Two theses in this post – the one on ”the satanic NATO” and that on “the pedophile EU” – look too much alike to the disinformation propaganda spread by the Kremlin about the West, in the attempt to justify Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. There were numerous attempts in the past by these conspiracy groups, which promote the combined theses of the Kremlin and QAnon propaganda, to present NATO as a satanic organization and to satanize the EU as godless and pedophile, although such claims are not substantiated – the facts, the legal regulation and the principles of EU/NATO advocate for something completely opposite: stability, peace, sanctioning pedophilia and promoting equality and dignity for all people, writes Truthmeter.mk.
Under the content-sharing agreement between Truthmeter.mk and Meta.mk, we republish the text below:
We are fact-checking a post on the social network Facebook (screenshot here) stating the following:
Congratulations on the dependence from the satanic NATO and the pedophile EU to the slaves in the God-forsaken land called North Mire.
Two theses from this post – the one on ”the satanic NATO” and that on “the pedophile EU” look too much alike the disinformation propaganda spread by the Kremlin about the West, in an attempt to justify Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of making pedophilia the “norm”, reported the French newspaper Le Mond on 21st February.
A wild attack typical of the Kremlin leader, but one which resonated with the most far-out conspiracy circles, such as the QAnon community which spreads disinformation about pedophile elites in the White House, reports Le Mond.
What is most difficult is to distinguish between propaganda manufactured by Kremlin strategists and the multitude of Russian and French conspiracy circles that gravitate toward them and can be manipulated, says Pierre-André Taguieff, political scientist and author of several books on conspiracy.
There were numerous attempts in the past by these conspiracy groups, which promote the combined theses of the Kremlin and QAnon propaganda, to present NATO as a satanic organization and to satanize the EU as godless and pedophile, although such claims are not substantiated – the facts, the legal regulation and the principles of EU/NATO advocate for something completely opposite: stability, peace, sanctioning pedophilia and promoting equality and dignity for all people.
In the past, attempts were made by these circles corresponding to Kremlin and QAnon propaganda to present NATO as a satanic organization.
Quite frequently, NATO has been presented to have the same meaning as the “West”. The conspiracy theory that the West or NATO are “satanic” penetrates the discourse with methods that do not demand much critical and analytical mind. Their goal is to be quickly absorbed by the receiver of such narratives without thinking twice. For example, with doctored photographs that do not exist in reality, world leaders were presented admiring an exhibition of artwork with satanic motifs and skulls that they allegedly saw at the NATO Summit in June 2022. That, of course, did not happen, but the photographs get easily embedded in one’s memory as to disseminate the propaganda that the ”West and NATO are satanic”.
In 2022, in a similar context, disinformation was promulgated about an alleged ”satanic ritual that had taken place during a NATO Summit”. The specific event in the focus was not a NATO Summit, and the ritual was not even slightly satanic – it was an art performance from the opening ceremony at Ghent University in Belgium from 2017.
One cannot but notice that the Kremlin is using the same phrases about the West and NATO, such as “satanic” in its attempt to justify its bloody unprovoked invasion of sovereign and democratic Ukraine. While singing the same “song”, the narrative that ”Russia is leading a holy war against godless satanists in Ukraine to safeguard Christianity and traditional values” is also included. Kremlin, in fact, demonizes Ukraine and its Western supporters by calling them “godless”, hand in hand with the narrative that the West wants to destroy the traditional values.
In that context, the post subject of our fact-check specifies that NATO is a ”satanic organization“, and the EU a ”pedophile union”, while the citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia are presented as enslaved – in a vulgar manner – although the Republic of North Macedonia is also an independent and sovereign country, with its own power-sharing system by the legislative, executive and judicial powers.
There is no EU initiative that comes even close to legalizing pedophilia which is considered a criminal act. The Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography is just one document depicting the EU’s unwavering fight against the crime of pedophilia.
NATO, on the other hand, is not a satanic organization, but a defense alliance whose main purpose is to protect its members from external threats. NATO’s official policy is not to seek confrontation and it doesn’t pose a threat to the Russian Federation. Yet, NATO is prepared to protect and defend its allies.
Our core task is to keep our thirty nations safe. We have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine, because that would be even more devastating and more dangerous, specifies NATO’s website.
On 27 March 2020, the Republic of North Macedonia became the thirtieth member of the Alliance. The decision for Euro-Atlantic integration of the country dates back to 1993, when the Parliament adopted a Resolution defining the external policy priorities of the country, including NATO and EU membership.
Previously, as a partner country of the Alliance, and currently in the capacity of NATO member, North Macedonia is actively contributing to the security missions of NATO, EU and the UN in the region and in the world, with the purpose of supporting peace and security. The contribution in international operations is in the spirit of the strategic determinations of the country to advance global peace and security, and it confirms, yet again, its preparedness to share the challenges of a fully-fledged NATO member. For North Macedonia, preserving peace and stability of the Western Balkans is one of the highest external policy priorities. NATO’s strong devotion to the Western Balkans as a strategic region is extremely significant for the peacekeeping and stability of the region. Such an approach (promoted on the Summit in Brussels in 2021 and reaffirmed in the new NATO Strategic Concept) along with the years-long involvement of the Alliance in the Western Balkans, brought about important results.
Contrary to the contents of the Facebook post about Macedonia depending on NATO, NATO allies as well as EU member states share common values. NATO and the EU play a complementary, coherent and mutually empowering role in supporting international peace and security. North Macedonia is fully supporting the advancement of NATO-EU strategic partnership, enhanced political consultations and improved cooperation on issues of common interest, such as military mobility, resilience, climate change effects on security, emerging and disruptive technologies, human security, women’s agenda, peace and security, as well as fighting cyber and hybrid threats.
Due to all of the above-noted facts, the post fact-checked is assessed as untrue. NATO is not a ”satanic organization”, and the EU is not a ”pedophile union”. Such narratives are part of the QAnon conspiracy theories aiming at demonizing the West.
