Latest news with #DanishDefenceIntelligenceService
Euronews
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
No, Danish MP didn't seek Kremlin's help to prevent US from annexing Greenland
ADVERTISEMENT Moscow was behind a disinformation campaign alleging that a Danish lawmaker had sought Russian assistance amid Trump's threats to annex Greenland, Denmark's security services have said. The fake news operation first surfaced in January, when Donald Trump ramped up threats to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to Denmark. The US President alleged Denmark should cede the island to the US to "protect the free world" and threatened economic sanctions if it didn't, heightening tensions between Washington and Copenhagen and casting doubt over the integrity of the NATO Alliance. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE) has now accused the Kremlin of using their disinformation operations to sow further division. Posts circulating on social media – and amplified by bots – claimed that Karsten Hønge, a Danish left-wing lawmaker, had asked Moscow to provide assistance to Denmark in order to prevent the US from annexing Greenland. Disinformation falsely claimed Danish PM had sought Russian help amid US's threats to Greenland Euronews 2025 They included a doctored Facebook post allegedly published by Hønge, that said: "In a situation of extreme escalation and tension, we have to take extreme measures and ask for help from Russia to solve this problem." The fabricated post adds that it's certain the request "will be heard" because the prospect of Greenland becoming part of the US is "as unfavourable" to Russia as it is to Denmark. Hønge responded by firmly denouncing the claims as fake news. Copenhagen accuses Moscow of sowing division The Danish Defence Intelligence Service said that the fake post was first published by an "an influencer who has previously promoted Russia's agenda in Ukraine." With support from the French anti-disinformation agency, Viginum, they identified the influencer as a known actor who is part of a Moscow-backed operation. "The influence operation should be seen as part of the ongoing influence in which Russia is trying to create discord in the transatlantic relationship and undermine Western support for Ukraine," the FE said, adding that the disinformation was also attended to sway the result of Greenland's March general election. Greenlandic non-profit organisations are warning that the island is getting caught in the disinformation cross-fire as geopolitical tensions boil and that it is unprepared for facing these hybrid threats. Last December, a study found evidence of "hostile foreign actors" operating in Greenlandic Facebook forums, with the recent rapid advance of AI allowing actors to generate "convincing Greenlandic texts." Experts warn the territory is vulnerable to such campaigns due to its limited media landscape and the influence of social networks such as Facebook. "Greenland's media landscape is small and resource-constrained. Unlike larger countries, where media organisations have dedicated teams for investigative journalism and fact-checking, Greenland's newsrooms operate on minimal staff and funding," researcher Signe Ravn-Højgaard of the University of Greenland, recently said .
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No, Danish MP didn't seek Kremlin's help to prevent US from annexing Greenland
Moscow was behind a disinformation campaign alleging that a Danish lawmaker had sought Russian assistance amid Trump's threats to annex Greenland, Denmark's security services have said. The fake news operation first surfaced in January, when Donald Trump ramped up threats to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to Denmark. The US President alleged Denmark should cede the island to the US to "protect the free world" and threatened economic sanctions if it didn't, heightening tensions between Washington and Copenhagen and casting doubt over the integrity of the NATO Alliance. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE) has now accused the Kremlin of using their disinformation operations to sow further division. Posts circulating on social media – and amplified by bots – claimed that Karsten Hønge, a Danish left-wing lawmaker, had asked Moscow to provide assistance to Denmark in order to prevent the US from annexing Greenland. They included a doctored Facebook post allegedly published by Hønge, that said: "In a situation of extreme escalation and tension, we have to take extreme measures and ask for help from Russia to solve this problem." The fabricated post adds that it's certain the request "will be heard" because the prospect of Greenland becoming part of the US is "as unfavourable" to Russia as it is to Denmark. Hønge responded by firmly denouncing the claims as fake news. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service said that the fake post was first published by an "an influencer who has previously promoted Russia's agenda in Ukraine." With support from the French anti-disinformation agency, Viginum, they identified the influencer as a known actor who is part of a Moscow-backed operation. "The influence operation should be seen as part of the ongoing influence in which Russia is trying to create discord in the transatlantic relationship and undermine Western support for Ukraine," the FE said, adding that the disinformation was also attended to sway the result of Greenland's March general election. Greenlandic non-profit organisations are warning that the island is getting caught in the disinformation cross-fire as geopolitical tensions boil and that it is unprepared for facing these hybrid threats. Last December, a study found evidence of "hostile foreign actors" operating in Greenlandic Facebook forums, with the recent rapid advance of AI allowing actors to generate "convincing Greenlandic texts." Experts warn the territory is vulnerable to such campaigns due to its limited media landscape and the influence of social networks such as Facebook. "Greenland's media landscape is small and resource-constrained. Unlike larger countries, where media organisations have dedicated teams for investigative journalism and fact-checking, Greenland's newsrooms operate on minimal staff and funding," researcher Signe Ravn-Højgaard of the University of Greenland, recently said.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No, Danish MP didn't seek Kremlin's help to prevent US from annexing Greenland
Moscow was behind a disinformation campaign alleging that a Danish lawmaker had sought Russian assistance amid Trump's threats to annex Greenland, Denmark's security services have said. The fake news operation first surfaced in January, when Donald Trump ramped up threats to seize control of Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to Denmark. The US President alleged Denmark should cede the island to the US to "protect the free world" and threatened economic sanctions if it didn't, heightening tensions between Washington and Copenhagen and casting doubt over the integrity of the NATO Alliance. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE) has now accused the Kremlin of using their disinformation operations to sow further division. Posts circulating on social media – and amplified by bots – claimed that Karsten Hønge, a Danish left-wing lawmaker, had asked Moscow to provide assistance to Denmark in order to prevent the US from annexing Greenland. They included a doctored Facebook post allegedly published by Hønge, that said: "In a situation of extreme escalation and tension, we have to take extreme measures and ask for help from Russia to solve this problem." The fabricated post adds that it's certain the request "will be heard" because the prospect of Greenland becoming part of the US is "as unfavourable" to Russia as it is to Denmark. Hønge responded by firmly denouncing the claims as fake news. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service said that the fake post was first published by an "an influencer who has previously promoted Russia's agenda in Ukraine." With support from the French anti-disinformation agency, Viginum, they identified the influencer as a known actor who is part of a Moscow-backed operation. "The influence operation should be seen as part of the ongoing influence in which Russia is trying to create discord in the transatlantic relationship and undermine Western support for Ukraine," the FE said, adding that the disinformation was also attended to sway the result of Greenland's March general election. Greenlandic non-profit organisations are warning that the island is getting caught in the disinformation cross-fire as geopolitical tensions boil and that it is unprepared for facing these hybrid threats. Last December, a study found evidence of "hostile foreign actors" operating in Greenlandic Facebook forums, with the recent rapid advance of AI allowing actors to generate "convincing Greenlandic texts." Experts warn the territory is vulnerable to such campaigns due to its limited media landscape and the influence of social networks such as Facebook. "Greenland's media landscape is small and resource-constrained. Unlike larger countries, where media organisations have dedicated teams for investigative journalism and fact-checking, Greenland's newsrooms operate on minimal staff and funding," researcher Signe Ravn-Højgaard of the University of Greenland, recently said.
Straits Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Denmark accuses Russia of Greenland disinformation campaign
US President Donald Trump has expressed his ambitions to control Greenland, insisting Washington needs control of it for security reasons. PHOTO: AFP COPENHAGEN - Danish intelligence on April 25 accused Russia of being behind a disinformation campaign which falsely claimed that a Danish lawmaker was seeking Russian aid to prevent the US from annexing Greenland. Social media posts circulated in January claimed that the Danish member of parliament Karsten Honge wanted to prevent Denmark's autonomous territory of Greenland from breaking free from Denmark and said his country should ask Russia for help. The posts included a doctored image showing a Facebook post by Mr Honge, which the politician quickly denounced as 'fake news' in a post to X. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service (FE) said on April 25 that in their assessment Russia was behind the campaign. 'The fake post originally came from an influencer who has previously promoted Russia's agenda in Ukraine,' FE said. Fake social media posts claimed that lawmaker Karsten Honge had called for Russian help to stop the US annexing Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. PHOTO: X It added that it had received information from the French anti-disinformation authority, Viginum, that the influencer 'is part of an influence network acting on behalf of the Russian state.' FE said the campaign 'should be viewed as part of the ongoing influence operation in which Russia is trying to create a rift in the transatlantic relationship and undermine Western support for Ukraine.' It added that it was less likely that the campaign was intended to affect the outcome of the Greenlandic election held in March. US President Donald Trump has expressed his ambitions to control Greenland, insisting Washington needs control of it for security reasons. He has refused to rule out the use of force to secure the Arctic island, straining relations between Washington and Copenhagen. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
No evidence of foreign state influence on Greenland's election, Denmark says
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Denmark's intelligence services said Tuesday that Greenland's recent election took place without any signs of influence by a foreign government. The March 11 race attracted international attention following controversial remarks made by President Donald Trump about the strategic importance to the U.S. of the Arctic island, which is a self-governing region of Denmark. The pro-business Demokraatit party, which favors a slow path to independence from Denmark, won a surprise victory in the parliamentary election, outpacing the two left-leaning parties that formed the last government. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Police Intelligence Service said in a news release published Tuesday that their monitoring of the election did not show any evidence of a foreign government or foreign intelligence service attempting to influence the results through systematic and coordinated campaigns. Misinformation on social media, however, was rampant, the organizations said. There were many instances where fake profiles were set up, including those pretending to be Danish or Greenlandic politicians, or false or manipulated information was shared online. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the likely new prime minister, has rejected Trump's effort to take control of the island, saying Greenlanders must be allowed to decide their own future as it moves toward independence from Denmark. With most Greenlanders opposing Trump's overtures, the campaign focused more on issues such as healthcare and education than on geopolitics. Trump is focused on Greenland because it straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and is home to the U.S.'s Pituffik Space Base, which supports missile warning and space surveillance operations. Greenland also has large deposits of the rare-earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology. The island has a population of 56,000 people, most from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds.
