In the last decade, Western Balkan countries have been targeted by Russia’s disinformation campaigns. American historian Jason Steinhauer, who recently participated in a conference on this topic in Kosovo, says it’s part of a Russian plan aimed at undermining the relations between Kosovo and both the United States and the European Union, and distancing the region from alignment with the transatlantic alliance.
In an interview with Voice of America, Steinhauer mentions that so far, this plan has had moderate success due to funding, internal dissatisfaction, and historical reasons.
You were recently in Kosovo, where you participated in the first Balkan conference on disinformation. What were your impressions of how societies and countries in the Balkans are dealing with this challenge and how they are fighting it?
Steinhauer: My overall impressions of Kosovo are very positive. Kosovo has a resilient population, which inspired me. However, the country faces numerous challenges, starting from pollution, climate change. There are many challenges with disinformation, media situations, and media literacy, and this is a problem for all the Balkan countries.
You are the author of the book “History, Disrupted”, where you wrote about how history is influenced by social media…
Steinhauer: Yes, my argument is that as we have felt the impact of social media on politics, public health, and journalism, social platforms have changed the way we speak and how we tell our story.
At the Pristina meeting, I argued that the more we use social media to communicate about the past, the more the values of social networks become our values. In other words, we changed the way we narrate history and how our historical narratives have adapted to the spirit of social networks, privileging certain types of stories, while others are neither seen nor told because we all aim to be as present as possible on social networks. When presence replaces accuracy as the main driver, which has long been a key element in historical analysis and studies, it will have significant consequences on the history we learn and the stories we face. Currently, in our public sphere, we have narratives that are visible because we all use social media for this purpose. But does this mean the history we see is accurate? And the moment we try to analyze the accuracy of information about a specific event we see on the internet, this reflection becomes more complicated and problematic.
In an article about your impressions of Kosovo, you talk about Russia’s role. How is Russia’s propaganda affecting the distortion of history?
Steinhauer: History can be transformed into a powerful weapon. We have seen such distortion of history especially when it comes to Russia and Ukraine. Usually, when we think about history, we ask questions and try to find evidence to answer those questions. And so we reach a conclusion whether something might have happened or not in the past.
In the case of Russia and Ukraine, for example, we have seen actors like Russia, like Putin, trying to overturn this historical process. In other words, they first provide the conclusion that suits them and then invent evidence to support their claims. Because we see so much historical information on our social networks every day, often as consumers, we have a hard time understanding how this historical conclusion was reached. Are they drafted based on accurate and honest methodology, or through a malicious intent to reach a pre-determined conclusion?
In places like the Balkans, we see a lack of critical media literacy and a challenge with critical reading of history. It’s part of my job to try to build this capability in society.
In this case, what are the disinformations dominating, and how should countries like Kosovo fight them?
Steinhauer: I think critical reading of media and history are of vital importance. We need to teach people how to evaluate arguments and assess the methodology behind them, just as we teach people to appreciate good journalism. We need to teach people how to understand if a story is well-researched or not.
Regarding the disinformation I encountered during my stay in Kosovo, there are some major themes as well as individual examples that reinforce these themes. In Kosovo, the main theme is not to trust the United States, not to trust Europe, that integration into the European Union is not the right answer. That democracy is not the solution, that democracy is not working for you.
They aim to undermine the links between Kosovo and Europe and naturally the United States, or in the case of North Macedonia and Bulgaria their relations with Europe and the USA, and to push these countries to look more sympathetically at Moscow’s views and ultimately support its actions, as is the case in Ukraine. So, it’s about a plan that tries to reorient this part of the world towards the Kremlin and move it away from alignment with the transatlantic alliance, with the United States and Europe.
Have these efforts been successful?
Steinhauer: From what I’ve seen, the impact has been moderate. There are experts who have studied these issues in more detail, but when you are there, you feel this disappointment because you see how it works concretely.
In many of these countries, unemployment is high, inflation is high, there is pollution, corruption, and all these feed dissatisfaction. And often in a society where there is dissatisfaction, it’s easy to look for culprits, and in this case, the culprits are the European Union, the United States, and the transatlantic alliance. It’s easy to blame them for very complex challenges. As a result, these theories gain weight. When you are dissatisfied, unemployed, when it’s impossible to achieve goals in life, these theories can become very poisonous. The way they are used makes them have an impact. And naturally, disinformation campaigns know how to create division and sow discord in society. They also exploit major structural issues that have not yet been resolved.
What are the main obstacles in the fight against disinformation and distortion?
Steinhauer: The main one is funding. When I visited Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Georgia, I met extraordinary organizations trying to do important work in this direction. But, they have chronic problems with a lack of funds. The future of these organizations is unclear because donors constantly change their priorities. Therefore, to support civil society in these countries, more investment is needed. For example, Russia spends about 1 to 4 billion dollars every year on the information war, while in North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Kosovo we have organizations working with annual budgets of 20 or 25 thousand dollars. It’s not a fair fight. Therefore, more investment in this area, more support is needed. We need to restructure our educational system and make sure our students learn critical media literacy, to ask critical questions about what they see on their phones… And there needs to be more engagement between the United States and Europe. All efforts should be supported not only financially but also politically. It needs to be a priority, and we need to invest if we want results.
What are the reasons for this moderate success, as you mentioned, that Russia has had?
Steinhauer: Russian campaigns were successful, initially, because they had a lot of financial resources. There are information agents who work every day, 24 hours, seven days a week to disinform and undoubtedly, because of such a large number, some of these campaigns would be successful. Russia spends about 1 to 4 billion dollars every year in this direction. They already know how social platforms work and understand the weak points of each society, know where to touch them and how to use disinformation campaigns to cause division and create discord.
Secondly, there are structural issues in many of these regions, including in the United States, where we still have not found proper solutions. And as a result, many disinformation campaigns blame certain groups, a particular religious belief, a specific ethnic group, or are simply conspiracy theories supposedly orchestrated by the United States, the European Union, or Israel. These kinds of campaigns are very successful because they offer simple solutions to complex problems.
And thirdly, there are also historical reasons. Countries like Latvia and Estonia have considerable Russian-speaking populations; Serbia and Russia have an alliance based on common Slavic culture. These historical and cultural links also lend credibility to some messages and their carriers. For example, when I was recently visiting the Balkans, I heard that Orthodox churches are a source of a lot of disinformation. There is a strong link between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. Many people rely on these churches to maintain ties with the community, and they serve as sacred places for millions of people. This trust they enjoy among these communities means that when something is said, which may not be true, may be falsified, or is disinformation, it takes on a special weight. So, these are historical and structural reasons. It’s a complicated problem that requires investment to solve.
