Senior EU official to urge U.S. to help fight Russian propaganda

Jourova said the United States and Europe should co-create a response to Russia's propaganda and the digital Wild West, going beyond their cooperation in the G7 and the Trade and Technology Council, a newly set-up forum initially seen as a transatlantic counterweight to China, but now also focused on Russia. "As a transatlanticist I see a big role for the U.S. to address these digital risks to democracy.

The United States should play a more active role to combat Russian propaganda and online disinformation because of the threat to democracy, European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova will say on Wednesday.

Calling information manipulation a grossly underestimated weapon, Jourova will say she wants to extend a hand to the United States to cooperate with Europe. "I think that for the United States, as a cradle for both democracy 200 years ago and for the 'dot com' or tech revolution some 20 years ago, the time for no action is over," Jourova will say in the text of a speech seen by Reuters to be delivered at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

"In the past, people said democracy dies in silence. Today, democracies may die in noise and cacophony," she will say. Washington has imposed sanctions against some state-run Russian TV stations, which it says have spread disinformation to bolster Russia's war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, some Russian state media have been prevented from operating in the United States and some other Western states by withdrawing their broadcasting licences and sanctioning the outlets, steps Moscow says show a disregard for media freedom. Jourova said the United States and Europe should co-create a response to Russia's propaganda and the digital Wild West, going beyond their cooperation in the G7 and the Trade and Technology Council, a newly set-up forum initially seen as a transatlantic counterweight to China, but now also focused on Russia.

"As a transatlanticist I see a big role for the U.S. to address these digital risks to democracy. We face similar problems, so it would make sense to find similar solutions," Jourova will say. Jourova recently cited tough new EU rules requiring Big Tech to crack down harder on fake news known as the Digital Services Act and the Code of Practice on Disinformation to which Alphabet Inc., Facebook and Twitter have signed up as Europe's efforts on the issue.