| We may like or dislike the results of the European elections, but we can safely say that no major incidents involving propaganda and disinformation took place in the days of 6-9 June, which amounts to a victory for those who are busy countering this threat. Russia and China are reported to have manipulated the online space in previous elections in Europe and elsewhere, including the 2016 US presidential vote. The same was expected to happen during the 2024 European elections. Experts have warned that artificial intelligence could supercharge the spread of fake news that could disrupt the election in the EU and many other countries this year. The risks were seen as especially high in Europe, which has been confronting Russian propaganda efforts as Moscow’s war with Ukraine drags on. Here is a small sample of media headlines from the days before the EU elections: “Fake news on the rise as the European elections draw near” (Euronews), “AI could supercharge disinformation and disrupt EU elections, experts warn” (AP), “EU struggles to counter Russian election disinformation” (Reuters), “Disinformation often worst three days ahead of EU elections, says official” (EUobserver), “Europe’s election campaigns are under the constant threat of foreign interference” (France24). The collection of scary titles could go on… After the vote, there were no media stories on this subject and this is understandable, the election results are a bigger topic. And of course, when the train arrives on time, this is not a story. Still, it would be wrong to say that no attempts were made by the Kremlin to wreak havoc in the days before the elections. The most disturbing example was a fake article about introducing conscription, published in the official news stream of PAP, the official Polish news agency. But in general, there was no massive wave of disinformation that had been expected. After the conclusion of the EU elections 2024, the coordinator of EDMO, the European Digital Media Observatory, published a short comment. The document reported that no significant last-minute disinformation-related incidents were detected. | 