How Russian disinformation could skew EU election — and whether Europe can fight it

Ursula von der Leyen made a promise this week: if she secures another term as president of the European Commission, she will prioritize beefing up the EU's defenses against malicious disinformation from Moscow.

It's a top-of-agenda issue for many in Brussels and across the bloc, with less than a month until the European election and hostile actors using sophisticated tools such as generative AI.

In this episode, host Sarah Wheaton and her guests unpack some of the latest examples of interference from the Kremlin, such as sharing AI-generated deepfake videos of politicians or cloning the voices of public figures to impersonate them. Sarah is joined by Mark Scott, POLITICO's chief technology correspondent, and Jakub Kalensky, deputy director of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki. They also discuss what's behind Europe's modest successes in countering Russian disinformation campaigns.

Further reading:

Moldova fights to free itself from Russia’s AI-powered disinformation machine by Mark Scott

Deepfakes, distrust and disinformation: Welcome to the AI election by Mark Scott

Spot the deepfake: The AI tools undermining our own eyes and ears by Mark Scott

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