Steinhauer: Russia intends to undermine Kosovo’s relations with the USA

Over the past decade, the countries of the Western Balkans have been the target of Russia’s disinformation campaigns. American historian Jason Steinheur, who recently participated in a conference on the subject in Kosovo, says in an interview for the Voice of America that it is a Russian plan aimed at undermining relations between Kosovo and the United States from the European Union and distancing the region from ties to the transatlantic alliance. In an interview with Garentina Kraja, he says that this plan has had moderate success so far due to funding, internal dissatisfaction and historical reasons.

VOA: Mr. Steinheur, you were recently in Kosovo, where you took part in the first Balkan conference on disinformation. What were your impressions of how the societies and countries of the Balkans are facing this challenge and how they are fighting against it?

Jason Steinheur: The general impressions of Kosovo are very positive. Kosovo has a stable population, which inspired me. However, the country faces many challenges, from pollution to climate change. There are many challenges related to disinformation, the state of the media and knowledge about the media, and all Balkan countries have this problem.

VOA: You are the author of the book “History, Interrupted”, in which you wrote about the way history has been influenced by social networks…

Jason Steinheur: Yes, my argument is that social platforms have changed the way we speak and tell our history, just as we have felt the impact of social media on politics, public health and journalism.

At the meeting in Pristina, I argued that the more we use social networks to communicate about the past, the more the values of social networks become our values. In other words: We have changed the way we tell history and how our storytelling has adapted to the spirit of social media, favoring certain types of stories while others are neither seen nor told because we aim to be as present as possible on social networks . If presence takes the place of precision, which has long been the mainstay of historical analysis and scholarship as a driving force, then this will have far-reaching consequences for the history we learn and the stories we encounter. Currently, there are narratives in our public space that are visible because we all use social media to achieve this goal. But does that mean that the story we see is right? And as soon as we try to analyze the accuracy of the information about a particular event that we see on the internet, this overview becomes more complicated and problematic.

Voice of America: In an article about your impressions of Kosovo, you talk about the role of Russia. What influence does Russia’s propaganda have on the distortion of history?

Jason Steinheur: History can be turned into a powerful weapon. We have seen such a distortion of history especially with regard to Russia and Ukraine. When we think about history, we usually ask questions and try to find evidence to answer the questions. And so we come to the conclusion that something may or may not have happened in the past.

In the case of Russia and Ukraine, for example, we have seen actors like Russia and Putin trying to reverse this historical process. In other words, they first draw the conclusion they care about and then invent evidence to back up their claims. Because we see so much historical information on our social networks every day, it is often difficult for us as consumers to understand how that historical conclusion was reached. Is it created based on an accurate and honest methodology or is it based on a malicious intent to reach a predetermined conclusion?

In countries like the Balkans, we see a lack of critical reading of the media and a challenge in reading history critically. Part of my job is to try to build that capacity in society.

Voice of America: What disinformation is prevalent in this case and how should countries like Kosovo combat it?

Jason Steinheur: I think a critical reading of media and history is crucial. We need to teach people to value arguments and the methodology behind them, just as we teach people to value real journalism. We need to teach people to recognize whether it’s a well-researched story or not.

In terms of the misinformation I encountered during my stay in Kosovo, there are several general themes as well as individual examples that reinforce these themes. Kosovo is primarily about not trusting the United States and Europe and that integration into the European Union is not the answer. That democracy is not the answer, that democracy does not work for you.

They aim to undermine relations between Kosovo and Europe and, of course, the United States, or in the case of North Macedonia and Bulgaria, their relations with Europe and the US, and to make these countries look more favorably on Moscow’s views and ultimately support its actions, as is the case in Ukraine. So it’s a plan to try to reorient that part of the world towards the Kremlin and away from alignment with the transatlantic alliance, with the US and Europe.

VOA: Have these efforts been successful?

Jason Steinheur: From what I’ve seen, the effect has been average. There are experts who have looked at these issues in more depth, but when you’re there, you feel that frustration when you actually see how it works.

In many of these countries, unemployment is high, inflation is high, there is pollution and corruption, and all of this fuels discontent. And often in a society where there is discontent, it is easy to look for the culprits, and in this case the culprits are the European Union, the United States and the transatlantic alliance. It is easy to blame them for very complex challenges. This gives weight to these theories. If you are unhappy, unemployed and finding it impossible to achieve your life goals, these theories can be very toxic. It is the way they are used that makes them effective. And of course, disinformation campaigns know how to sow division and discord in society. They also exploit major structural problems that have not yet been solved.

VOA: What are the biggest obstacles in the fight against disinformation and bias?

Jason Steinheur: The most important factor is funding. When I visited Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Georgia, I met extraordinary organizations that are trying to do important work in this direction. But they have chronic problems with lack of funding. The future of these organizations is uncertain as donors are constantly changing their priorities. More investment is therefore needed to support civil society in these countries. For example, Russia spends about 1 to 4 billion dollars every year on information warfare, while in North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Kosovo we have organizations working with annual budgets of 20,000 to 25,000 dollars. It is not an equal fight. That’s why we need more investment, more support in this area. We need to restructure our education system and make sure that our students learn to read media critically and ask critical questions about what they see on mobile devices … And we need more engagement between the United States and Europe. All efforts need to be supported not only financially, but politically. It needs to be a priority and we need to invest if we want to get results.

Voice of America: What are the reasons for this average success that you said Russia had?

Jason Steinheur: The Russian campaigns were initially successful because they had great financial resources. Every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, information agents are deployed to disinform, and because of their large numbers, some of these campaigns would undoubtedly be successful. Russia spends about 1 to 4 billion dollars in this direction every year. They already know how social platforms work and understand the vulnerabilities of each society, know where to target and how to use disinformation campaigns to create division and divide.

Second, there are structural problems in many of these regions, including the United States, for which we have yet to find real solutions. As a result, many disinformation campaigns blame particular groups, a particular religious faith or ethnic group, or are simply conspiracy theories allegedly orchestrated by the United States, the European Union or Israel. Campaigns of this kind are very successful because they offer simple solutions to complex problems.

And thirdly, there are also historical reasons. Countries such as Latvia and Estonia have a significant Russian-speaking population; Serbia and Russia have an alliance based on a common Slavic culture. These historical and cultural contexts also lend credibility to certain messages and their carriers. For example, when I visited the Balkans recently, I heard that Orthodox churches were the source of much misinformation. There is a strong connection between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. Many people rely on these churches to maintain community ties and they serve as places of refuge for millions of people. This trust that they enjoy in these communities means that something that may not be true, may be fake or misinformed, is given special weight. So there are historical and structural reasons. It is a complicated problem that requires investment to solve./VOA/