Martyna Bildziukiewicz, a graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Gdańsk, has become the head of the EU's East Stratcom Task Force to combat Russian disinformation. The special group operates within the European External Action Service, i.e. the EU diplomatic corps.
The East Stratcom Task Force monitors the media and picks up examples of Russian disinformation in the Member States, and then corrects and presents reliable news. The group is also involved in disinformation analysis and education, as well as media support and strategic communication in the East.
- 'If the Kremlin was only concerned with imposing its vision of the world through disinformation, countering it would be simpler. The aim is different, more dangerous - not to convince us of a particular point of view, but to create chaos and confusion. So that nobody knows where the truth lies. And it does not lie in the middle,' says Martyna Bildziukiewicz in an interview with PAP. - 'The Kremlin's narrative tailors its messages to specific countries, age groups, professions and users of various media, thanks to which the disinformation machine reaches far and wide. Worse, it can identify painful topics that deepen divisions. Disinformation feeds on such divisions; it heats them up to make the debate even more polarised and leaves no room for those who seek reliable information. To this must be added a message based on emotion rather than fact. Who wouldn't click on a story about how more than 25 per cent of Americans wish Santa Claus would stop being a man? It sounds like an innocent curiosity, but it's also part of a larger narrative about a West that is supposedly in moral decline,' she adds.
The work of the East Stratcom Task Force is currently of crucial importance given the increasing propaganda and disinformation from the Kremlin, which targets member states and EU institutions. Martyna Bildziukiewicz has been working in it since 2018 and has headed the team of experts since May 17. In the past, she was, among others, one of the spokespersons of the Permanent Representation of Poland to the European Union in Brussels.
The entire interview with Martyna Bildziukiewicz
Photo PAP/ESTF HANDOUT EDITORIAL