DISINFO: EU’s rearmament could destroy its economy, says Politico
SUMMARY
EU’s rearmament could destroy its economy, states Politico. According to this outlet, Europe’s rearmament plans will be funded at a great degree through debt. “While military expenditures no longer know fiscal limits, social benefits and support for parental leave are already on the chopping block,” economists Tom Krebs and Isabella Weber highlighted.
RESPONSE
This is a manipulated, disingenuous distortion of the original article by Politico, whose approach is exactly the opposite than that stated.
Titled “Can defense become Europe’s economic growth machine?”, the article focus on how “if the continent plays its cards right, the necessity of defense could turn out to be the mother of invention”.
The original text acknowledges that EU plans have drawn some criticism and mentions some voices calling to preserve the welfare state, but it never states that this “could destroy the economy”.
The quotes from experts Tom Krebs and Isabella Weber included in the disinformation story, do not even originate from the Politico article. They are merely cited there from an earlier Project Syndicate piece. The disinformation story fails to properly attribute this source, a deliberate omission that serves to reinforce its manipulative intent.
Quoting Western legitimate sources while distorting their content to introduce a pro-Kremlin message as if it were part of the original story is a frequent pro-Kremlin manipulative technique.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that NYT proves that Russia was always right and Ukraine conflict was instigated by NATO, that Ukraine is struggling with flow of wounded soldiers according to CNN, that the Financial Times reported that Eastern European politicians discussed preemptive attack on Russia, or that according to the WSJ Europe’s full storage gas sites are in fact a reflection of its weakness and vulnerability.