Europe Must Take the Lead

Russia is celebrating America’s drastic cuts to funding for the US Agency for Global Media, whose origins date to the dawn of the Cold War. These cuts have led to the rapid dismantling of Voice of America News, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia, which currently provide 400 million listeners around the world with information underpinned by an American worldview.

Moscow designated all of the news outlets as undesirable foreign organizations in 2017 due to their spreading of “anti-Russian propaganda,” and is now “elated” at their total disbandment.

Head of Kremlin-backed news outlet RT, Margarita Simonyan wrote that “today is a holiday for me and my colleagues at RT and Sputnik.”

Notorious state media host Vladimir Solovyov celebrated the fact that “independent journalists,” who he implored to “die in a ditch,” will now be “searching for jobs.”

Alexander Dugin contended that Trump’s “brilliant example of the closure of toxic media” can serve as a lesson for Moscow, which should continue “gradually doing” the same thing.

The Kremlin is evidently painfully aware of the impact such pro-democracy media channels can have on the domestic politics of a repressive regime. It was, after all, Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty (RL) that served as a bridge between the West and Soviets living under the blights of communism during the Cold War. From 1950 on, RFE and RL broadcasted objective news coverage about issues that state media suppressed. By the 1970s, they were also acting as a “megaphone” for dissident voices. Many credit the radio stations with contributing significantly to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of communism.

Following the USSR’s dissolution, RFE/RL merged, continuing to operate in the region as purveyors of factual reporting and defenders of silenced perspectives.

Russia learned from RFE/RL’s successes, and has become incredibly adept itself at using information as a weapon by distorting the media landscape with deeply biased content. Russian military strategists Chekinov and Bogdanov argued in 2010 that “in the ongoing revolution in information technologies, information and psychological warfare will largely lay the groundwork for victory.” 

Seven years later, Russia’s then-Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu emphasized how “propaganda should be smart, competent and effective.”

The revanchist Kremlin has embraced this playbook closely, pushing its own narrative to counter that of the West both within and outside of its own borders. It has sought to exploit America’s polarization along political and racial lines, aiming to paralyze US politics and decision-making processes. 

Now, with Russia continually increasing its offensive information tactics, and US funding for RFE/RL gone, it is up to Europe to keep the radio stations and their pro-democracy power alive. Many legislators are stepping up to the task.

Jan Lipavský, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, which hosts the networks, urged the EU on Monday to find a way to finance them independently, and has gathered seven countries in support of a funding initiative.

Jessica Rozencrantz, Sweden’s European Affairs Minister, echoed the importance of this cause, asserting that “Radio Free Europe really continues to be an important voice for freedom and democracy, especially in those places where it is most needed.”

Nevertheless, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has cautioned that it won’t be an easy task, as “many organizations… are coming with the same request.” Though it may be a challenge, it is of the utmost importance that Europe does not concede the information war to its enemies, as the United States seems to be doing.

Europe must take the lead in fighting Russian disinformation by spreading pro-democracy messaging globally after America’s recent removal of federal funding for the US Agency for Global Media. Putin wins when he gets to tell the story. It is high time that Europe update its information warfare playbook against Russia.

Dr. Ivana Stradner serves as a research fellow with the Barish Center for Media Integrity at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Marina Chernin is an intern at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.