The two-day presidential election has gotten off to a shaky start on Friday, with the government’s Human Rights Commissioner, Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková warning of “alarming” levels of disinformation surrounding the campaigns.
Following the first election round that was held in mid-January, retired General Petr Pavel and former prime minister Andrej Babiš came out as favourites and are set to battle it out in the final round this weekend.
As Pavel remains the favourite of the two, Babiš decided to step up his rhetoric for the second round, claiming that Pavel, as a soldier, wanted to drag Czechia into war.
There is a rise in false and misleading information in the public space, and not only in connection with the ongoing presidential election campaign, Laurenčíková said in an interview for the website iRozhlas.cz.
“But what we have seen in recent days is, from my point of view, very alarming. If somebody is absolutely irresponsibly scaremongering about mobilisation and war, not having information based on any rational basis, and causing panic, particularly among the fragile parts of society, then I really think that we need to make a clear stand against this approach,” she added, referring to Babiš.
Children and the elderly are said to be most at risk in this regard. Over 90% of seniors who use the internet encounter chain emails, and one in five even spread them themselves, Šimáčková Laurenčíková explained. Such emails often spread fake news or disinformation.
Meanwhile, experts also pointed to the various disinformation websites and extreme and pro-Russian forces backing Babiš in the run-up to the elections.
As Czech Radio reported, police are investigating a fake report about Pavel’s alleged death which circulated on social media early Thursday morning and probably intended to discourage voters from going to the polls. The news appeared on a fake account citing Pavel’s “spokesperson”.
Pavel assured voters he is alive and well, saying campaigning had “hit a new low”. Babiš also condemned the fake report, saying he hoped the police would find the culprit.
(Ondřej Plevák | EURACTIV.cz)
Source: euractiv.com
