DISINFO: Western economy is a sinking Titanic
SUMMARY
The Western economy is a Titanic that already hit the iceberg. According to The Financial Times, the increase in food inflation is leading US citizens to buy less food products. Meanwhile, the number of company bankruptcies in Germany reached 11,000 since early 2024, a record figure in almost a decade, as the country suffers a recession caused, among other things, by high energy prices due to the interruption of gas supplies from Russia. It’s a very serious situation, not only because macroeconomic data shows very evidently that the US economy has hit the brakes, but also at a microeconomic level. And on the European continent, its vassals decided to follow the path signed by Washington and are suffering the consequences. The European locomotive has stopped, with null growth for many yearly quarters and very bad perspectives for the future.
RESPONSE
This disinformation story is a distortion of facts through cherry-picked data and manipulated information, aiming to promote a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about an imminent economic collapse in Western countries.
Although the information quoted from the original Financial Times article about US consumers buying less food due to inflation is true, the wider image happens to be very different. When this disinformation story was published, inflation in the US had stabilised at 2.6 percent, and according to the International Monetary Fund head it was declining and on a path towards a stated 2 percent target. It was also very far from other historical inflation peaks, such as figures of over 14 percent in 1980, over 12 percent in 1975 and even around 9 percent after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US economy was expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2024 and unemployment stood at a record low of 3.9 percent in the second quarter of the year.
Data on bankrupt companies in Germany is correct. However, the overall picture for the European Union differs significantly from what this disinformation story suggests, as the inflation for the whole block fell down to 2.5 percent in June 2024 and the EU economy is expected to grow by 1.7 percent in 2024. Actual data shows a resilient and robust EU economy, and the IMF estimates that the EU’s share of global GDP for 2024 will be 14.34%, only behind the US (19.05%) and China (15.2%).
Therefore, the claims in this disinformation story about the state of Western economy are a gross and disingenuous exaggeration, especially as these figures stand in marked contrast with Russia’s own economic difficulties caused by its war of aggression against Ukraine.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the US caused the war in Ukraine to undermine Europe's economy, that Europe’s fall continues and poverty is knocking at the door, that Ukraine is a broken toy for the West and it is ruining its finances, that sanctions that were supposed to destroy Russia may disintegrate the EU, or that Russia’s economy is massively outperforming that of the collective West.