Babiš wins – Europe loses – Putin smiles
Dear friends!
Over the weekend, former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his ANO party won a clear victory in the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic. The right-wing populist billionaire, who made his money in agriculture, is currently facing legal proceedings for embezzlement of European agricultural subsidies. He has also announced that he will reduce or completely withdraw support for Ukraine. Since being voted out as prime minister four years ago, Babiš has been working towards this moment, promising everything to everyone in his familiar populist manner.
But that’s not all: as in the elections in Romania and Moldova, deliberately spread disinformation against his political opponents seems to have played a decisive role. Even before the election, governmental and non-governmental bodies warned of this influence, which is becoming increasingly efficient and sophisticated with the rapid development of AI.
A figure from Czech journalists at Voxpot illustrates this particularly well:
‘A group of 16 websites with links to Russia produces more content – in the form of false information and conspiracy theories – than all traditional Czech media outlets combined.’
This makes it clear: Putin is taking over the EU from within. He is increasingly hijacking the information space. His repeatedly stated goal is to destabilise Europe and weaken the EU. With Babiš, he now has another backer in the EU Council alongside Fico and Orban.
Anyone who wants to defend themselves against Putin’s authoritarian takeovers must fend off these attacks on the information space. As the figures from Voxpot show, genuine journalistic media no longer have a chance to check the facts and get through with real news. Pro-Russian websites and influencers, which are flooded into every timeline by bot networks, dictate the political agenda.
But while Ursula von der Leyen and most member states are focusing on military rearmament, they do not dare to restore fair conditions and visibility for the media and facts in the information space. To do so, they would have to take on Chinese and US platforms – and that means the Trump administration.
Von der Leyen and the heads of government could ensure that facts have a fair chance again tomorrow, as almost 6,000 of you are demanding with our petition, but they lack the courage. So they are gradually handing Europe over to Putin and Trump. If democracy falls in Europe, it will be difficult to keep it alive globally.
It is clear how we can reclaim the information space:
- Enforce the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) rigorously. Not-so-funny fact: Czechia has still not appointed the required DSA coordinator!
- In concrete terms, this means changing algorithms and banning data profiles. Because only if we prevent disinformation & Co. from being given preferential treatment will we have any chance at all.
- Building European social media and digital infrastructure. On 19 November 2025, Eurosky.social will launch just such a model. I have also written extensively on the subject of Eurostack elsewhere.
It is now up to the political will at the top of the EU Commission and the member states. Only when the threat in the information space is finally taken as seriously as the physical threat can we move forward.
Please feel free to forward this email to everyone. Everyone should know this.
With determined regards,
Yours, Alexandra Geese
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Further reading:
- EURACTIV: Anti-EU online disinformation floods Czechia before elections
- POLITICO: How Russia’s disinfo machine is leveling up
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P.S. Chat control: Recording and 8 days left to prevent the worst.
Last Wednesday, more than 1,500 of you wanted to attend our big webinar on chat control. The recordings are now online here: Video // Podcast
IMPORTANT: There are still 8 days left until the vote in the Council. 8 days to write to ministries and MPs in Germany, whose vote will ultimately decide the outcome, here: https://fightchatcontrol.eu/#contact-tool