Author and affiliation: Claudia Schäfer, freelance journalist, trainer and online hate speech expert
Reviewer and affiliation: Martina Maiello, independent adviser on dis/misinformation
introduction
- Disinformation has a long tradition in post-war Austria. Still, it attracts large supporter groups to a degree capable of splitting society or further manifesting racism, antisemitism, and other types of hate. With the emergence of the internet and the growing popularity of social network services, the spread of false content significantly accelerated hateful resentments against persons perceived as ‘aliens.’ During the pandemic, a critical movement emerged questioning the effectiveness of the vaccines and the measures taken by the government, and it is still rallying. Fabricated or falsified content appears in social media, on websites, and traditional media alike, and often, the initial creator can hardly be identified as some media admittedly share such content via their channels to boost its reach.
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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of EU DisinfoLab. This factsheet does not represent an endorsement by EU DisinfoLab of any organisation.
This project is funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
