On April 24, 2020, the New York Times Published an Article Which

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Disinformation and Covid-19 : An attack on the European rule of law

An article by Elise Bernard and Raphaël Cario for EuropaNova

July 2, 2020 Disinformation and Covid-19

On April 24, 2020, the New York Times published an article which triggered many institutional reactions, particularly within the European Commission: "Pressured by China, EU softens report on Covid-19 disinformation” [1]. It presents the pressure exerted by Beijing to limit criticism by European actors of its disinformation policy during the pandemic. These pressures are part of a more general context of attack against the European rule of law by the new illiberal powers. Whether internal or external to the Union, explicit or implicit, these attacks undermine the European project of protection of fundamental liberties. The policies of disinformation that have emerged during the pandemic are a flagrant example of the reality of these attacks, their purpose and the limited response of European actors.

Since 2015 and Federica Mogherini, therefore since the predecessor of Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU has been saying that it fights against disinformation. A specific service was created following the European Council of March 2015 [2]: the governments of the Member States agreed to establish the so-called StratCom Task Force to "respond to the disinformation campaigns currently being conducted by Russia". The task force's mission, together with the other relevant Commission services, is to improve the EU's response to anticipate and respond to pro-Kremlin disinformation activities and to raise public awareness. The context of the creation of a disinformation task force is the ambition of the European Commission to become a “geopolitical Commission”. It aims to respond to pressure from state actors outside the Union. Unfortunately, based on this Times’ article, we realise that this mission is far from having been fulfilled.

Admittedly, some progress has been made, we no longer limit ourselves to Russian disinformation and a code of good practice signed with the "Web Giants" has been put in place. We are promoting so-called fact-checking activities with news agencies and the various information sectors, but we have to admit that as far as the response and public awareness are concerned, we are a long way from taking it as seriously as we should. Though the reports of this task force are public [3], there is little or no press coverage.

Page 1 Disinformation and Covid-19

OAmn oAnpgr ilt h2e4 , m2i0s2in0f,o trhmea tNioenw tYhoartk mTaiminelys cpounbcliesrhnesd tahne agretiocpleo lwitihciaclh atmribgigteiorned o mf athney iCnosmtitmutisiosinoanl , rweaec ftiinodn st,h ep adritsiicnutleagrrlya twiointh oinf tthhee E EUu, rwopheicahn wCooumldm bises aiocnc:e l"ePrraetsesdu rbeyd t hbey Ccuhrirnean, tE hUe aslothft ecnrsis irse; ptohret aobna nCdoovnidm-e1n9 t doisf inpfaorrtnmeartsi oonr” c[a1]n. dIitd aptreess,e wntids etlhy er eplraeysesdu rine ethxee rtBeadlk bayn sB, eiinjin gS etrob ilaim aitn dc riNtiocristhme rbny EMuarcoepdeoanni aa; ctohres goof vietsr ndmiseinnftos'r mreatrioenat pforloicmy dEurionpge athne vpaalunedse m[4ic].. TIhne steh ips repsrsoufruessi oanr e opf arcto onft ean tm, otrhee rgee naerrea l rceoanl teixntf oorfm aatttiaocnk, aegxaigngsetr athtieo nEsu, raonpde a-n mruolree oifm lpawor tbayn ttlhy e- nneeww i lnliabrerraatli vpeosw leinrks.e dW hspeethceifric ianlltye rtnoa lt hoer ehxetaeltrhn acl rtisoi st: hteh eU unsioenle, sesnxpelsisc ito fo pr hiymspiclaicl itd, istthaenscei nagt,t atchkes curneadteiromn inoef tthhee vEiruurso paesa na pbarocjteecrtio olof gpicraolt ewcetaiopno no. f Afnudn dfainmaellnyt, aol fl icboeurtrisees,. sTohmee paorleic isepse coiff icdaislliyn froerlmataetdio nto tthhaet hgeaovep oelimtiecragl eads pdeucrti nogf tthhee Cpoamndmeimssicio na:r eg rae aftlaegr rraensti lieexnacme polen othf et hpea rrte oalfi tRyu ossf iath aensde aCthtiancak.s, their purpose and the limited response of European actors.

STihnec eo t2h0e1r5 nanodve Flteyd eisr ictha aMt othgehseer innie, wth enraerfroarteio snisn caer et hien tpernesdiveecleys sroerla oyfe dJo sbeyp CBhoirnreeslel, Hacitgohr sR e[p5r][e6s]e. nTtahteiv ew orf kt hoef Uthniso nE fUo rt aFsokr efiognrc Ae ffiasi rvsa alunadb lSee, couprietny Ptoo litchye, tphueb EliUc hbaust bimeepne rfseacyti.n Tgh eth samt ailtl "fbiglahstts" oafg aAipnrsitl 2d4i scinofnocremrnaetido nth. eA l astpeestc irfeicp osretr ovinc ed iswinafso rcmreaattioend fboyl lothwei nEgu trhoep eEaunr oEpxetaenrn Calo uAncctiiol no fS Meravricche 2(E0E15A S[)2 ]a: ntdh ei sg opvaerrtincmuleanrltys dofis thuerb Minegm: obuer Sdtisaitnefso ramgreere dw otou lde stmabisliisnhfo trhme. sToh-cuasl,l eidt Sistr antCo omlo nTgaesrk aF oqrcuee sttoio n"r eosfp oangdg rteos stihve disinformation coarm epvaeignn so fc uirnrsetnittulyt iobneainl gr ecfolencdtuiocnte. dI nbdye eRdu, sstihae". Ttahreg ettass ko ff orscuec'hs mdisisinsifoonr,m taotgieotnh eart twacitkhs tghiev eo tuhse ra rbeeletvtearn tu Cnodmermstiasnsdioing s eorfv iwcehsa,t i sd itsot iinmgpurisohves t hthe eE UEU's rfreosmpo nthsee itloli baenrtailc ippoawtee rasn. dT hres epmonpdh atsoi sp oron- tKhree minleinff edcistivnefonremssa toiof nli baecrtaivliistmie sa nandd t htoe rauilsee o pf ulabwlic i na wcrairseisn emssa.n Tagheem ceonntt euxntd oefr ltihne sc trheea tdioens iroef tao d uisnidneforrmminaeti othne t acsokr ef ovracleu eis tohf eE uamrobpietiaonn n oaft itohnes Eaunrdo tpheea nU nCioomn.mission to become a “geopolitical Commission”. It aims to respond to pressure from state actors outside the Union. Unfortunately, bInadseedd o, nth itsh itso pTiicmaleitsy’ aorft itchlee , EwEAe Sr ereaplioser t tihsa tto tbheis smeeinss ino na ims ofarer gfreonmer ahla cvoinngt ebxet eonf fauttlfaicllkesd .on the European rule of law. The tone was set with the report of the Finnish Presidency in June 2019 [7]: it explained that a European success can only be based on Adedmmoitctreadtliyc, sinosmtietu ptiroongsr,e stsh eh apsr obteeecnti omna doef , hwuem naon lroignhgtesr alinmdi t thoue rsruellvee so ft ola wRu. sTsihains dimispinlefomremnattaitoionn a onfd t hae c roudle ooff lgawoo md upsrta bctei csetr seinggntehde nweidth. A tth Ce o"uWnecbil lGeivaenl,t sw" eh saasw b e- ein pthuet isne cpolancde .h Walfe oafr e2 0p1r9o m- ootni nag dseoc-lcaarlaletido nfa octf -icnhtenckt intog parcotimviotitees twheit hr unle wosf alagwen. cTihees apnrodb tlheem v aisr iothuast inthfoer mcuartrioenn ts egcotvoerrsn, abnucte w ien dhiacvaet otors a, damndit itnh apt aarst ifcaurl aars tthheo sree sopfo nthse aWnodr lpdu Bblainc ka w[8a]r oenveers st haere l acsotn tceenr nyeedar, sw oer a sroe, ar aloisneg d wifafiyc ufrltoimes tiank tinergm its aosf sreersipoeucstly f oars wthee sdheomuoldc.r aTthico uruglhe tohf ela rwe.ports of this task force are public [3], there is little or no press coverage.

Page 2 Disinformation and Covid-19

OThne ACproiul n2c4i,l 2i0s 20m, atkhien gN eaw d Yiroerckt Tciamlle so np utbhlies hCedo mamn iasrstioicnle two hticahk et raig gsetraendd maas nay iGnesotiptuotliitoincaall raecatcotri ownsh,i cpha rmticuuslta rdlye fwenitdh ina ntdh ep Eroumroopteea nth Ce odmemmiossciroant:i c" Prruelses uorfe dla bwy. Chinae,s eE oUr sRoufstseinasn raettpaocrkts ,o inn cCluodviindg- 1d9i sdinisfionrfmoramtiaotnio cna”m [p1]a.i gItn sp traersgeenttesd tbhye thpree EsEsuArSe, earxee ratiemd ebdy aBt etihjien gE utor olpimeaitn cdrietmicoiscmra tbiyc Eruulreo poef alnaw a.c Ntoerasr loyf 1i7t0s ,0di0s0in ftowrimttaetri oanc cpooulnictys dseurrviningg thase dpiasnindfeomrmica. tTiohne sree lparyess sfuor etsh aer eC hpianrets oef gao vmeorrnem geennt ewrael rceo dnetelextte odf bayt tathcke apglaatifnosrtm t haet Ethuero bpeegainn nruinleg ooff lJauwn eb y[9 t]h. eT hneeswe ialltitbaecrkasl paroew eurltsi.m Watheelyth aenr ianstsearunlatl oonr eExutreorpneaal nt os otvheer eUignniotyn , aesx tphliecyit ooprp oimsep litchiet, Ethuerosep eaatnt avcaklsu eusn doef rtmhien eD ethcela rEautiroonpse aonf pRrigohjetcst. Tohf epsreo tceocmtimono no fv afulunedsa manedn ttahl eliirb edretfieens.c eT haer ep aotli ctihees hoef adrtis ionff otrhme aEtiuorno ptehaant hpraovjee cetm aenrdg ecdar rdyu trhineg l etghieti mpaancyd eomf icco marme oan falacgtiroann.t F eigxhatminpgl et hoefs eth aet traecaklsi tcyo onfs isthtse soef adtetfaecnkdsi,n tgh eoiru rp usropvoesree iagnndt yt,h ea nlidm ittheedr erefosrpeo nosuer o fu Enudraompeeannta al cvtoalruse. s; this cannot be limited to an institutional and procedural response. It is a mistake to reduce the Sdienfceen c2e0 1o5f athned rFueldee orifc ala wM otgoh tehrein mi, ethree rpeofosrseib siliintyc eo ft hter igpgredriencge sAsrotric olef J7o osef pth Beo TrrEeUll., HThigeh E RUe phraess ae ndtuatyiv eto o pf rtohme oUtnei oitns fvoarlu Feosr. eIing nth Aefsfea itrism aensd o Sf ehceuarlitthy cProisliicsy, ,i tt hise rEigUh th atos btaelekn a bsoauytin tgh et hrualte iot f fliagwh.t sIt aisg atiimnset thdaisti nthfoer cmoamtimono.n Ap ilslparesc iofifc t hsee rdveicmeo cwrasti cc rruealet eodf flaowllo iwn iEnugr othpee Ebue rdoepfeeannd eCdo buyn cthile o Ef UM. aItr cmhu 2s0t 1b5e [a2t] :t hthe eh egaorvte ornf mitse pnotsli toicf atlh dei sMcoeumrbse.r States agreed to establish the so-called StratCom Task Force to "respond to the dInisfoinrfmoramtivaeti orenp ocratminpga iognn sm cisuinrrfeonrmtlya tiboenin tgo ciotnizdeuncst eisd nbeyc eRssuasrsyia. "H. oTwheev etra,s ksh foourlcde i'st mbei sasi osnu,p troagneatthioenr awl itrhe stphoen ostibhielirt yre olerv aan tg oCvoemrnmmisesniotanl saeurvthicoersit, yis? tAos ismupmrionvge tthhaet E tUh'es roebsjepcotnivsee tiso taon tdiceifpeantde acnodm mreosnp ovnadlu teos ,p irto -wKoruelmd lihna vdeis itnof obrem astuiopnra nacattiivointiaels. Iann dt htios rsaeinssee p, uthbeli cC aowuanrceiln eissssu. eTdh ea cdoenctiseixotn o ifn t h2e0 1c5r e[a10ti]o nan odf gaa dvies itnhfoe rimmaptrioenss tioansk tfhoartc eth ies tMheem abmebri tSiotant eosf wthaen tEeudr otop edaena lC womithm itshsiiso nm atott ebre caot mthee a s “ugperoapnoaltiitoicnaall Cleovmelm. Hisosiwoenv”.e rIt, agimvesn ttoh er ecsuprornendt tcor ispirse, sissu trhei sf rsotimll tshtea tcea saec ttoordsa oy?u tIsfi dite ist hae EUurnoiopne.a nU nofbolirgtautnioatne ltyo, bdaesfeendd o onu rt hsiosv eTriemigens’t ya,r wtiecl e,x pweec tr Eeualriosep et htoa tp rtohtise cmt tishseio rnu leis offa lra wfr oamnd hthaveirnegfo bree etno fuiglhfitll eadg.ainst disinformation. Do the EEAS and the European Parliament have enough resources to do this? Most of all, this gives the impression that citizens and Aredpmreitsteendtlayt, ivsoesm aer ep rcoagurgehsts o hffa sg ubaeredn, rmegaadred,l ewses onfo t hloenirg aenr slwimeirts .ourselves to Russian disinformation and a code of good practice signed with the "Web Giants" has been pRuest pino npsliabcieli.t yW ies agrloeb parlo. mIt octoinngc esron-sc aulsle adl lf.a Octu-rc hfuenckdianmg eancttaivl iptireisn cwipitlhe sn aerwes tahgee nsacmiees and tchoem vea rfirooums ian fcoormmatoionn asnedc taonrsc,i ebnutt pwhei lhoasovep htoic ald mtraitd tihtiaotn a (ss efaer oaus rt haer tricelsep)o. nWse aenxpde pcut btlhice aCwoanrfeenreenssc ea roen c tohnec Feurntuerde, wofe E aurreo ap elo [n11g] wtoa yp rforovmid et atkhien gm iot mase nsteurmiou fsolry aans wovee rsahlol urledf.l eTchtoioung hi ntvhoel vrienpgo rptrsi voaft eth ipsl atyaeskrs ,f onrcaeti oanrea l paunbdli cE [u3r]o, ptheeanre aisg elintctliee so, r tnhoe pEruersosp ceoavne rDaagtea. Protection Supervisor, the European Ombudsman, the European Research Council and all public and private information channels.

Page 3 Disinformation and Covid-19

This is also an opportunity to emphasise the role of education and training providers. Declarations of intent and budget publications must be followed by visible actions. This means that future calls for projects must be in line with these fundamental rights, must uphold democratic liberties and must help private and public actors from different disciplines to join forces. This is a cross-cutting point: we cannot just limit it to Mrs Jurova's jurisdiction. The Commission must stop reasoning by topic as if each topic were only relevant to one subject.

In the light of the above, the Conference on the Future of Europe must, therefore, bring together institutions, researchers and those involved in information, education and training in its deliberations. These results must also be visible and accessible. We can expect the following from them: to develop methods for teaching critical thinking and analysing information. Having the keys to understanding the world in which we live must be a right open to all. Understanding the European construction cannot remain a monopoly of the knowledgeable. These paradoxes weigh on us: there is a misunderstanding between those who feel they are subjected to Europe and those who are living it.

The geopolitical ambition of the European Commission cannot be limited to institutional reactions. It is the responsibility of European actors to put the protection and promotion of the European values and rule of law at the centre of its responses. This requires full awareness of the basis of European sovereignty and the legitimacy of fundamental rights that make up European unity and which are essentially the target of attacks by autocratic threats.

Page 4 The authors

Director of Studies at EuropaNova, Elise Bernard specialises in the notions of the rule of law and fundamental rights. She has been teaching European institutions since 2009. Lecturer in law and European institutions, procedures and fundamental freedoms law (Universities of Paris II, Paris III, Lyon II, Lyon III and ESSEC), member of the jury of French civil service competitions in European law, her objective is to raise awareness of the fact that the law is not necessarily subject to itself and that, by looking at its elaboration mechanisms, better corrections can be considered... provided that the right paths are taken. Elise Bernard

Student in MSc of Public Policy at the University College London (UCL), Raphaël Cario is a Projects Manager on European sovereignty issues. A former student of the

Bachelor of Arts & Sciences at UCL and the Ecole

Normale Supérieure de Paris (Ulm), he joined the Europa Nova team in June 2020. He specialises in political science and epistemology after a dissertation on the Natural Sciences in Raymond Aron’s Philosophy of History.

Raphaël Cario

This article was first published in French on July 2 2020, it was then translated into English by Raphaël Cario. References

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[6] E. Wong, M. Rosenberg and J. Barne, "Chinese Agents Helped Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say", Nytimes.com, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/coronavirus-china-disinformation.html. [Accessed: 25- Jun- 2020].

[7] "Conseil européen, 20-21 juin 2019", Consilium.europa.eu, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/fr/meetings/european-council/2019/06/20-21/. [Accessed: 25- Jun- 2020].

[8] World Bank, Worldwilde Governance Indicators, 2019, available on https://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/Home/Documents

[9] H. Murphy and Y. Yang, "Twitter removes thousands of China-backed disinformation accounts", Ft.com, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.ft.com/content/deeb3704-5924-44e3-9363-dd28ce7f67f1. [Accessed: 25- Jun- 2020].

[10] "Réunion du Conseil européen (19 et 20 mars 2015)", Data.consilium.europa.eu, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11-2015-INIT/fr/pdf. [Accessed: 25- Jun- 2020].

[11] "European Parliament's position on the Conference on the Future of Europe - Wednesday, 15 January 2020", Europarl.europa.eu, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9- 2020-0010_EN.html. [Accessed: 25- Jun- 2020].