Russian propaganda targets Czechia, emulates Slovak success

Czech secret services have warned government policymakers that Russian propaganda will use the resources and practices that have been successful in Slovakia and begin to focus more on Czechia in the coming months.

The increased interest in Russian trolls is mainly related to the planned conclusion of a defence agreement between the Czech Republic and the United States.

According to Seznam Zprávy, Czech Security Information Service Director Michal Koudelka spoke to Czech MPs about the imminent danger and notified Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.

Officially, neither the Security Information Service nor Rakušan commented on these warnings, but several independent sources familiar with the information confirmed them to Seznam Zprávy.

“The concern is definitely there. It is already appearing on the fringes of the disinformation scene. It is a problem that the government needs to address. We are discussing what tools are appropriate,” Pavel Žáček (ODS, ECR), head of the parliamentary security committee, said.

Koudelka spoke about the disinformation threat during a security seminar in the House of Commons last week.

“We can see the power of disinformation in Slovakia, where its long-lasting influence is reflected in the view of the war in Ukraine and the aggressor. We can expect increasing sophistication in the spread of disinformation in the future,” the Czech intelligence chief said.

According to Seznam Zprávy, there is also a fear that Russian propaganda in the Czech Republic will use the themes it has already successfully tested in Slovakia, including various methods of psychological manipulation.

“We have picked up some new trends, such as the so-called symbol theft. We see that the Czech and Ukrainian flags are pitted against each other,” Koudelka said at the seminar.

The Czech parliament is expected to vote on the ratification of a similar bilateral agreement with the US soon.

(Aneta Zachová | EURACTIV.cz)