SOCIAL MEDIA CURBS IN DENMARK
As Russia ramps up its hybrid warfare activities against Europe, countries there are working to defend themselves in various ways. In the case of Denmark, resilience against Russian media manipulation and fake news involves getting its population to consume less of it. To that end, the Scandinavian country recently announced plans to ban social media use for children under 15. Details of the new measure – including when it will take effect – are still sketchy, but Denmark is hardly the first European nation to contemplate such restrictions. The Danish decision follows the example of several other European nations, including Greece and France, that have proposed similar measures.
The question of social media is a thorny one, and often framed as a public health matter. Indeed, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen justified the planned restriction by warning that social media is "robbing our children of their childhood," referencing studies showing that 60% of Danish boys aged 11-19 prefer staying at home to socializing with their friends. However, Denmark's decision simultaneously reflects a broader European trend: governments on the continent are increasingly viewing control over digital infrastructure as central to combating Russia's foreign information manipulation and hybrid warfare. (The European Conservative, October 7, 2025)
MOSCOW'S PROPAGANDA DEMONIZES POLAND...
Despite the Trump administration's efforts to broker a ceasefire, the war in Ukraine continues to rage. So, too, do Russian efforts to shape the information landscape surrounding it – including by stoking sentiment against Western nations assisting Kyiv to defend against Kremlin aggression. Thus, the state-backed Russian Military History Society recently launched an exhibition in Moscow devoted to "Ten Centuries of Polish Russophobia." The exhibit seeks to rewrite key Polish historical events, such as the 1940 Katyn massacre that resulted in the execution of 22,000 members of the Polish military elite. The overall display portrays Poland as ungrateful and an upstart, arguing that it was economically powerful under Moscow's influence but nevertheless became Ukraine's biggest supporter. (TVP World, October 14, 2025)
...AND PUTS THE BALTICS ON NOTICE
According to a new report by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, DC think tank, Moscow is recycling the same propaganda narratives against the Baltic states that it has used to rationalize the invasion of other former Soviet republics. On October 14th, the Kremlin accused Latvian authorities of persecuting the country's Russian-speaking communities amid reports that 841 Russian citizens were required to leave after failing to meet Latvia's stricter residency rules. In response, Moscow has claimed that it has a duty to defend "compatriots" in the Baltics, rationalizing the right to intervene on the basis that Russians in Latvia are part of the "Russian World," a deliberately vague ideology describing historic Russian and Soviet territories as well as people who feel a spiritual or cultural kinship with Russia.
The narrative is not new. Moscow has repeatedly invoked the need to defend "Russian-speaking communities" abroad, using such messaging to justify past military incursions in places such as Moldova and Georgia. Most recently, Moscow used the same rhetoric prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, claiming that its intervention was necessary to "protect" and liberate Russian speakers in Eastern Ukraine. (United 24 Media, October 15, 2025)
IRAN: NEW INTERNET RESTRICTIONS AT HOME...
Following this summer's "twelve day war" with Israel, Iran imposed a near-total blackout on internet connectivity as it sought to consolidate power and reassert legitimacy. Four months on, many of those restrictions remain in place. Iranians have reported slower internet speeds and jammed GPS services, which complicate simple tasks such as ordering groceries or hailing taxis. Businesses that rely on online systems have also spoken up, as the restrictions hinder their productivity and exacerbate the country's already-grave economic crisis. (New York Times, October 17, 2025)
...AND GREATER INFLUENCE ON BROADCASTING ABROAD
At the same time, the Islamic Republic has erected a robust global broadcasting presence – one that is now intensifying its activities. That's the assessment of a new study published by the Institute for National Security Studies, Israel's premier think tank. Iran's state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) network "operates with a massive budget of nearly half a billion dollars, enabling it to finance dozens of television and radio channels broadcasting in more than 30 languages, including English, Spanish, Arabic, various African languages, and Azeri," the new study notes. "This allows Iran to maintain connections with Shiite communities and export its ideological doctrine worldwide."
The model is familiar. "Iran's activities in the global broadcasting sphere closely resemble those of the Russian and Chinese regimes, which operate international television networks such as Russia's RT and China's CGTN and serve as propaganda arms targeting the same continents of particular interest to Tehran, mainly Africa and Latin America," it notes. "Moreover, there is often a noticeable 'diffusion' of ideas, whereby reports aired on these foreign channels are later republished and amplified by Iranian media outlets, especially when they malign or contradict 'Western' narratives." (INSS, October 19, 2025)
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