The shootings of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, as well as the EU’s new anti-money laundering rules, have all been targets of misinformation recently.
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In the run-up to the European Parliament elections, which run from 6-9 June, EU leaders and the European Union itself have increasingly become targets of misinformation campaigns.
Social media is awash with false narratives, whether it be attempts to discredit political opponents or claims about EU regulations.
One example is the dramatic shooting of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, which sparked a flood of politically motivated misinformation online.
Social media users claim that the photo shows Fico’s alleged attacker and Martin Šimečka, the father of the leader of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party.
Slovak media identified the suspect as self-proclaimed writer Juraj Cintula.
However, the photo in the post does not show Cintura and Simechika together, and in fact the second man in the photo is not Simechika, and the photo itself was taken at a launch event for Cintura’s book in 2019.
Facebook itself also labeled the post as false.
The attack on Mr Fitcho and attempts to falsely link him to his political opponents remain particularly dangerous ahead of the European elections.
Is Donald Tusk ashamed of his Polish identity?
Across the border in Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been accused of attacking the notion of Polishness as an identity.
A photo posted to TikTok purports to show Tusk calling Polishness an “abnormality” that attacks him with “painful relentlessness”, but this is misleading.
The Prime Minister did say that, but it was a quote from an article written more than 40 years ago.
Polish fact-checkers say Tusk’s article critically discusses Poles’ attitudes to reality, before confirming that he identified as Polish during the time Poland was a communist satellite state of the Soviet Union.
“Despite oppressive traditions, it remains our common conscious choice,” he said.
Tusk is a strongly pro-EU leader and former European Council president, making him a prime target of misinformation just weeks before the election.
Does the EU ban cash payments over 100,000 euros?
Often it is the EU itself that is under attack from those spreading false narratives.
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Some social media users said the EU had banned all cash payments over 100,000 euros.
This is partly true: The EU has approved rules limiting cash transactions to €100,000 as part of a series of new anti-money laundering measures, but such limits do not apply to all transactions.
Specifically, restrictions are in place that prohibit professional traders from receiving or paying cash amounts exceeding €100,000.
Transfers between individuals in non-professional situations are excluded.
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Ahead of the European elections, it is vital that news is shared accurately and fairly, so that voters can cast an informed vote.
