“Pragmatic manipulation”: How Russia plays with European voters’ minds

Spin operations disguised as news outlets, and right-wing politicians, have been muddying the waters with Kremlin narratives

Last month the European Commission shut down broadcasts from four news outlets it said “spread and support the Russian propaganda and war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Then, a week later, it froze the assets of one of those outlets, Voice of Europe, and sanctioned its owner, Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who now resides in Russia.

The C…