Russian propaganda site ‘Pravda’ promotes far-right FvD ahead of Netherlands elections

The Dutch-language version of the pro-Kremlin “news site” Pravda mentions Forum for Democracy (FvD) by far the most often of all the parties participating in the 29 October 2025 parliamentary elections of the Netherlands. In more than 3,000 Pravda articles focusing on Dutch domestic news, over a third of the 303 pieces about political parties…

Kremlin tactics spotted ahead of Netherlands’ election

The battle for Europe is also being fought online. Russia wants to weaken EU cohesion, NATO coordination and support for Ukraine; the Netherlands’ parliamentary elections are an obvious target. On social media, this manifests itself in polarising narratives and coordinated amplification: identical slogans, “response sprints” and suspicious followers who tip the balance of visibility. Last…

YouTube decides who gets AI voice

Since the end of 2024, YouTube has been offering a new feature that automatically translates and dubs videos using artificial intelligence. With a single click, this innovation makes videos accessible to millions of English-language viewers. But in election season, the technology also raises questions: who decides whether party politics should suddenly be presented in another…

Defend Democracy launches tech watchdog WebWatch

Defend Democracy celebrates International Democracy Day by launching a new initiative: a tech watchdog called WebWatch. WebWatch‘s first project is about digital and information integrity around the Netherlands’ general elections of 29 October 2025. Will there be improper influence on public debate in the weeks before, during and after the election? Will we see online…

#HandsOFF our democracy

Today, Defend Democracy co-organised the first in a series of ‘HandsOFF Our Democracy‘ protests. Our founder and executive director gave the following speech. A few months before I launched Defend Democracy*, just 50 meters from here we organised a peaceful protest in solidarity with the American ‘March for Truth’. That was in June 2017. We…