The most popular myth about the EU in the Czech …...The most popular myth about the EU in the Czech Republic Summary Authors: Jonáš Syrovátka, Nikos Štěpánek · The analysis

The most popular myth about the EU in the Czech Republic

Summary

Authors: Jonáš Syrovátka, Nikos Štěpánek

· The analysis was focused on the myths about the European Union published in the year 2018

(from the 1st of January, 2018 to the 31st of January, 2019). Researchers monitored 39 websites

known to be spreading disinformation.

· During the analysed period, these websites published 15 543 texts mentioning the EU, meaning that

the Union was mentioned in every tenth published article. However, other terms related to

international politics were mentioned more often: Russia was in 28 396 texts and the USA in 20 879

texts. In comparison, Czech politicians were mentioned less often (President Miloš Zeman in

10 834 texts and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in 13 345 texts).

· The EU was most often mentioned on the following websites: Eurozprávy (3 863 texts),

Parlamentní listy (2 930 texts), Sputnik CZ (1 558 texts), Nová Republika (903 texts) and Haló

noviny (866 texts). Almost half of the texts were published on the websites (Eurozprávy,

Parlamentní listy), which might be identified as the “grey sphere,” combining genuine reporting

and conspiracy theories and extremist opinions. One of the key editors of the conspiracy website

Nová republika is Ivan David running in the European Elections for right-wing extremist SPD.

· The EU was often mentioned in relation to migration, Russia, or Brexit. Six myths, which were

described in detail in the analysis, appeared in 3 600 texts (almost every fourth article related to the

EU).

· Czexit was a topic mainly in February 2018, when the referendum law was discussed in the Czech

Parliament. The texts warning against the consequences of such decision also appeared on the

analysed websites. However, the majority of texts supported Czexit and it downplayed the negative

predictions, as well as the experts who raised them.

· The idea of Czexit was supported by some politicians (parties SPD and KSČM and also some

individuals from other parties). Czexit was presented as a matter of survival of the nation, the only

chance to save Czechs from Islamization, or as a chance to end the rule of the colonizers from

Brussels.

· In the context of the EU copyright legislation, disinformation websites claimed that it will lead to the

end of the internet, censorship, the end of satire, or the silencing of opponents . Manipulative

arguments were used also by the Pirate party in relation to this legislation.

· The EU was also criticised for being too bureaucratic. This argument served mainly as a side

argument, which was used to highlight specific “illogical” regulations or the malfunctioning of EU

institutions. It was used, for example, by Tomio Okamura (SPD).

· The analysed media also wrote about the dictate of France and Germany, or Brussels. This “dictate”

was mentioned in the context of migration, fear over the loss of national sovereignty, or

federalization. According to some websites, France and Germany use economic pressure to reach

their goals.

· Migration was the most often mentioned topic in articles also mentioning the EU. Most of the

articles were published during these events: the EU mini-summit on migration, Czech Presidential

elections, the discussion regarding asylum for orphans from Syria, and the UN Global compact for

migration. The issue of migration was often connected with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel

(with strongly negative sentiments) and the Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš (with mixed

sentiments depending on the situation).

· Conspiracy theories dominated in the case of the myth about GMO groceries. Some of them

speculated that the USA and international firms want to rule, wipe out, or to cause some other kind of

harm to the European population.

· Some of the authors on the analysed platforms were members of the SPD party. Politicians from

KSČM, or individuals from other parties, were giving interviews for the analysed websites. Also,

these sites were using statements of various politicians in case it found it useful for their argument, as

it happened in the case of the Pirate party’s reaction to the EU copyright law.

· Myths about the EU were rarely present in the mainstream media. If it happened, it was in the

blog section of iDnes.cz or on the website Neviditelný Pes for instance. However, the mainstream

media helped to stop the spreading of the well-known myths through its myth-busting activities.

· Politicians are going to play an important role in the spreading of disinformation before the

European election. Journalists and their ability to tackle this issue will also play a tremendous

role.