Activating Prejudice: Refugee Disinformation as Information Warfare in Russia’s War on Ukraine

Abstract

This paper analyzes online Russian disinformation campaigns about Ukrainian refugees in Europe to better understand their impact upon target groups. Although disinformation can mislead audiences because of its verisimilitude with authoritative media sources, we argue that its deeper potency rests in activating existing cultural biases. We trace these dynamics in false narratives of refugees as threats to both privileged “Eurowhite” populations and vulnerable Roma people. In both cases, disinformation serves as an extension of larger hybrid and information warfare efforts by Russia. We conclude by critically assessing the potential of interventions — such as those launched by Google’s Jigsaw unit — to “prebunk” disinformation campaigns.