Speakers agree: The problem goes far beyond social media and online campaigns
On November 29, under the title "Foreign Interference, Subversion & Disinformation," experts, diplomats, and representatives from politics and civil society gathered at the invitation of Dietmar Pichler (Disinfo Resilience Network) for an exchange of views.
Elizabeth Martin-Shukrun, a U.S. diplomat, opened the speeches, emphasizing that disinformation can only be countered through close cooperation between governmental institutions and civil society (the U.S. State Department supported the event).
Host Dietmar Pichler highlighted in his keynote the continuing relevance of traditional offline influence operations and the infiltration by influence agents serving the Kremlin. Furthermore, he criticized that the discourse about disinformation and foreign interference is almost entirely limited to online operations, while even in online campaigns, content is often created by offline actors. One example is professors who consciously or unconsciously serve as "agents of influence" for authoritarian regimes and parrot the narratives of Russia and its authoritarian allies.
Johannes Thun-Hohenstein illustrated, through the context of the book "Victory Without War" (1985), how long Moscow's subversion and influence have persisted. The book gives an overview of KGB front organizations, the infiltration of the so-called peace movement, and anti-Western collaborators controlled by Moscow. Thun emphasized that there is a blind spot that must soon be addressed, as the subversion of democratic societies is much more complex than merely tackling the social media issue.
Politicians Lukas Mandl (Member of the European Parliament, ÖVP) and David Stögmüller (Parliamentarian, Green Party Security Spokesperson) addressed the challenges posed by pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives, which manifest not only in the digital space. Mandl provided an overview of the dangers of foreign interference from an EU perspective and criticized the regular platforms given to Kremlin supporters in traditional media. Stögmüller reported on the non-evidence-based opposition to the federal government's new security strategy, which emerged from both right-wing and left-wing circles.
Political scientist Martin Malek and journalist Stefan Schocher examined the events of 2014 and the imbalance in German-language discourse regarding the covert Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine. Schocher reported on Russian special forces he observed on the ground in eastern Ukraine in 2014, while Malek criticized the coverage by parts of the German-language media. Oksana Stavrou presented the book "Russia's War Against Ukraine: Facts and Perspectives," aimed at contributing to a fact-based discourse. Luis Paulitsch from the Datum Foundation spoke about the role of journalism in combating disinformation and safeguarding democracy.
David Christopher Jaklin, an expert on hybrid threats, emphasized the versatility of "hybrid threats," which include not only information space attacks but also sabotage or acts of terrorism.
The concluding discussion between Senior Scientist Dr. Julia Partheymüller (University of Vienna, Department of Political Science) and Prof. Wolfgang Mueller (Institute for Eastern European History) focused on the positive contributions that experts from academia can make in combating disinformation and foreign interference. At the same time, the phenomenon of "contrarian academics" was addressed—individuals who argue contrary to the scientific consensus and factual evidence for various reasons. Julia Partheymüller also described attempts by autocratic regimes to exert influence on universities worldwide.
Both criticized the disproportionate reach such actors often achieve, particularly through "false balance" discussion formats. In these formats, a “dissenting
opinion” is artificially presented to create a supposed “balance,” even when this opinion lacks scientific foundation. Prof. Mueller noted that Eastern European studies have consolidated since
2022. However, this does not apply to many non-specialist researchers who, despite lacking expertise, frequently enter the discourse with highly questionable narratives. This repeatedly forced
him to provide context and fact-checks.
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Photos: Valerie Maltseva