Slovakia at Crossroads in Election Marred by Fake News

See also:

Slovak Democracy Seen at Stake in Make-or-Break Election

Slovak Far Right Courts Youth Vote in Pivotal Ballot

Kotleba: Slovak Extremist Who Made Far Right Fashionable

Don't Underestimate Slovakia's Neo-Nazi Threat

Slovak Election Dilemma: To Talk or Not to Talk to Fascists?

Slovak Election To Test Orban's Clout Among Ethnic Hungarians

Firstly, the momentum for elections and a new government has come from the Slovak public, following the assassination of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova, in 2018.

The investigation into the killings uncovered multiple cases of alleged corruption and secret ties between Slovak politicians, businessmen, members of the police and other civil servants, including prosecutors and judges.

Those revelations, boosted by intensive disinformation and smear campaigns from certain political parties and online portals, contributed to the increased polarisation of Slovak society.

Moreover, the murders made many question the transparency and independence of public institutions and the checks and balances on the government. 

This distrust towards politicians, public institutions and the wider democratic system has been successfully leveraged by several anti-establishment, far-right or far-left political parties, which position themselves as the only alternative to corrupt political elites and the only ones capable of cleansing the system.

Secondly, this election campaign has taken place in an environment seething with fake news, creating alternative perspectives and information bubbles, especially on Facebook.

Thousands protest on the second anniversary of the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak. The banner...