Czech Republic Sets Up Counter-Terrorism Unit To Counter Fake News Threat (cnn.com)

According to CNN, the Czech Republic is setting up a new counter-terrorism unit to combat the rise of fake news or "foreign disinformation campaigns." The counter-terrorism unit is called "The Center Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats," and is due to start operating on Sunday, according to an interior ministry statement. CNN reports: The new center is intended to monitor internal security threats, including attacks on soft targets and extremism, as well as "disinformation campaigns related to internal security." Its establishment follows the publication in September of a Czech intelligence service report that identified Russian disinformation and cyber-espionage activities as a potential threat to the Czech Republic, European Union and NATO. The Czech Republic is due to hold a general election next year. According to the Czech Security Information Service (BIS) annual report, Russia in 2015 used "influence and information operations" to try to manipulate public opinion in the Czech Republic in relation to Syria and Ukraine. Russia is involved in conflicts in both these countries. Russia's hybrid warfare operations included "weakening the strength of Czech media" through "covert infiltration of Czech media and the Internet, massive production of Russian propaganda and disinformation controlled by the state," the report said. Other Russian operations included founding puppet organizations, the "covert and open support of populist or extremist subjects," and "disrupting the coherence and readiness of NATO and the EU," the report claimed. "The above-mentioned activities pose a threat to the Czech Republic, EU and NATO not only in relation to the Ukrainian and Syrian conflicts. "The infrastructure created for achieving these goals will not disappear with the end of the two conflicts. It can be used to destabilize or manipulate Czech society or political environment at any time, if Russia wishes to do so." According to the Czech interior ministry, its new unit won't be interrogating anyone, censoring online content or bringing legal proceedings, nor will it "have a button for 'switching off the internet.'" But it will monitor threats, inform the public about "serious cases of disinformation" and promote internal security expertise.

Comments

Propaganda

[manu0601]

[Russia tries] to manipulate public opinion in the Czech Republic in relation to Syria and Ukraine

So basically the problem is that Russia is pushing its own war propaganda against government's own. Fake news is likely to be on both sides.

Re:Propaganda

[rtb61]

No the problem is not the Russians or aliens or even terrorists, everyone knows exactly who the problem is, the people and the cause is them talking to each other, rather than just being force fed the establishments propaganda. This is nothing more but the most corrupt and self serving deceit of the 1%, globally. They are going to go attack social media and their own populations use of it and stop those pesky sheep from talking together, otherwise they will realise they are not sheep and those running the country are not special, just greedy scammers, so more especially bad, than being specially good.

All they will do is bankrupt social media web sites and people abandon them to get away from corrupt government and corporate propaganda. Right now main stream media is crashing much like their scam the US democrats and they still refuse to accept people are no longer accepting their bullshit propaganda and ooohh look, it is happening all over the world.