World
The online misinformation ahead of 2022 French presidential election
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and following the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, feelings in France’s political sphere are arguably greater than ever
Analysts have prompt that the upcoming 2022 presidential election has extra weight than ever for Europe, provided that France holds the European Union presidency till July.
As is widespread for election campaigning, misinformation and false claims have woven their means into political debates and on-line conversations.
1000’s of social media customers have shared the false declare that Dominion’s digital voting tools could be used to validate the outcomes of the primary spherical of voting regardless that France has by no means used the corporate in elections.
The Canadian firm had been falsely accused by former US President Donald Trump and his supporters of facilitating widespread electoral fraud in the course of the 2020 election.
Dominion Voting Techniques have at all times denied the unfounded allegations and so they later claimed over €1 billion in damages for defamation.
False claims in regards to the election being “stolen” have appeared on a wide range of social media teams supporting far-right candidates Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour, or left-wing hopeful Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Some far-right accounts — echoing Trump’s claims — had voiced considerations about Dominion getting used to handle France’s election.
Customers on Fb, Twitter, and Vkontakte have relayed claims made by Russia’s overseas ministry that the election could be “completely rigged”. The rumours led the phrase “Dominion” to develop into a trending topic on French Twitter in mid-March.
However the French Inside Ministry has categorically denied that Dominion techniques will probably be used.
“The Ministry of the Inside doesn’t and has by no means referred to as on the companies of the Dominion firm within the context of the organisation of the elections,” an announcement learn.
“The outcomes of the counting of the votes in every municipality are communicated in real-time … by way of laptop techniques for centralising the outcomes developed by the [ministry] laptop companies for a number of years.”
“[These] are the topic of exams and safety approval of the Nationwide Company for the Safety of Info Techniques (L’ANSSI) particularly so as to keep away from any try at manipulation.”
Dominion makes no reference to any contract with French authorities on its web site, whereas Paris has stated that it doesn’t use exterior companies to depend ballots.
Unfounded rumours of “election fraud” aren’t unusual in Europe and appeared lately forward of elections in each Germany and the Netherlands.
French President Emmanuel Macron has beforehand warned that election misinformation poses a menace to democracy, and has argued that these chargeable for spreading “pretend information” on-line must be held accountable and probably dropped at justice.
The French authorities final yr created a selected company to fight overseas disinformation, whereas unbiased fact-checkers have additionally been stepping up their efforts forward of the April election.
“Misinformation about voting continues to flourish on-line – within the US after all — however in Europe too,” Chine Labbe, Managing Editor at NewsGuard, wrote in 2020.
“And simply because it threatens the essence of American democracy, additionally it is threatening to sow mistrust within the electoral course of in Europe forward of essential elections.”
World
Azerbaijan Airlines plane headed to Russia crashes hundreds of miles off course, dozens feared dead
Dozens of passengers are feared dead after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, reports say.
The Embraer 190 passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia had 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying 32 survivors had been rescued.
Flight J2-8243 had flown hundreds of miles off its scheduled route to crash on the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea. Officials did not immediately explain why it had crossed the sea, but the crash came shortly after drone strikes hit southern Russia. Drone activity has shut airports in the area in the past and the nearest Russian airport on the plane’s flight path was closed on Wednesday morning.
Russia’s aviation watchdog, meanwhile, said it was an emergency that may have been caused by a bird strike.
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Those aboard the plane included 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nationals, six Kazakhstani and three Kyrgyzstani citizens, according to Kazakhstani officials.
Russian news agency Interfax reported that both pilots died in the crash, citing a preliminary assessment by emergency workers at the scene. The news agency also quoted medical workers who stated that four bodies had been recovered from the crash so far.
A total of 29 survivors, including two children, have been hospitalized, the ministry told Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti, the Associated Press reported. Many passengers have yet to be accounted for.
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Video of the crash showed the plane descending rapidly before bursting into flames as it hit the seashore, and thick black smoke then rising, Reuters reported. Bloodied and bruised passengers could be seen stumbling from a piece of the fuselage that had remained intact.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who had been traveling to Russia, returned to Azerbaijan upon hearing news of the crash, the president’s press service said. Aliyev was due to attend an informal meeting of leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a bloc of former Soviet countries founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in St. Petersburg.
Aliyev expressed his condolences to the families of the victims in a statement on social media.
“It is with deep sadness that I express my condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” he wrote.
He also signed a decree declaring Dec. 26 a day of mourning in Azerbaijan.
In a statement, Azerbaijan Airlines said it would keep members of the public updated and changed its social media banners to solid black.
“We ask God for mercy on the passengers and crew members who lost their lives,” a translated statement on X said. “Their pain is our pain. We wish a speedy recovery to those injured.”
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Who is Europe's top investor in space in 2023?
Luxembourg remains Europe’s top investor in space in a year when defence spending on space exceeded civil space budgets for the first time since the 1990s.
Global public investment in space hit a record high of €106 billion in 2023, an 11% increase compared to 2022.
In Europe, the total funding was €11.9 billion, showing a modest 1% rise in its share of global space investment.
According to the European Space Agency, defence spending on space exceeded civil space budgets last year for the first time since the 1990s. Defence expenditures in space are projected to grow faster than civil spending, making up 53% of the budget in 2024.
The US continues to dominate global space investment, accounting for 64% of the total budget, while China holds a strong second place, growing its share from an estimated 2% in 2000 to 12% in 2023 through long-term programmes in both civil and defence.
Europe ranks third, contributing 11% of the global space budget in 2023.
What share of their GDP do EU countries spend on public space budgets?
Luxembourg remains Europe’s leading investor in space, dedicating 0.135% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the sector.
Globally, the country ranks third behind the US (0.262%) and Russia (0.169%).
In Europe, Luxembourg is followed by France, which invests 0.167% of its GDP, Italy at 0.103%, and Belgium at 0.095%.
On the other hand, private investment in space has continued to decline in 2023, dropping by 32% compared to 2022.
Europe also saw a 14% decrease in 2023 compared to the year before, with private space ventures receiving just below €980 million.
Although the US accounts for most of the global decline in 2023, its space sector continues to attract the largest share of investments at 60%, followed by Europe with 16% and China with 9%.
What was the state of space activity in 2023?
There were 221 orbital launches in 2023, an 18% increase compared to 2022.
Yet, a total of 212 launches were successful.
The US carried out more than half of the launches, with 96 of them conducted by SpaceX.
China accounted for 30% with 67 launches, a 5% increase from 2022, and Russia completed 19 launches.
The European launch service provider conducted three launches in 2023, including Europe’s first mission to Jupiter, which aimed to explore whether the planet’s three moons — Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede — could support life in their oceans.
Video editor • Mert Can Yilmaz
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