulating. Often, the messages come from pro-Russian accounts or are at least further disseminated by these accounts.
This is no coincidence. Over the past three years, elections have been held in many European countries. And attempts have been made to influence these elections. A recent EU report mentions 503 deliberate influence campaigns in 2024 alone. These include disinformation campaigns by foreign powers.
These claims are circulating in almost all EU member states and candidate countries. Click on the map to see an example of what is circulating in each country. The map shows only a selection of the 60 fake news items.
Fake news in the EU and beyond
VRT NEWS collected fact checks on these types of anti-EU messages that are demonstrably false. We found about 60 examples that have been circulating since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But this is only a small fraction of the many fake stories about the EU that can be found online.
It is, of course, legitimate to criticise the EU, or to believe that the organisation behaves in a “dictatorial” manner and that your country should leave the EU. But this is not about legitimate criticism of the EU. It is about false and fabricated claims, which originate or are reinforced by pro-Russian circles in order to discredit the EU.
The aim is always to stir up polarisation in a country, in the hope of ultimately changing or weakening current policy and, for example, making it more pro-Russian or undermining support for Ukraine. Last year, 38,000 fake channels were identified , spread across almost all social media platforms known in Europe.
There is no evidence whatsoever that the EU is banning Christmas or introducing a mandatory number of LGBTI+ people on Bulgarian farms , but how can you tell if something is true or false?
War, identity, censorship and consumer affairs
The false claims we found can be divided into four recurring themes: the EU as a warmonger, the EU as a censoring power, the EU interfering in all aspects of our private lives and consumer affairs, and the EU influencing our identity.
When it comes to war, for example, VRT NEWS has already been able to demonstrate that the EU does not seize your savings to invest in defence, contrary to what is being said online. In addition, false stories about the EU wanting to divide Ukraine or introduce compulsory military service are also circulating.
Fake news about the imprisonment of critical journalists or the cancellation of elections whose results do not suit the EU presents the EU as a controlling power that tries to censor its citizens.
See the list below for some examples of fake news items that we have found per country. The list shows only a fraction of the 60 fake news items found.
But less spectacular stories, which affect citizens' private lives and consumer behaviour, are also circulating. For example, Slovak fact-checkers at iRozhlas demonstrated that the European Commission does not require Slovak millers to add worms to their flour. That was a rumour that was circulating. Earlier this year, VRT NEWS also demonstrated that Europe is not secretly putting ‘insects in your bread’.
The EU promoting Islam and migration, and a misrepresentation of EU policy on the LGBTI+ community: here too, fake news presents the EU as an institution that wants to change the identity of its citizens. For example, Portuguese fact-checkers at Sapo demonstrated that the EU does not give Portugal 3 million euros for every mosque built, as claimed online.
The various topics may be trivial and easy to refute. But the aim is not for each of these claims to be believed. Through all these fake claims, an image emerges of the EU as a dictatorial power that leaves no room for freedom and should therefore be distrusted by everyone. And through repetition, the idea seeps in.
False or genuine legislation?
How can you tell whether a message about a particular EU initiative is fake news or simply someone who sincerely disagrees with the direction the EU is taking? The various European institutions launch thousands of initiatives every year. So it is not always easy immediately to discern what is real and what is not. These tips will help you some way ahead:
Emotions: does a message make you feel anxious or angry? Check the message. Fake news targets your emotions, because in that way it spreads faster.
Core of truth: sometimes fake news can contain a core of truth. Perhaps certain European legislation does exist, but certain elements are exaggerated or the legislation is not presented entirely accurately. Consider the example of the so-called “ban on gel nails” . Gel nails are not banned, but gel polish containing the harmful substance TPO is.
The source: where does the news come from? By searching for the exact words from a message, you can often find other and earlier versions of the message. This gives you an idea of the type of accounts that are mainly sharing the news. Are these reliable accounts or not?
Other media: is the news being reported in different places and also in the mainstream media? Does what you read there correspond to the message on social media?
Fact checks: see if there are already fact checks on the subject. You can do this, for example, at the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) or, in Flanders, at deCheckers.
View the original: If the initiative really exists, you can find it on the European Union's websites .
Who is spreading this?
The 60 false claims approximately we have collected originated in many different ways. Some stories seem to pop up out of nowhere on social media, while others involve misinterpreting existing information or a bold statement by a politician.
However, it is striking that pro-Russian accounts eagerly spread these claims once they are online. We see this, for example, in the case of the map of Ukraine and the rumour that Europe wants to use citizens' savings for defence .
Pro-Russian channels strengthen and disseminate fake news about the EU.
Fake news about our savings being seized for compulsory investment in defence is being spread by pro-Russian websites.
Fake news about the division of Ukraine is being spread by pro-Russian channels.
Fake news about sending migrants to Moldova is being amplified on Telegram by pro-Russian channels.
And why?
It is a well-known phenomenon of Russian propaganda: repetition works. We saw this recently with stories about President Zelensky's wealth. Here, too, the aim was to undermine the president's legitimacy through a relentless stream of fake news.
Russian propaganda is now doing the same with the EU: every story is intended to undermine the legitimacy of the EU in the minds of its citizens (and the citizens of countries that want to become members).
In practice: how a fake news network disrupts elections in Europe
The British public broadcaster BBC has discovered that a Russian-funded network attempted to influence the recent elections in Moldova.
The network promised money to anyone who would spread pro-Russian propaganda and fake news. Participants were trained to produce and disseminate messages on social media via platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. The aim was to damage Moldova's pro-EU party.
The BBC's undercover journalist was asked to write unfounded accusations. One example is the claim that Moldova's possible EU membership would depend on whether the country's citizens would ‘change their sexual orientation to LGBT’.
Conclusion
The internet is full of criticism of the EU and its rules. And that is fine if it is based on facts. But on social media, especially when elections in European countries are approaching, we see false messages popping up from pro-Russian circles. Based on lies and false information, they try to make people angry with the European Union.
Most stories are quickly debunked. But by promoting similar stories over and over again, something seeps into most people's minds. It is the tactic of repetition that Russian propaganda regularly uses. We see the same thing with stories about President Zelensky's wealth.
By looking at the source of the reports and searching for other accounts of the news, you can find out whether or not it is fake news.
This article was produced as part of the Prebunking at Scale project, with support from the European Fact-Checking Standards Network .