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| Local, Nov. 7, 2017. 625 Ibid. 626 Lee Roden, Swedish Kids to Learn Computer Coding and How to Spot Fake News in Primary school The Local, Mar. 13, 2017. Lee Roden, Why This Swedish Comic Hero Is Going To Teach Kids About Fake News The Local, Jan. 16, 2017. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Foreign and Security Policy Strategy, 2017-2018, at 14, 15 (June 2017). led the establishment of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, based in Helsinki, which will serve as think tank and fusion center for EU and NATO efforts across several lines of effort, including disinformation (see Chapter 7). The Nordic states continue to raise their populations awareness of and resiliency to Kremlin disinformation campaigns. In advance of a military exercise in Sweden, which also included the other Nordic states, the Baltics, and the United States, the defense ministries of Sweden and Denmark released a joint statement announcing their intention to team up to deter Russian government cyberattacks and disinformation operations. 623 And Sweden, which will hold elections in 2018, has begun ramping up its defenses against disinformation operations through its Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB). The agency has picked upon fake news stories that push narratives claiming that Sweden is a war zone and the rape capital of Europe, and that it has banned Christmas lights and the eating of bacon on trains. 624 Echoing the US. experts hired by Finland, the head of MSB’s global analysis and monitoring section, Mikael Tofvesson, has emphasized that the MSB’s strategy is not to fight fire with fire, noting that Its like mudwrestling a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will think it’s quite nice. This plays into their hands, whereas for us getting dirty is just a pain. Instead, we have to try to stay clean and focus on the part of our society that has to work democracy and freedom of expression, to make sure that giving the citizens correct information becomes our best form of resistance.’’ 625 Sweden has also introduced curriculum into its primary schools to teach digital competence including how to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources. 626 Even Bamse the Bear, one of Sweden’s most popular cartoon characters, has been recruited to help children learn about the dangers of fake news and the need to crosscheck sources of information. 627 Denmark is also working to counter the Russian government’s malign influence operations, with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noting that the threat from the Kremlin against Denmark and Europe is significantly different and more serious than at any other time following the fall of the Berlin Wall and disinformation campaigns aimed at the public illustrate how elements of domestic and foreign policy are inextricably linked and require close cooperation across various Danish authorities.’’ 628 To that end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently established anew unit dedicated to countering pro-Kremlin disinformation VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:06 Jan 09, 2018 Jkt PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 S:\FULL COMMITTEE\HEARING FILES\COMMITTEE PRINT 2018\HENRY\JAN. 9 REPORT FOREI-42327 with DISTILLER 112 629 Ibid. at 16; Embassy of Denmark, Information Provided in Response to Questions from US. Senator Ben Cardin, Sept. 14, 2017. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Foreign and Security Policy Strategy 2017-2018, at 15; Denmark to Educate Soldiers in Combatting Disinformation EU v.Disinfo, July 25, 2017. campaigns. 629 The unit will also lead an interagency task force that includes the Ministry of Defense and the intelligence services. Denmark is also actively promoting cyber defense cooperation among the EU, UN, and NATO, and has begun training its soldiers that participate in NATO exercises like Enhanced Forward Presence on disinformation threats. 630 The Nordic societies also function with extremely low levels of corruption, and their people have high trust in both their government and fellow citizens—all significant factors in their relative immunity to the Kremlin’s efforts. Yet the Nordic states have also clearly recognized the new nature of the hybrid threats they face from the Russian government and other malicious actors, and have taken admirable and effective steps to address these threats not just in their own countries, but also among their allies and partners around in the EU and NATO. The United States government should work closely with the Nordic states both to assist with their efforts and to learn how their actions and methods might be applied to build resiliency herein the United States. Download 0.63 Mb. Share with your friends:
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