According to media reports, Switzerland is being criticized in the Russian Federation for its support of Ukraine, the acceptance of refugees, and the organization of a peace summit in June 2024, to which Russia was not invited.
As an example, the media highlights that the Russian government-funded channel RT increased its coverage of Switzerland tenfold in 2024 by launching special segments, including "The End of Neutrality?".
Illya Yablokov, a lecturer on digital journalism and disinformation at the University of Sheffield in the UK, notes that the aim of this propaganda is to undermine trust in Switzerland's traditional neutrality, discredit the country as a mediator in international conflicts, and shape public opinion in favor of Russian perspectives, the authors write.
The piece also emphasizes that the hacker group NoName05716 attacked the websites of the municipalities of Geneva and Vevey, as well as the banks in the cantons of Vaud and Zurich.
Kremlin propaganda is infiltrating Switzerland through France and Germany via websites like Anti-Spiegel and Réseau International, which are frequently cited by pro-Russian Swiss resources such as weltwoche.ch, uncutnews.ch, and conversion-news.org, the journalists pointed out.
The article notes that Russians are utilizing Telegram, YouTube, TikTok, X, proxy media, or fake websites mimicking original ones to spread lies and manipulations. Additionally, Russian "troll farms" recruit individuals to create millions of provocative or offensive posts to incite conflicts or influence public opinion, SWI adds.