Russian pro-Kremlin media have mounted a “significant disinformation campaign” to aggravate the coronavirus pandemic crisis in western countries by destroying confidence in the emergency response, according to an internal EU report. 

The effort aims to stoke “confusion, panic and fear” and stop people obtaining good information about the contagion, as part of a broader strategy to “subvert European societies from within”, the European diplomatic service analysis says. 

The nine-page report — dated March 16 and seen by the Financial Times — outlines a wide range of attempts internationally to exploit the Covid-19 pandemic by spreading implausible narratives. It says the effectiveness of vetting put in place by social media companies for coronavirus content is still unclear.